Valley Drive-In Bingo

“That was so much fun! Can we come again next week?”

That was my son’s reaction to to going to the drive-in for their weekly summer drive-in Bingo night!

Here’s what the website says

Located at the Valley Drive-in in Cambridge, this is run by the Coldbrook Lions.

Every Tuesday night gates Open at 6pm. Play beings at 6:45PM.

You tune your radio to 99.9 FM. If you get a bingo you honk your horn.

Sounded fun enough! I have friends who had been before, but never with kids. So, we took it upon ourselves to find out if the Valley Drive-in Bingo was family fun.

Play begins at 6:45 on the dot. So, we showed up at 6:15 so we would be good and ready!

When we arrived at the gate, we explained to the attendants that we had no idea what we were doing! They were so great to us and explained everything to us. I highly suggest admitting this upfront!

Buying Bingo Cards

The attendant explained that to get all the cards and the full meal-deal, it would cost $30 (cash). As you drive in, there are attendants all along the entrance and you can buy different sheets from each person. CASH ONLY.

However, we decided to build our own package.

You need to buy a “Main Gate Book”. This is for all the regular Bingo games. You can get them 3, 6 or 9 to a page.

We got 2 “3 Up” booklets. One for the front seat and one for the back seat. One child and one parent in the front and one child and one parent in the back seat.

Older children (12+) could handle a card on their own, but because this was our first time, and the numbers are called so quickly, we decided to work as a parent-child team.

We also bought one book of “specials”. When these games were played, the child in the front, jumped in the back to play (2 kids and one adult). This worked really well.

Then, we bought one Triple Win Card.

We didn’t buy the Cookie Jar and the pre-mini games.

Click here for full prices and explanations.

YES! This all sounds incredibly confusing! But, trust me, it is not!

Playing Bingo

Once you get through the gate, they give you a list of rules and the order in which you will play each game.

It is all colour coded, and before they start each game, they clearly identify which game you are playing.

Park facing the canteen, turn your radio on, and get ready to play.

The numbers are called quite quickly, so you need to be working together and paying attention!

There is a 10 minute intermission and the canteen is open. Play ends around 9pm.

Tips

Bring Bingo Dobbers. You cannot mark them off with a pen. It MUST be a dobber.
Bring a clipboard, large book or tray to put under your cards. You could tell the professionals, as they had all the equipment ready!

Make sure your kids are old enough. Our 8 year old started to get bored and tired by the end. It’s best for kids 10+. If kids are bored, they will start to make noise, and you won’t be able to play, concentrate or hear the numbers.
Tell them at the gate you are new. They will explain everything to you.
Bring cash.

Have a whole lot of fun!

We didn’t win anything, but came close a few times!

Valley Drive-in Bingo is one of those eccentric events you’ll only find in the Valley, so you need to go at least once, whether with older kids or for a date night!

Valley Drive-in Bingo runs every summer till the end of September at the Drive-in in Cambridge, NS.