The Institute · Amusements
Visitor’s bingo.
Twenty-five sights of an ordinary visit. Five in a row wins. Mark with pencil; pens are overconfident.
25Squares
5In a row wins
1Prize: a nod
Rules of the card
Mark each square as you witness it, in pencil. Five marked squares in a row — across, down, or diagonal — completes the card. Bingo must be declared silently, by remaining seated a moment longer than necessary; anyone shouting will be entered in the silence log as a break. The prize is a nod from the Porter. Thermostat suspicions require no proof, only sincerity.
| A sigh, heard distinctly | A nod exchanged | A queue joined at the rear | A teaspoon stirred | A bench-end seat yielded |
| A wave of thanks given | A last biscuit declined | A reply-all witnessed | A thermostat suspected | An umbrella counted |
| A full minute of silence | A word said aloud | FREE · The Porter nodded | A pigeon, live | Crumbs found and filed mentally |
| Drizzle, any grade | The pips, heard | The Porter nodded | A ticket taken | A rule observed being kept |
| A footnote nodded at | A wonder gasped at, quietly | The second row sat in | Hello in two or more tongues | A lost item spotted |
- Prize
- One nod from the Porter, redeemable immediately and worth exactly what was paid for admission.
- Disputes
- Disputed squares go to the Tribunal of Quiet Disapproval, which is still sitting on the armrest matter.