Often thought of as just for the older generation, local bingo gatherings prove the game is for adults of any age.

Long tables in airy halls traditionally signal community gatherings – and the perfect setup for bingo.

On Wednesday evening, groups of friends begin to gather at these tables while a host sets up a projector and prize wheel at the other end of a hall. Many of the friends are in their 20s; the stereotype that bingo is just for older adults falls apart at Other Brother Beer Co. in Seaside.

“Bingo gives me life. Bingo, like aqua fitness, is not just for the elderly,” says Seaside resident Rebecca Hardt, who attends the weekly event.

Monterey Peninsula breweries and even some wine tasting rooms hold bingo events as a chance to win gift cards or other small prizes. The rules are similar to traditional bingo – guests must obtain a card and mark it if the correct numbers are called out to create rows or special shapes.

The game seems to be gaining popularity and several regular guests return on a weekly basis for the event.

“The world is so hectic – we need calm and connection,” says 21-year-old Elleke Knibbe, who’s playing bingo for the first time at Other Brother with a friend from out of town. “I was looking for fun things to do in the community. It’s like folding laundry. You don’t really have to do much but you still have a nice distraction.”

Similar to Hardt, Knibbe also attends aqua fitness classes with her grandmother.

“I had such a great time [at water aerobics],” she says. “You know everyone at our age – they’re crocheting, they’re knitting. I think it’s time to bring in more old people – is that the politically correct way of saying it? – things.”

Other Brother’s bingo night is hosted by Ashley Baillie.

“I think bingo is fun because there’s space to have conversations with the people that you come with,” she says.

“Bingo gives me life. Bingo is not just for the elderly.”

Bingo at Other Brother is a casual free game for anyone who comes in on a Wednesday night. If someone wants to participate, they can get one card for free. Prizes start small, but grow as the game goes on. In order to win the larger prizes, more than one row has to be filled on the bingo card.

Tuesdays at the Oldemeyer Center in Seaside feature a more regulated kind of bingo game. Once noon rolls around, at least 60 people file into Laguna Grande Hall where long tables are set up. As players file in, they give each other friendly greetings. Bingo cards are 50 cents each. Because Bingo is defined legally in Seaside’s municipal code as a game of chance, an entire ordinance chapter spells out the rules and regulations for how it can be conducted.

“We’re supposed to go with what they pay for,” says Seaside Recreation Coordinator Jaqueline Perez Lopez, who runs senior programs at the Oldemeyer Center. “All the money that we get for those cards is what we give for prizes.”

The bingo game is taken seriously by the Tuesday crowd at the Oldemeyer Center, and that attitude manifests in the form of small traditions. Jack Carmenita, 94, sings “God Bless America” whenever he wins. He attends the game every week with his wife, Luanne Carmenita, and the two have been coming for at least a decade.

“We love it,” Jack says. Luanne adds that socializing is a major part of bingo.

Bingo at the Oldemeyer Center is hosted by 19-year-old Savannah Jaye, who has consistently hosted the event since she was hired in 2021. Jaye is now studying integrative biology and public health at UC Berkeley.

She calls hosting bingo the highlight of her week. The game is marketed toward seniors, but Jaye encourages anyone over 18 years old – part of those rules and regulations – to come play bingo.

“I love being up on stage,” Jaye says. “A lot of our older adults pick and choose which events they’d like to come to, but a lot of them choose bingo.”

BINGO happens Wednesdays at 6:30pm at Other Brother Beer Co., 877 Broadway Ave., Seaside; ages 21+. Noon on Tuesdays at Oldemeyer Center, 986 Hilby Ave., Seaside; ages 18+; 50 cents per card.