This popular game of chance is sure to kill boredom and could even win you big big money. The latter of course is not always an assurance. Game of chance means it is a risk; meaning you could either win money, stale, or lose it. But that is the essence of bingo, you will never know if you will be the next winner unless you tried.

INFORMATION FOR BEGINNERS

Knowing the basics is where the secret of playing and enjoying a bingo game lies. All you have to do is purchase a card prior to beginning the game and you are all set. What the players are vying for is the cash prize, which varies depending on the worth of the card and the number of players. The more the card costs, the bigger the cash prize.

Question

HOW TO PLAY

During the bingo session, numbers are called out in random. The players then mark each number they have in the card that they are holding. Whoever finishes first to complete a pattern wins the game. The more popular patterns are the straight-line and the coverall or blackout. But this could change, as other patterns could be adopted.

In the straight line, the marked numbers in the card form a straight line, from one end of the column to another. It could be diagonal, vertical or horizontal. It consists of five numbers. At each card’s centre is blank and it could be considered any number. So a player can also use this to his advantage and only needs four numbers to complete the straight line.

A blackout or coverall refers to marking out all of the numbers in the card. This is the pattern used in jackpot games. The first player who gets to mark all the numbers in his card wins the game. There are two popular kinds of ball games being played; the 75-ball game and the 90-ball game.

90-BALL BINGO GAME

Mostly popular in the UK, this game consists of 90 balls. Each of the balls has a corresponding number, from one to 90. There are a total of 27 columns; three rows and for each row there are nine columns. There are three ways to win; first, a player must form a line with five numbers in the same row.  The second requires a winner to mark off two lines. The last one is the typical black out or what they call “full house” in Britain.

Bingo Ball 90
Bingo Ball 75

75-BALL BINGO GAME

This game is widely played in the US. There are 75 balls, all numbered from one to 75. The card has five rows and five columns, making 25 squares in total.
Compared to the 90-ball game, this one is more flexible, many patterns can be used. The winning pattern is announced before the game starts. The pattern can be lines, cross and may duplicate letters or numbers.

ON-LINE BINGO

More and more people today are trying online bingo. Sure it may not feel like being inside game halls but at least you’re saving yourself from noise and cigarette smoke while you are playing? Plus playing bingo in your own living room could give that sense of comfort. Online bingo is specially designed for people who seek for games that are equally exciting with free game downloads. There is also the opportunity to chat with anyone wherever they are in the world.

But like in other things, there are few setbacks. Particularly is the security and safety concerns, especially when a site requires your credit card number and other valuable information. Although many bingo sites are for real, some fake ones are still lurking there. To check, you could spot check with the help of friends to find out the credible sites. Checking a bingo site’s message board for any report or comment on being foiled could prove helpful. You should also protect your password and not be so careless as to giving it away.