Introduction to the Game of Bingo

Bingo has been a popular game for around 500 years – that's right, when you heard that it was an old fashioned game, I would bet that you never would have thought it would be that old! However, everything comes back into fashion, and bingo is one of those things that has been launched back into popularity by promotion of places like Gala bingo and other big bingo halls.

The increased amount of people coming online has also meant that thousands of new players go to play every week hoping for entertainment and hopefully to win some money!

There are several different types of bingo you can hooked on – UK players will be more familiar with the 90 ball version and the 3 row ticket, while American players will be more familiar with their square BINGO format ticket. There is a new kid on the block called 80 ball bingo as well, that gives you even more options to play. There are some differences between the games which we will cover.

Similarities between the games

It is easier first to cover the similarities between all the games of bingo. The 'ball' prefix of all the games is not really applicable with online casinos because rather than balls being selected at random, or balls being drawn out of a hat, a random number generator makes the calls for you. As the numbers are called out, you get to mark off numbers on your ticket. If you are lucky, then the numbers that are called out will form a pattern on one of your tickets.

The more tickets you buy, the greater chance you have during that game. The 90 ball bingo ensures that you buy 6 tickets at a time so that you always have a chance of marking off a number. Other bingo versions allow as many tickets as you would like. Some bingo halls also let you play side games or side bets which can give you even more bonuses when you play.

Scoring in bingo games

If you are competing in blackout bingo then the aim of the game is to mark off every single number on your card. This is sometimes called coverall bingo as well or full house (more common in 90 ball or UK bingo). In 75 ball bingo then the aim is to completely black out the entire ticket, while in 90 ball, you just need to black out the numbers.