Bingo is a game of
chance where randomly-selected numbers are drawn and players match
those numbers to those appearing on 5x5 matrixes which are printed or
electronically represented and are known as "cards." The first person
to have a card where the drawn numbers form a specified pattern is the
winner and calls out "Bingo!" to alert others to the win. Bingo is a
game used for legalized gambling in some countries.
In New Zealand, Australia, and Britain, a very
similar game called housie is played, which differs only in ticket
layout and calling.
Description of the game
Each bingo player is given a card marked with a
grid containing a unique combination of numbers and, in some countries,
blank spaces. The winning pattern to be formed on the card is
announced. On each turn, a non-player known as the caller
randomly selects a numbered ball from a container and announces the
number to all the players. The ball is then set aside so that it cannot
be chosen again. Each player searches his card for the called number,
and if he finds it, marks it. The element of skill in the game is the
ability to search one's card for the called number in the short time
before the next number is called.
The caller continues to select and announce
numbers until the first player forms the agreed pattern (one line, two
lines, full house) on their card and shouts out the name of the pattern
or bingo. One of the most common patterns, called
full card, blackout
and cover-all simply consists of marking all the
numbers on the card. Other common Canadian and American patterns are
single line, two lines, centre cross, L, Y, inner square (4 ×
4), roving square (3 × 3), and roving kite (a 3 × 3
diamond). On Canadian and American cards lines can be made
horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Inner and roving squares and
kites must be completely filled; roving squares and kites may be made
anywhere on the card.
Bingo Cards
Canadian and American bingo cards are 5
× 5 grids of numbers only; dual daub, dual
dab, or "double-action" cards have two numbers in each
square. Each space in the grid contains a number, except for the centre
square, which is considered filled. The highest number used is 75. The
columns are headed with the letters of the word BINGO, and the letter
is called with the number — for example, B-10, I-25, N-40,
G-55, O-70. Numbers 1 to 15 are assigned to the B
column, 16 to 30 to the I column, 31 to 45 to the
N column, 46 to 60 to the G
column, and 61 to 75 to the O column.
Each card has a unique serial number to permit
quick verification by computer.
Culture
Canadian and American games often have multiple
bingos — for example, the players may first play for a single
line, then after that is called continue playing for a full card, then
for a consolation full card.
In Canadian and American Halls, players often play
multiple cards for each game; thirty is not an unusual number. Because
of the large numbers of cards played by each player, most Canadian and
American halls have the players sit at tables to which they often
fasten their cards with adhesive tape. To mark cards faster the players
usually use special markers called dabbers. At
commercial halls, after calling the number the caller then displays the
next number on a television monitor; bingo cannot be called until that
number is called aloud, however. The numbers already called and the
patterns being played are also displayed on electric signs.
In American primary schools, bingo is used to
teach students. The numbers are replaced with letters, pictures, words
or symbols that represent important concepts.
History
Bingo can be traced back to a game called Lotto,
played in Italy in 1530. The bingo name comes from a corruption of the
name Beano, the name of a form of bingo played in the United States in
the 1920s. Beano was so called because beans were used to cover the
numbers.
The business of bingo
In the US, the game is primarily staged by
churches or charity organizations. Their legality and stakes vary by
state regulation. In some states, bingo halls are rented out to
sponsoring organizations, and such halls often run games almost every
day. Church-run games, however, are normally weekly affairs held on the
church premises. These games are usually played for modest stakes,
although the final game of a session is frequently a coverall
game that offers a larger jackpot prize for winning within a certain
quantity of numbers called; a progressive jackpot
may increase per session until it is won.
Commercial bingo games in the US are primarily
offered by casinos (and then only in the state of Nevada), and by
Native American bingo halls. In Nevada, bingo is usually offered only
by casinos that cater to local gamblers, and not the famous tourist
resorts. They will usually offer several two-hour sessions daily, with
relatively modest stakes except for coverall jackpots. Station Casinos,
a chain of locals-oriented casinos in Las Vegas, offers a special game
each session that ties all of its properties together with a large
progressive jackpot. Native American games are typically offered for
only one or two sessions a day, and are often played for higher stakes
than charity games in order to draw players from distant places. Some
also offer a special progressive jackpot game that may tie together
players from multiple bingo halls.
As well as bingo played "in house", the larger
commercial operators play some games linked by telephone across
several, perhaps dozens, of their clubs. This increases the prize
money, but greatly reduces the chance of winning due to the much
greater number of players.
Caller slang (UK Housie)
Although these numbers are amusing and each has
its own story, most professional bingo halls do not use them. If a
caller were busy saying "two little ducks", and the number 22 has not
yet been said, it is therefore not deemed "called". In an instance
where a player may have missed his or her number, and a player is
waiting for 22, both players would have valid argument that their
number was "called".
There are traditional calls for the numbers. For
example:
| Number |
Slang Expression <X> |
| 1 |
Kelly's Eye / On it's Own |
| 5 |
Man Alive |
| 7 |
Lucky for Some |
| 8 |
One Fat Lady / The Garden Gate |
| 9 |
Doctor's Orders |
| 10 |
(current PM)'s Den |
| 11 |
(Chicken) Legs OR Legs Eleven |
| 13 |
Unlucky for Some OR Lucky for Some |
| 16 |
Sweet Sixteen |
| 21 |
Key of the Door |
| 22 |
Two Little Ducks |
| 23 |
Thee and Me |
| 24 |
Two Dozen |
| 30 |
Dirty Gertie |
| 37 |
More Than Eleven |
| 44 |
Droopy Drawers / All the fours |
| 45 |
Halfway There |
| 50 |
Bulls eye / Blind 50 |
| 51 |
Tweak of the Thumb |
| 55 |
Snakes Alive / All the Fives |
| 57 |
Heinz Varieties |
| 59 |
Brighton Line |
| 64 |
Red Raw |
| 66 |
Clickety-Click |
| 71 |
Bang on the Drum |
| 76 |
7 and 6 - Was she worth it? OR Trombones |
| 79 |
One More Time |
| 81 |
Stop and Run |
| 86 |
Between the Sticks |
| 88 |
Two Fat Ladies |
| 90 |
Top of the Shop |
Trivia
- An average British game of bingo takes between
four and four and a half minutes.
- The average speed of a British bingo caller is
23 numbers per minute.
- The average time to check a winning claim is 30
seconds.
- There is a UK Caller of the Year Competition in
which bingo callers compete for a cash prize and the chance to call the
numbers in Las Vegas, as well as to become the bingo 'ambassador' for
Britain.
