Rules of Bingo

In general, bingo is a very easy game. The rules are… well, to be honest – there are not that many rules to the game of bingo. It is an easy, straight forward game. Whilst there are very few rules, the way the game is played depends on the specific variation you are playing. In each instance, the bingo caller (live) or the bingo room (online) will tell you how the game is won.

The overall premise of bingo is to mark off numbers as they are called. Whilst marking or daubing the numbers, your objective is to form the winning pattern, which is stated by either the caller or the bingo rule rules. Below are the most common types of bingo games, along with the general guidelines on how to play.

90 Ball Bingo

When playing 90 Ball Bingo the ultimate goal is to mark off all of your numbers before anyone else does, which is what is known as getting a Full House. Before that happens though there will usually be a game where the winner is the first person to get all of their numbers on one line marked off, and more often that not this is followed by a game where the winner is the first player to get two lines marked off on the same card. These both will get you a prize, although not as high of course as the full house prize.

Tickets to play in a 90 Ball game can usually sold as a strip of 6 cards. Each card is divided into 9 columns and 3 rows, so there are 27 squares altogether but only 15 of these have numbers on, 5 in each row. As you’re playing the 90 ball game of bingo it is made easier by the fact that the numbers are organized into columns, so the first one will have numbers 1-9, the second will have 10-19, the third numbers 20-29 and so on. On each strip of 6 each number will only be found once, which saves some time as once you have found and marked off the number you don’t need to keep searching for it, unlike 75 Ball Bingo where the same number can appear more than once. If you are playing though just one single card there is a one in six chance that any number called will be on your card.

90 Ball Bingo is a fun game to play. The numbers do get called at a steady rate though, so do make sure you pay attention, and if you miss out on a line it may just be as there’s a full house waiting for you when you play 90 ball bingo now!

30 Ball Bingo

30 Ball Bingo is also called speed bingo, and as the name suggests it is a faster version of the usual bingo game, both 75 Ball and 90 Ball. In Speed Bingo there are 30 balls, and the bingo game is played on a grid which has 3 columns and 3 rows, so there are just 9 squares altogether and no free spaces.

It is very different from the more commonly played versions of the game due to the fact far fewer numbers are called and the grid is so much smaller. The object of the game is to get your 9 numbers, and call Full House before any one else does. Unlike 75 Ball Bingo there are no patterns, and unlike 90 Ball Bingo there is no prize for the first line and the first two lines – the fewer numbers meaning there is no possibility of variations. However there are a couple of operators who have decided to offer a prize for 1TG (one number to go), so in future years it is entirely possible that other varieties of the game may be introduced.

As the game is played in a very short time this means that more games can be played in the time usually taken for a 90 or 75 Ball Game, and therefore there are more winners. By the same token though as you are playing more games you have to pay for more games. To balance this out though the increasing popularity of the game has led to higher jackpots, which in turn is attracting more players and further increasing the prize money at stake.

Although a relatively new addition to the online bingo world it is proving popular with players due to its fast pace. People with limited time can easily enjoy a game, and it also appeals to those who prefer to play several short games rather than one longer one. It can take players a while to adapt to this type of game, so be sure to concentrate when you’re playing 30 Ball Bingo or the speed may take you by surprise.

75 Ball Bingo

When you play 75 Ball Bingo it is not just a number called but also a letter which precedes the number. This is because the bingo card is made up of a grid, 5 squares long and 5 squares down, although the square right in the middle is a free space and so has no number on it. Along the top of the bingo card’s grid are the letters B, I, N, G and O, so when you play the game you will hear the caller say both the letter which heads the column, followed by the number. Each column covers 15 numbers, so the column under B has numbers 1-15, under I you will look for numbers 16-30, N covers 31-45, G covers 46-60 and finally O covers 61-75. Therefore you will hear the caller announce G52, O70 and so on. If the free square is part of the pattern you are playing for it will be marked off automatically, so at least that it is one number less to need – although as this is true for every player this doesn’t give any advantage unfortunately.

If you choose to play several 75 ball bingo tickets, which most players tend to do, you will notice that the same number can be found on several cards, unlike the 90 Ball version where on a strip of tickets, made up of 6 cards, a number will only ever be found once. Because of this the 75 ball game is called at a slower pace, as they have to allow some time for players to search through all of their cards for any duplicate numbers. This may be a bit frustrating at the beginning, especially if you are only playing one card, but you will soon get used to it.

If you are playing 75 Ball Bingo and there is a cover-all game you will feel right at home, as this is the same as playing for a full house on the 90 Ball game, and you must mark off every number to win when you play 75 ball bingo games.