Jensen Harris‘s brief example of using Excel’s random number generator reminded me that I had need for the random number generator recently myself: Generating buzzword bingo cards.

At the Battlestar Galactica party, our hosts needed to create some Battlestar Galactica-themed buzzword bingo cards and asked me to help out. Here’s how I did it:

1. Build a list of words and phrases in column A.
2. In column B, next to each word or phrase, enter “=rand()”. You can use Jensen’s “block entry” trick.
3. Build your bingo card elsewhere on the sheet.
4. In the upper left square of the bingo card, enter “=A1”; in the next square, “=A2”, and so on.
5. Highlight cell B1.
6. Click the “Sort ascending” button on the toolbar.
7. Print your bingo card.
8. Repeat steps 6 and 7 until satisfied.

It’s not beautiful, but it gets the job done.