Bingo Tutorial

How the Game is Played - Quick Tutorial

You buy a bingo card (or many) with numbers printed on it.
Numbered balls are selected out of a machine and called out.
You cross off the number that was called out if it is on your card.
The first person who crosses off a predetermined pattern this way shouts "Bingo" and wins.

Buying in

After arriving at the bingo hall, your first step is buying your bingo cards (or a book of cards) at the sales counter. Each book usually contains of five to eight colored bingo tickets, each color corresponding to a different game. Bingo cards are usually the throwaway type but you may find the hard cards a well.

The Cards

In the US, each bingo card is laid out with a grid of five columns and five rows preprinted with 24 random numbers out of a total of 75 possible numbers used in the game. The word "Bingo" is printed across the top of card with each letter of the word at the top of each column. The numbers in the B column are between 1 and 15, the I column between 16 and 30, the N column (containing four numbers and the free space) between 31 and 45, the G column between 46 and 60, and the O column between 61 and 75. There is also a free space in the middle space on the card.

The Drawing

There are 75 bingo balls used, each printed with one of the letter/number combinations. They are encased in either a cage or a glass blower where they can be mixed around to ensure that each pick is random. Some modern bingo games may use a computerized random number generator to pick a bingo number. After a ball is selected, its number is announced by the bingo caller and displayed on an electronic board for all of the players to see. When a bingo number is called out, the letter is called out first, followed by the number. For example, "G-55". In other countries they may use a different number of numbers on the card as well as total numbers used.

Patterns

The bingo caller will announce the selected pattern for each bingo game before it starts. There are many different patterns used in bingo games, the most basic being a straight line in any direction: vertical, horizontal or diagonal. Other patterns include the four corners of the bingo card, or shapes such as the letter E. A coverall is a pattern where all of the numbers on the bingo card have to be covered.

This process of selecting and calling balls is repeated until one the players cover the selected pattern for that game and shout out, "Bingo!" A floor person then is responsible for verifying that the winner's pattern is correct and that the numbers covered on the bingo card match the numbers that have been called. If the numbers match, then the game is over and the winner is paid the prize. If more than one player has won, the prize money is split up into equal parts.

Online Bingo

When playing online bingo at sites, your bingo cards are randomly selected for you and some sites automatically mark the numbers on your card for you.