Bingo has always been a very popular game but today it is hugely popular. Bingo is played every day by millions of people and particularly so in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. There are some differences in the cards but apart from that the games are pretty much the same.
The main reason the game has become so massively popular is because of television and the internet. Once upon a time bingo games were played in church halls or community centers where local folk – usually retirees – would wander in every week and play their game of bingo. It was a fun activity and the player had a chance to chat to other folk and it all helped to pass the time of the day.
Games are still played that way and in those same old halls today but now you can play while watching TV or by clicking online and playing from home. And while the games are still played in clubs for the people in the room, often the numbers are chosen by computer. This is as opposed to the caller where a man or women selects each number, calls it for the player and then checks to see if the winner actually has the correct numbers.
But getting back to the US and UK cards for bingo and the differences between them, both cards are made of cardboard or paper and both have a series of boxes with a number in each box. But in the USA the word BINGO appears on the top of the card with five columns and five lines allowing for 25 numbers. These numbers go from 1 to 75 and, of course, each card is different.
In the UK there are three lines of numbers with nine to a line and the numbers range from 1 to 90. So the UK card has more boxes and a greater number of numbers to the version used in the USA.
But that’s about the only difference because the rules of the game apply equally around the world. You might need to have a single line of correct numbers to win or two correct lines of numbers or, for a really hard game, you may have to have a full house. This of course means your card has to have every number crossed or marked.
Prizes vary from next to nothing to large amounts of money. In the UK one prize was almost a million pounds or about two million dollars.
Of course now that the game has gone online and is on TV, the cards can cross international borders. Bingo America is a game via television where you visit a website to download the cards. The cost is nothing and the money from advertisers is given in part to selected charities. This means you can play bingo in the comfort of your own home and help worthwhile causes at the same time. What a great idea.
