How to play Bingo

Bingo is played in halls and bingo pubs which give out brochures of particular games, rules and payouts. Different locations have different bingo rules and play variations and bingo fashions too. A bingo card typically contains 24 numbered spaces and one blank space with which you play BINGO. The numbers are assigned at random on each card and are arranged in five columns of five numbers each by five rows, 25 in total including the blank square.

Basically, players buy cards with numbers on them in a 5 x 5 grid corresponding to the five letters in the word B-I-N-G-O. Numbers such as B-2 or 0-68 are then drawn at random - 75 in American Bingo and 90 in British and Australian Bingo until one player completes a 'Bingo' pattern. There are many bingo patterns, but the most common are a line with five numbers in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal row. The numbers in the B column are between 1 and 15, in the I column between 16 and 30, in the N column (containing four numbers and the free space) between 31 and 45, in the G column between 46 and 60, and in the O column between 61 and 75.

Players have thousands of unique cards to choose from. Some manufacturers print unduplicated series of 6,000 or 9000 cards. Hard cards and Flimsy cards have a series number printed on them. For example, card number 1252 will always have the same numbers in the same spaces.

In the U.K. Bingo is played in large halls with huge prizes and in almost every seaside town, where it is played with screens in front of the players who pull a slide across to cover the number called. Bingo is also played for prizes not including cash all across the country as a means of fund raising. Here the prizes are donated by shopkeepers and businesses in the town and surrounding area and the atmosphere at these Bingo games is fun and relaxed. The prizes for these games vary from £1.00 - £2.50 for one line, £2 - £5 for two and a full house would be worth £5 - £10. The prizes could be gift hampers, bottles of wine, chocolates, vouchers, free passes etc. The numbers are announced quickly by the Caller and thus it is necessary to pay attention to the numbers that are called and mark them quickly and accurately on your card(s). The caller keeps calling numbers until one or more players claim BINGO. Then the game stops and the numbers are verified. If there is a winner, the prize is awarded to him. If there are multiple winners, the prize is distributed between them. A new game with new cards begins after that.

U.K. and Australian bingo cards have three lines and nine columns and usually come in single or multiple "Books". A single book would contain ten 10 pages with 10 cards each of a different color: Gold, Lime, Violet, Yellow, Pink, Grey, Orange, Blue, Red and White. A multiple book has 6 single books. Each page in a multiple book has 6 cards of the same color. The 6 cards on a page are joined with perforated edges and can be pulled apart. Experienced players will play all 6 books while others a single book or card. There are also single sheets of bingo cards sold with the 6 sections on (six cards) and these are called "Flyers". The flyers cost more per game than on the books but the prizes are usually worth a bit more.

Bingo Online - When playing online, your bingo cards are randomly selected for you. Most online games give you 3 or 4 cards. Every online bingo game has a caller or a display board for the bingo numbers and the game pattern is also displayed. Some games automatically mark the numbers on your card for you.