Bingo Games, Rules, and Background

Bingo has a long history as a lighthearted game of chance that’s seen as more of a hobby than pure gambling. Charitable organizations commonly hold bingo games for fundraising and to get people more involved with the organization.

Bingo’s roots can be traced back as far as the 1500’s but the version we know today got its start in the early 1900’s in the United States.

The simple rules and social aspect of the game was widely appealing and the game has been going strong ever since.  Today, bingo is seen as one of the most popular games in the world and is played by countless millions both live and of course on the internet.

Rules of Bingo

There are hundreds of Bingo variations but the most common form is played on a small card marked with a 5×5 grid. Along the top of the card, the letters B-I-N-G-O run horizontally with each letter assigned to one column. Each square inside the grid is marked with a number ranging from 1 to 75.

Each person in the game gets a bingo card and then the “caller” randomly picks letter/number combinations that correspond to the possible combinations on the bingo cards. For example, the caller will announce a pick like “B-33″ and anyone who has the number 33 in the B column marks it on the card with an ink dauber. The first person to mark five squares in a straight or diagonal line yells out “bingo!” and wins the prize for that game.

Bingo Variations

Most bingo halls allow players to purchase and play more than one card per game. This keeps the game interesting but it also shortens the length of each game because more bingo cards are out there getting hits.  The Online Bingo halls endorsed by the professor here at Gambling101.org allow for many different types of games to be played at once - all easily manageable on one screen and a very simple interface.

Click on the screenshot below to see an example of an online bingo game:

Now in order to keep the games going longer, many bingo halls hold games with multiple patterns that count as bingos - but with the advent of online bingo rooms, this concept is limitless and you can play as many variations of bingo as you’d like and not have to worry about stamping a ton of cards by hand in the process. The number of possible patterns is almost limitless with some of the more common ones including:

Blackout - Marking every square on a single bingo card

Kite - Marking four squares in one of the top corners with a diagonal line running out and away from the bottom of the square

Postage Stamps - Marking 4×4 squares in any two corners on the bingo card

Picture Frame - Marking every square along the outer edges of the bingo card

Layer Cake - Marking the top, middle and bottom rows on the card

Letter Z - Marking the top and bottom row on the card and connecting the two with a diagonal

Railroad Tracks - Marking the “I” and “G” columns on the card

…and many more!

Online Bingo

Online bingo really took off in the early 2000s and has since continued to grow at an astounding rate. Its reputation as a clean, fun game has helped because the websites are non-threatening and gambling legislators have left the industry alone for the most part.

Online bingo games allows for even more variety than live bingo because the software can easily adjust the rules for each game. Any number of patterns and card shapes can be used to create an infinite variety of bingo games.

Bingo players also enjoy online play because the computer can be used to automatically mark the bingo cards and announce bingos. This makes it possible for bingo players to play as many bingo cards as they want and still keep up in games that feature multiple bingo patterns.

One of the biggest advantages of online bingo is its low overhead cost to the operators. Online bingo sites don’t have to pay floor employees and purchase physical bingo cards and supplies like the live bingo halls do. Bingo sites pass this savings down to the players, making it cheaper to play and making it possible to offer micro-stakes bingo games.

Whether you’re a high roller or a small stakes bingo newbie, online bingo is the best way to go. It’s easy to get started and games are running 24/7.