Resistance Bingo

Get together with friends and brainstorm at least 16 fairly quick and easy resistance actions you could do (call a rep, set up a recurring donation, sign up for a de-escalation training, read On Tyranny if you haven’t yet…). Create bingo cards and play for a $10 prize—or bragging rights.

How to do it:

Throw a Party:

Create bingo cards. Include a few items people can do on-site, like “make a donation to the ACLU.” These are your “wildcard” items.
Cut one card up to make your “call list.”
Invite one or more like-minded friends over. Make it fun! Food and drinks and music! Designate a prize (throw $10 into a pot for the winner’s charity of choice, or use resistance bling like an NPR tote bag).
Have a “caller” pull pieces of the cut-up card out, or take turns.
Any “wildcard” action generates a five minute pause while anyone who wants to take that action completes it and checks it off.
First Bingo wins!

Scavenger hunt version:

Invite friends to participate from anywhere.
Each person submits an even number of resistance actions. You can use this site! Go throw a dart, see what sticks. Or check the whole list.
It’s okay if people submit things they’ve already done — we’re inspiring each other! You can also set a rule that you have to do it again to count. This is supposed to be fun!
Each person chooses a ten minute or $10 task the whole group will do if they win. e.g. “donate $10 to my favorite charity” or “call your Senator about my pet issue.”
Share the final list of tasks and prizes with everyone. (Now is the time to object…)
Everyone gets a set period of time to do as many tasks as they’re able BEFORE they get their cards. A week or a month — consider how simple or hard your tasks are, and how busy folks are. Remember: we’re having FUN.
Create the bingo cards and distribute them randomly. (Consider asking a non-player to do this, or assign numbers before generating the cards.)
If one or more people Bingo immediately, do all the quick prize tasks! Look how much resistance we’re generating!
If nobody Bingos immediately, first one to complete a line wins.

Gamifying resistance this way can make mundane or intimidating tasks more engaging, supported, and fun; strengthen connections, and help build momentum towards making resistance a habit. Go forth and play bingo!