How to play Bingo

Bingo is a game of luck where numbers are randomly drawn and the players match these numbers to those printed on their cards. The first player to have a card where the marked numbers form a specified pattern wins and shouts "Bingo!" There are two different versions of the popular game, the British version which is played with 90 balls, and the American version with 75 balls.

90 Ball Bingo

Before the start of the game you purchase one or more strips of tickets.Each strip is a set of 6 tickets and all 90 numbers appear on any one strip.Each ticket consists of the 3 horizontal rows. Each of the 3 rows contains 4 blank boxes and 5 boxes with numbers, so that each ticket contains 15 numbers randomly selected from 1 to 90.Numbers 1 to 9 feature in the first column of the strip, the numbers 10 to 19 feature in the second column, and so on.When the game begins the Bingo caller shouts "Eyes down!" and numbers from 1 to 90 are selected randomly and are then announced by the Bingo caller.As a number is called, you mark it on your strip as soon as quickly as possible before the next number is announced.

In 90 Ball Bingo you have three chances to win:

1. One Line
At the first stage of the game you play for one line. This is won when a player marks all five numbers on any single horizontal row of the strip.

2. Two Lines
The game continues and the players will play now for two lines. You will win when you mark every number on any two of the three rows on a single ticket.

3. Full House
The final stage of a 90 Ball Bingo game is the full house. To win this, you need to be the first player to mark all 15 numbers a ticket. The prizes increases at each stage of the Bingo game and the winner of the Full House gets the biggest prize. When you are the first to complete One Line, Two Lines or the Full House you must shout "Bingo!" to claim your prize.

75 Ball Bingo

In 75 Ball Bingo, you use Bingo tickets featuring a 5 x 5 grid. Each square on the grid contains a number in the range of 1 to 75, although the central square often shows a 'Free Space'. The 'Free Space' counts to complete a line or pattern.

75 Ball Bingo is very similar to 90 Ball Bingo in that numbers are drawn at random and announced by a Bingo caller. Players check their tickets to see if the number appears on their card and mark it off.

There is just one prize in 75 Ball Bingo which is awarded to the first player who marks all of the squares that form a particular pattern on the card. These patterns include single lines across or down, diagonal lines, letters, numbers, blocks, squares etc.

The most popular pattern is the 'Coverall' or 'Blackout' pattern where all the squares on the card have to be marked off.

Progressive Jackpots

Progressive jackpots are sometimes available in both 90 Ball Bingo and 75 Ball Bingo games. Progressive jackpots increase in value and can reach very high levels before they are won.

In 90 Ball Bingo you can win a progressive jackpot by having a full house before a certain number of balls have been called.

In 75 Ball Bingo, to win a progressive jackpot you must cover all numbers on your card before a certain number of balls have been called.

How to play Bingo online

If you have ever played Bingo at a Bingo Hall, you'll notice that Online Bingo is basically the same game, the only difference is that you can play Online Bingo at any time of day or night, seven days a week and you can play at home or even at the office when your boss is not looking.

When you play old fashioned Bingo in a Bingo hall, you have to check your card and mark off the numbers. When you play Bingo online, your card is automatically checked for you if you want, and you don't even have to yell "Bingo!" when you have won the jackpot.

Bingo cards are usually priced from 10p to £1. Big prize jackpot games are more expensive.

Just like in a Bingo hall, you have to register on a Bingo website to play Bingo online. At most online Bingo sites it is possible to play a few free bingo games before you start playing for money, so you can try it out without any financial risk.

If you want to play for money, you have to open an account with the Bingo website and deposit money into it to play.

Your winnings are credited to your account and you can withdraw them or use them to play again.

Many Online Bingo sites don't just offer cash prizes and you can win all sorts of special prizes from holidays to brand new cars. When you enter an online Bingo game room you will meet lots of other people who are also registered at that Bingo site and you can chat with them and make new friends while you play.