Mode i
Print at home.
Print on standard letter or A4. Tear off a card, fold it into your boarding-pass pocket, take it to the gate. Pencil works best — pen reads as conviction.
VOL. I · AIRPORT EDITION
The Departure.
A printable bingo pack for the open-plan habitat of the gate area.
$5 $3 — Launch pricing
First 500 packs only
One pack. Twenty-five specimens. Four shuffled cards. Twelve field guide entries. No printer required.
Get Vol. I — $3Instant download · Print or play on phone
what's in the pack
What you get.
A 22-page printable PDF. Same 25 specimens across four shuffled bingo cards so you can hand one to a travel companion without playing the same board. Twelve illustrated field guide entries on the headliners — written in the dry, observational voice of a nature documentary, about humans. Five different ways to play.
- 1 printable PDF · 22 pages
- 4 bingo cards · same 25 specimens, four shuffled layouts
- 12 illustrated field guide entries · with Latin binomials
- 5 house-rule game variants · solo or competitive
Behold the human
See it in motion.
A short field tour of the headliners. Tap to play.
Vol. I — The Departure
$5 $3. Take it home.
22-page PDF · 4 cards · 25 specimens · 12 illustrated entries
$3 — Take Vol. I homeFirst 500 packs only
Instant download · Print or play on phone
specimens in this volume
Specimens you'll be looking for.
- The Crypto Bro on a Call Crypta dialogans
- The Wine-at-10am Lady Vinifera matinata
- The Aggressive Minimalist Minimus arrogans
- The Couple Having a Quiet Fight Coniugatus discordans
- The Texan in Full Texan Regalia Texanus authentos
- The Boomer Arguing With the Gate Agent Senex contendor
- The Influencer Filming Her Own Departure Vlogger profluens
- The Person on Speakerphone (Zero Self-Awareness) Loquens publicus
- ...and 17 more in this volume.
two ways to play
How to play.
The pack is a PDF. Use it however suits the trip — analog if you've got a printer, digital if you're already at the gate.
Mode ii
Mark up on your phone.
No printer required. Open the PDF on your phone or tablet. Use Markup, Apple Pencil, or any annotation app to mark off specimens as you spot them. Same game, glassier.
Vol. I — The Departure
Launch pricing. $5 $3.
Delivered as a PDF the moment Stripe finishes its little ceremony.
$3 — Buy Vol. IFirst 500 packs only
Instant download · Print or play on phone · One-time purchase
frequently asked
Questions, answered drily.
What is A Field Guide to Strangers?
A humor brand of printable bingo packs for people-watching. Each edition is themed to a setting where strangers gather — airports, road trips, weddings, coffee shops — and is written in the dry, observational voice of a nature documentary, about humans. Vol. I — The Departure is the first pack in the Airport Edition family.
How does the bingo work?
Each card is a 5x5 grid with 25 human archetypes. When you spot one in the wild, you mark the square. Five in a row and you win — quietly, to yourself. Five game variants ship in the pack: Classic, Solo Field Trip, Race to the Gate, Whole-Trip Blackout, and Confession (where you mark squares you are guilty of).
Do I need a printer?
No. The pack is a PDF, so you can print it at home if you want a paper card to fold into your bag, or you can open the PDF on your phone or tablet and mark squares using Markup, Apple Pencil, or any annotation app. Both modes are intended.
What's in Vol. I?
A 22-page printable PDF with 4 unique bingo cards (same 25 specimens, 4 shuffled layouts), 12 illustrated field guide entries on the headliners (with Latin binomials), and a house-rules sheet covering five ways to play. Designed for airports — works anywhere humans gather.
Are these mean-spirited?
No. We punch at behaviors, uniforms, postures, and accessories — never at identities. The voice is observational, not cruel. The reader is in on it. Affection lives underneath the dryness; we are documenting a species we belong to.
Are there other editions?
Yes — nine editions are available now. The Airport Edition continues with Vol. 2 (The Layover), Vol. 3 (The Boarding), and Vol. 4 (The Arrival). The Wedding Edition covers cocktail hour, ceremony, reception, and send-off. Plus a stand-alone Bachelor & Bachelorette edition. All nine on the shop page, each $3.
also in print
Prefer a real little book?
Vol. I is also available on Amazon as a 4×6 pocket paperback and a Kindle edition — same specimens, printed and bound, ready to gift.
The PDF above is the instant, $3 option. The paperback is the gift option.