Ultimate Guide To Bingo Rules

By Author: Patrick Smith
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There are two popular types of Bingo games; 75 ball Bingo and 90 ball Bingo. While they are similar in many ways, there are some distinct differences.
First we'll examine the rules for 75 ball Bingo. It is played on cards that are 5 x 5. At the top of each of the five columns is a letter; starting from the left B-I-N-G-O. Each letter has a corresponding range of numbers; B = 1-15, I = 16-30, N = 31-45, G = 46-60 and O = 61-75. Each column on the Bingo card will have five numbers that fall within the range of its letter. One important exception is the centre square under the N column, which has what is called a "free space". This is a box without a number that the player can mark off before any numbers are called and it counts the same as any other filled space.
The person running the game, or the "caller", randomly draws balls one at a time, calling first the letter then the number. When playing online Bingo at a site such as www.888ladies.com, a random number generator is used in place of a person drawing balls. The caller continues to draw balls and call numbers until someone achieves the desired pre-determined ...
... pattern on their card.
There are dozens (if not hundreds) of possible patterns that are used in 75 ball Bingo. Some of the more common ones are a "single line", which is when the called numbers on a card form a line of five consecutive squares either vertically or horizontally. Sometimes diagonal lines are acceptable as well. Other common patterns are letters of the alphabet. For instance an "X" would be the completion of both diagonal lines on a card which form the shape of the letter X. Other commonly used letters are L, T and N. Another common pattern which usually garners a big prize is the "coverall", achieved when a player marks every box on one card with all 24 called numbers.
90 ball Bingo is also moderated by a caller (or number generator online). The cards are comprised of grids which are 3 x 9. Each row of nine squares holds five numbers and four blank spaces. The first column will contain 1-3 numbers between 1and 10 and the second column will contain 1-3 numbers between 11and 20, and so on. Generally, 90 ball Bingo cards are bundled in groups of six cards called a "strip". One strip will contain all 90 numbers so that a match is made on each strip every time a number is called.
The patterns in 90 ball Bingo are more straightforward. There are three patterns that are played consecutively. The first pattern is "any one line" where the first person to fill a complete horizontal line with five called numbers is the winner. The second winning pattern is "any two lines" where the first person to complete any two horizontal lines on one card is the winner. The final pattern is called "full house" which is achieved when someone completes all three lines on any one card. To achieve a full house all 15 numbers on a given card must have been called.