Below we have explained most of the bingo terms you will come across, if you find any we have not listed pleased let us know.
Admission – This pertains to the eligibility of a person to play Bingo.
Admission packet – This refers to the minimum number of cards that you have to buy in order for you to become eligible to play in a Bingo game.
After Game – This refers to the game that is played after the regular session has ended.
Autodaub – An option that you can choose so that your computer will mark your numbers for you as they are called.
Blackout (also known as Coverall) – This is a pattern wherein you must mark off all the numbers on your card in order to win. Though this is naturally harder to achieve than other patterns, there is usually a special prize for this.
Bingo – The name of the game, which is also what people shout (or, in the case of online games, what the computer flashes) to announce that somebody has won. This signifies the end of the game.
Bingo Board – This is a board that is on display, showing every number as it is called. This would make it easier for you to mark off the numbers on your own card.
Bingo Card – This is a card that is divided into 24 even squares with numbers(Us version), with the middle one being blank. A UK bingo card has 15 numbers and does not have the blank middle area. You must have this to play Bingo. The numbers are usually at random and are fixed in 5 numbers per each row and column.
Consolation Prize – The prize offered during some games if it happens that there is no winner in a preplanned number of calls.
Buyin – This is the buying of Bingo cards or admission packets or converting money into Bingo cards.
Bonus – A bonus is an incentive or credit that a site offers so that you will be enticed to play more Bingo.
Caller – This is the person who is tasked to call out the numbers.
Cash In Prize – A kind of Bingo game where they give cash payouts as prizes.
Chat Room – This is a space on the screen that will allow you to interact with other players. This is a good way to get to know some players and befriend them, as well as see how they are faring in their game.
Credit – This refers to the amount you have in your online Bingo account. You must have this in order to play online and qualify for the large prizes.
Dauber – The instrument used to mark the numbers off your Bingo cards. If you are playing land-based Bingo, then a dauber is an actual pen. If you are playing online Bingo, then the dauber is just the cursor that will make a blot on your card when you click on a number.
Early Bird Game – This is a bingo game that is held earlier than a game that runs on a regular schedule.
Face – Another term used to pertain to a Bingo card that contains 25 spaces.
Flimsy/Flimsies – These are Bingo cards that are printed on thin sheets of paper. These are used for special games and usually produces a bigger prize. These are also called throwaways.
Four Corners – A kind of pattern wherein you must be able to mark off all the numbers in the corners of the card. Getting all four numbers means you win.
Free Space – The space right in the middle of your Bingo card. This does not have a number and if it is included in the pattern currently in use, then it counts as part of your winning numbers.
Game Board (or Gameboard) – This is an electronic display attached to the Bingo board which shows what kind of pattern you would need to win a specific game.
G.T.I. (also called as T.E.D.) – This is an electronic dauber system utilized for playing multiple packs at the same time. These would usually require the players to play a rental fee and a player can only use one of these.
Hardway – A pattern in which “Bingo” has to be achieved without having to utilize the free space.
Jackpot – This is the largest prize that can be won in a game. This is achieved when you succeed in completing the pattern within the assigned number of balls, usually referred to on the screen as “balls to jackpot”.
Log-in – The username and password that you used for registration that allows you to access the site and play Bingo.
Lucky Jar – Also called a cookie jar, this is a container that holds cash. You will win the cash inside the jar if you Bingo on the lucky number. This lucky number is typically the first one called at the start of a session. Money is put inside the jar every time the lucky number is called or whenever the caller commits a mistake in announcing the game. The contents of the lucky jar is usually won only during regular games.
Main Stage Bingo – The main event of a Bingo session, and one that is most likely to attract a lot of players.
Minimum buy-in – This is the amount set to be the minimum entry fee. If the price of a card is less than that of the minimum entry fee, then you would have to buy several cards before you will be allowed to join the game.
Money Ball – This is a number that is drawn even before the game starts. If a Bingo is hit on this certain number, that player’s winnings will double.
Moonlight Bingo – This is a Bingo session that starts late in the evening, usually at around 10:00P.M.
Multiple Winners – This means that there are two or even more players that Bingo simultaneously. When this occurs, the cash prize is distributed equally among them. For example, if the cash prize is worth $800 and there are 2 winners, then they get $400 each.
On – A state wherein a player needs to mark off only one more number to get a Bingo.
On The Way – The kind of game played before playing the blackout game. These are preliminary games played on the same card and more numbers are called until a player gets a blackout.
Parti – A term that is short for participation Bingo, which is a kind of slot Bingo in which the cash prize is dependent upon the number of players.
Pattern – This is the specified shape that you need to cover on your card by marking off numbers. This is usually just a straight line, which can be vertical, horizontal, or diagonal.
Payout – This pertains to the percentage of sales given away by the Bingo halls as prizes.
Pod Top – The section that contains the mechanisms used during the game.
Postage Stamp Pattern – A pattern wherein you will have to match four numbers to form a postage stamp (2 x 2 grid) on any of the four corners of your card.
Progressive Jackpot – A kind of jackpot in which the prize gets bigger until it is won. This usually requires a separate buyin.
Rainbow Pack – A paper pack that lets players play for around 3 or 4 different prize denominations at the same time.
Registration – Also called sign-in, this is when you let the Bingo site know you’d like to play and you give them your personal information as well as what username you’d like to use, along with the password.
Replay Register– The unit that shows the player the amount of credits he has left.
RNG – This stands for Random Number Generator, which is the machine utilized for the picking of numbers for a Bingo game.
Session – A whole program of Bingo that consists of regular games commonly played using hard cards as well as special games played using flimsies, throwaways, or paper sheets. A session typically lasts from around two and a half hours to three hours and fifteen minutes.
Username – This is the name you put in the registration form, and the one you will be known by in chat rooms.
Special – A kind of game that is usually played using a different set of cards than the one bought at admission.
Split Pot – A type of Bingo game wherein the winner will share the sales of the game with the Bingo hall. For example, the winner may get 70 per cent of the sales and the Bingo hall will get the remaining 30 per cent.
Texas Blackout – Usually a preliminary game for a blackout. The pattern will depend upon the first number called. If the first number called is even, then you will have to mark off all even numbers on your card in order to win. After this game, a blackout (or coverall) game is usually done.
Warm Up – The first game in a session of Bingo. It can also be a game played before the start of a session.
Wrap Up – The last game in a session of Bingo.