How to Play Bingo

After you have purchased your bingo cards, watch as the game proceeds. In the meanwhile, you can chat with fellow players. Mainly there are two types of bingo played around the world – 75 ball bingo and 90 ball bingo. While 75 ball bingo is popular in North America, 90 ball bingo is largely concentrated in UK, Australia, parts of Europe and India.

Thus, before choosing which game to play, make sure that you understand the basic structure of different bingo cards. On a 75 ball bingo card, 24 random numbers, between 1 and 75, are arranged in a 5x5 square grid card, with center square marked free. The letters B, I, N, G and O are printed on the top of the card indicating five columns. When the game starts numbers like B 11, N 37 etc. are drawn out at random. The game continues, until any one player completes the pattern and yells bingo.

Bingo is an easy game to learn. Of all the online games available, bingo rules are perhaps the easiest to understand. If you choose to play bingo online, the rules are usually the same barring a few. It takes no logic to win bingo. Bingo is purely a game of chance guided by certain simple dictates. Although, bingo rules vary depending on the place and type of game, but the guidelines remain pretty much the same.

Bingo cards are the most vital component of bingo. There are two types of bingo cards depending on the number of balls being used in a game – a card for 75 ball bingo and a card for 90 ball bingo.

75-ball bingo uses a 5x5 grid card bearing 24 random numbers, ranging from 1 to 75 with center square marked free. The five columns on the card correspond to the five letters B-I-N-G-O of bingo. Also known as 'pattern' bingo, 75 ball bingo offers an exciting variety of patterns ranging from letters of the alphabet, numerals to basic shapes or linear patterns. Each game has one winning pattern, which is announced before the game begins.

Online Bingo Basics

As compared to casino games, bingo is relatively easier to play. It is one game that requires very little skill or strategy to win. Bingo is usually a game of chance, admired by old and young alike. So, don’t be surprised if you see children playing games at birthday parties. Bingo is a game that knows no bounds.

No matter if you are playing bingo in a brick and mortar bingo hall or online, bingo games offer absolute fun to players. Imagine sitting in a bingo hall, with players attempting to match the numbers called with numbers on their bingo cards. While the beginners prefer to play with one or two cards at a time, you would find the most proficient bingo players managing 5 to 6 bingo cards per game.

A bingo card is the very essence of bingo and is usually made of a thin cardboard or paper. This square shaped card is arranged into 5 rows and 5 columns totaling to 25 squares in all. 24 of these squares carry one number each, except the centermost square which is usually marked free. Each column is headed by 5 letters of the term B, I, N, G and O. The B column carries number between 1 and 15, the I column between 16 and 30, the N column between 31 and 45, the G column between 46 and 60 and the O column between 61 and 75. Likewise, each column carries 5 numbers, except N, which bears 4 numbers plus a free space.

To win, you must cover numbers on your card that corresponds to a winning pattern. Typically, the winning patterns include any five numbers in a row, either horizontally, vertically or diagonally, besides 4 corners and the classic coverall. The more modern of the patterns may include a picture, a symbol, or may be an alphabet.