Bingo is known all over the world and has been a popular game for young and old alike. It has many variations but the basic rules remain the same in all of them whether it is offline or online bingo. Online Bingo offers more variations at one time than offline bingo is able to. Over time, two variations, 75-Ball Bingo and 90-Ball Bingo, have become the most popular and do have some variation in the rules.
Basic Rules
The basic rules and method of play apply to all bingo variations. It is a game that depends on luck, not skill. Players obtain one or more card, each printed with random numbers in rows and columns. Numbers are randomly drawn and announced by a “caller”. As each number is called, players check their cards to see if they have the number and mark it if they do. Play continues in this fashion until at least one player calls “Bingo!” This means the player has completed marking their called numbers in the pattern of the variation of the particular bingo game being played.
75-Ball Bingo
This variation of Bingo is the one most people in the United States are familiar with and have played the most often. The cards for this game are in a grid of five by five. Above each column on the grid is one of the letters that spells the word Bingo. Below each letter, the column will have five numbers printed at random. Under B, the numbers will be from one through fifteen. Under I, the numbers will be from sixteen through thirty. Under N, they will be from thirty-one through forty-five. For G, the numbers are from forty-six through sixty. The last column, which is under O, the numbers are from sixty-one through seventy-five. Every card has one space in the middle that is a “Free Space” and can be marked as played automatically by the player using the card.
A variety of patterns can be winners, depending on the particular game being played on the 75-Ball cards. The most common of these patterns include marking numbers across a horizontal row, down a vertical row, a diagonal line, marking all the numbers around the edges of the card, forming a plus sign, filling the card entirely or creating letters such as E, F, L or O.
90-Ball Bingo
This variation of Bingo is played in the UK than in most other places. the cards for 90-Ball are different from 75-Ball. They have nine columns and three rows of squares. Random numbers from one through ninety are printed in five squares in each row in a random manner. Each row will also have four blank squares.
The patterns that can win include marking the numbers of any full line, any two lines or marking every number on the card, which is referred to as a Full House.
In the majority of Bingo games, players can choose to play more than one card at a time but it is best not to have too many cards at one time. Too many cards can result in a player getting behind on what is being called because of trying to find the numbers called on all the cards.
Bingo can be played just for fun, for prizes or for cash jackpots, depending on where the game is played. The cost per card can vary according to the place or the particular game being played.