Introduction to Playing Bingo
Today, there are two main ways to play bingo: in halls, or online. Traditionally, bingo was always associated with little old ladies going out for their once a week evening out to play bingo. These days the game is played by everyone: young, old, male and female alike. If one does choose to play the game at a hall, one can usually find brochures at the hall with details on the games available, along with rules and how much money one gets if they win, etc. Throughout the United Kingdom, one will not be too pushed to find a bingo game anywhere and it is a true vacation game since it is very popular at seaside resorts. Today, with all the modern technology available, bingo has come a long way. Players are often sitting behind a screen which they can uncover the number called. It is more of a fun game than a money maker though due to the country’s strict gambling laws and often there are just silly prizes to be won like teddy bears, perfume, and the like. But for real money in bingo, one should go online where big cash prizes are available for bingo winners.
How to Play Bingo
Before the game begins, each player has to buy a card that is filled with numbers. The numbers appear in a 5 by 5 grid (which corresponds to the five letters of the word B-I-N-G-O). Somebody who is usually standing in a place where everyone can see, thereafter starts calling out the numbers (a letter and a number). It should be noted that in Australian and British bingo there are 90 numbers, but in American bingo, only 75). If you have one of the numbers that is called out, you cross it off. Once you have crossed off the numbers in a pattern (that will be detailed in the bingo brochure), you shout out “bingo,” and claim your prize. One who gets all the numbers crossed off wins the entire game.
Details of How the Bingo Card Works
Each bingo card has 24 numbered spaces and one blank space. The numbers are assigned randomly on each card. The card has five columns of five numbers each by five rows. Each column is a letter (as mentioned above). The B column has the numbers 1 through 15; I has 16 through 30, etc. until the O column which has numbers 61 through 75. There are thousands of totally different cards that a player can choose from. None of them will be the same. Each is unique. There can be up to 9,000 totally different cards (but usually the number is not higher than 6,000, still ensuring each player has a different card). |
