Bingo Games

Bingo games now come in many forms. Here are the most popular formats in which the game can be played…

90-Ball Bingo

In the UK this is the most popular format of the game. Played on tickets with grids of 15 numbers over three rows, five numbers in each row. There are 6 grids of numbers making a total 0f 90. Numbers between 1 and 90 are called and marked off by the player. The first person to mark five numbers in a line on a single ticket wins. Subsequently, players attempt to mark two full lines on one ticket and then a “full house” covering all 15 numbers.

75-Ball Bingo

In the 75 Ball Bingo game, a ticket is an individual grid of 25 squares made up of 5 rows and 5 columns. Each square contains a number so 25 numbers appear on each ticket apart from the centre square which is “free” and will have a star icon in it.

80-ball Bingo

This is a relatively new U.K. version of the game that uses a ticket with a 4×4 matrix of numbers. Each row has a different colour for numbers 1~20, 21~40, 41~60, and 61~80. It is somewhat similar to the U.S. style of play, as a greater number of winning combinations are permitted.

Mini Bingo

This is 30-ball bingo played on a ticket with nine squares in a 3×3 matrix. It is becoming popular online because it is fast, with each round lasting no more than several minutes, which means winners per hour.

Pattern Bingo

Played on the U.S. card, winning combinations must form a certain shape or pattern, such as four corners, the letter L or T, etc. The patterns to be formed are announced before the start of each game.

Coverall

In the U.K., this is the same as a full house. It may also be referred to as “blackout” in the U.S. The object is to be first to cover all of the numbers appearing on a ticket. At some Bingo Halls, progressive jackpots may be linked to this version of the game, awarding a huge prize pool to the player who can cover every box within a certain number of balls called.

Quickie bingo games

A game in which numbers is called as quickly as possible. The winner is the first to fill out the entire card. A variation of this is “Speed Bingo,” sometimes played with a pattern.

Bonanza Bingo

In the U.S., a progressive coverall Jackpot that is typically played as the 13th game of a day’s sessions. It involves the pre-selection of forty-five numbers, which players mark on separate cards. Assuming no winners share the prize money initially, numbers are called till a coverall is achieved.

Money Ball

Prior to the start of a game, one number is designated that will double the player’s winnings if a Bingo is hit on that exact number. A variation of this is “Lucky Ball,” where the very first number called during the first session becomes “lucky” for the rest of the day, and any players who Bingo with it receive a bonus.

Horse Race Bingo

Up to 15 players can join in this variant of bingo. These players will have their own numbers from 1-15 which will correspond to the top row of their cards. Once a player gets five matching numbers in his column, he will be the winner of horse race bingo.

Where Bingo Games originated

The history of Bingo can be traced right back to 1530, to an Italian lottery called “Lo Giuoco del Lotto D’Italia,” which is still played on Saturdays in Italy.

The game was introduced to France in the late 1770s, where it was called “Le Lotto”, a game played among wealthy Frenchmen. The Germans also played a version of the game in the 1800s, but they used it as a child’s game to help students learn maths, spelling, and history.

In the U.S., bingo was originally called “beano”. It was a country fair game where a dealer would select numbered discs from a cigar box and players would mark their cards with beans. They yelled “beano” if they won. Since then, modern bingo has evolved into multiple variations.