What is Bingo -



Bingo is a type of gambling game, widely popular in the United Kingdom. It was first known as HouseyHousey in this country. In India, Australia and New Zealand, though, the spelling was slightly different: Housie. It is basic a game where players have to mark off, on a ticket or a card, numbers being called out on a random basis. The goal is to achieve a combination of things, lined up across the piece of paper electronic card. The winner is the player who completes at least one of that lines first, usually shouting: “Bingo!”

A bingo card/ticket can vary a lot, according to its purpose. The most popular type is the numbered ticket, with a grid of 9 columns and only 3 rows, totalling 90 numbers. That is the one used in UK, Australia, in most European countries and parts of South America, for instance. In America, the bingo card has a grid of 5 columns and 5 rows, with 75 numbers only. In other versions, the numbers are replaced by pictures, symbols or letters. It is usually used in bingo games for babies, toddlers and kids as a learning aid.

The game can be played in several ways and online bingo is now proving popular. A popular way of playing is for charity, usually held in a church hall, clubs, amongst others. A neutral party calls out the numbers that the players are going to mark off their tickets, besides validating cards. It has to be a person who can address an audience with confidence. Most of the time, the caller has often to be acquainted with the traditional nicknames for the numbers. The humorous way some numbers are called out has a higher purpose: they have to be heard clearly by the players, otherwise they can get the wrong marks.

Another important aspect of this game is the way one can win. There are basically three different combinations to win the prize offered at the beginning of each round. The players should complete either a whole horizontal line of five numbers or two lines on the same card. But sometimes, the game can go on until someone gets to mark off all the numbers on their ticket, making a Full House.