What Are Basic Bingo Rules

Playing bingo is really easy once you know the basic rules. Bingo cards are numbered from 1 to 75 or 1-90. Traditionally, a 90 ball bingo uses 90 balls, the card has 3 rows and on each row there are 9 columns and four blank spaces. The first column is numbered 1 to 10, second 11-20, third 21 to 30, until the ninth column. A 75 ball bingo card uses 75 balls and has a 5x5 grid, with 5 rows and 5 columns.



Each square on the grid has a number on it, whereas the central square is a free square, meaning it is already considered as marked. Column B is numbered from 1 to 15, column G 46 to 60, column N 31 to 45, column I 16 to 30 and column O 61 to 75. Players can also play online bingo as there are many online bingo sites holding free online bingo tournaments.



Players buy bingo cards featuring three lines with five numbers on each line. The game begins when the bingo caller calls out randomly selected numbers. The caller calls out the numbers in digits and then the number for example, if the number selected is 14, it is called out as, 1 and 4- 14. Once the numbers are announced, players check their tickets to see if the number that has been called is on their ticket or not.



If it is then players mark that number with their dauber, a marker pen. To win the game, players must completely mark off their bingo card in a winning pattern. The pattern may be vertical, horizontal, diagonal or any symbol, letter or digit. All players have an equal and fair chance of winning since each card is unique.



In a 90 ball bingo there are three prizes, the top prize is given to the first player who marks off all the numbers, also known as a full house. Second prize is given to the first player who marks two lines of numbers, and the third prize is given to the first player who marks one line of numbers. Players usually shout out "Bingo!" or "House!" to indicate they have marked off their bingo card. In a 75 ball bingo there is just one prize which is awarded to the first player who marks off the squares in a winning pattern. In the UK, there are many bingo halls that are listed on SearchMe4, the UK’s leading online business directory.



For more information on Bingo Halls, visit our business directory.