Bingo Game Types

When someone mentions bingo, a few people probably still think of their grandmothers sitting at a table at the senior home or are reminded of a math-based bingo game they played in grade school. Others that are more in the know won’t be surprised to hear that there are millions of people playing bingo worldwide, in bingo halls and online, for fun and for money.

Bingo has become more than a fundraiser, a picnic game, or a Tuesday night event at the community center. People of every age and nationality are getting in on the action and over five million are currently playing online. The newest online bingo sites are targeting a hipper, younger generation drawing comparisons to their predecessors the online poker rooms and redefining the game of bingo.

Types of Bingo Games

There are two basic bingo games with a number of variations spawning from this pair. The first is 75-ball bingo which is most commonly seen in America. The second type of bingo is the 90-ball game used in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia (commonly referred to as Housey Housey or Housie).

Most Americans are familiar with the75-ball version of the game. Players buy a card (or several cards depending on the house limit) with five rows of five random numbers representing 25 numbers overall. Each row is represented by a letter (the letters B-I-N-G-O) and the value of the numbers starts from 1 and moves through 75 with the lowest numbers under B and the highest under O.

In the 90-ball U.K. version of bingo, players use a card with nine columns and three rows. Fifteen numbers are represented on each card with five per row and four blank spaces beneath for tracking.

Bingo Rules

In both versions of the game, a number is drawn and called and players mark (or daub) the corresponding number on their card(s). The first player to fill a specified combination wins.

There are a variety of combinations one can win 75-ball bingo with. The most common are the completion of a row or column. Additional patterns sometimes played are: four corners, center cross, L, T, and Y (all self-explanatory). Less common patterns sometimes played include: a postage stamp (a 2x2 square of numbers in a corner), an inner square (a 4x4 square not in a corner), a roving square (a 3x3 square anywhere), and a roving kite (a 3x3 diamond anywhere). The inner square, roving square, and roving kite must have all numbers included in the shape filled.

In the 90-ball version of the game the patterns are less complex due to the foreshortened columns. Combinations include the regular line, two lines, and a full house (the daubing of all fifteen numbers on a ticket). A full house (more frequently called a blackout or full card) is also possible in certain special 75-ball bingo games.

While most bingo halls allow players to reuse cards from one game to the next, casinos that have adopted the game often require players to purchase a new card for every game. Online bingo sites work in the same way and likewise require players to purchase at least one new card for each game.

Live bingo games usually restrict players to ten cards and quite often less than that because of the difficulty of tracking so many cards. The automation of online bingo games usually means the computer software tracks the numbers on each card so that players could technically play an indefinite number of cards (though they are usually limited to 50-80 cards depending on each site).

Additionally, some online bingo games sites often allow players to choose between competing with other bingo players or competing with the computer. The latter format is often called “Instant Bingo.” Instant Bingo is a more specific way of playing the odds of the game in that the player must hit a combination within a specified number of draws in order to go on.

Bingo Prizes

In early bingo games, prizes were usually crafts, small items, or small pots. While bingo fanatics can still play for fun online and at community centers, bingo halls and bingo sites are now offering some very enticing for-cash bingo games with prizes getting up into the thousands.

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