[box] How to Play Bingo – 6 Easy Steps
• Get your bingo ticket.
• Get a line or a full house before anyone else:
• This could be a single line…
• Two lines…
• Or a full house!
• Collect your winnings…usually money.[/box]
One of the main reasons for the popularity of Bingo in the UK, alongside the fact that it is tons of fun, is the ease with which a person can learn the ropes and play it. Anyone can do it! OK, kids aren’t allowed into bingo halls, but if you’re of age then the chances are bingo will be a piece of cake to pick up. And who doesn’t like cake?
Here’s a quick rundown of the basic rules of 90-ball bingo, played regularly at our bingo clubs in Birmingham, Reading and Leigh, Greater Manchester.
Bingo Tickets
The first thing to get to grips with here is the bingo tickets. For the traditional dabbing experience, you will play a set of six tickets. The tickets will have all available numbers from 1 to 90, and it’s also worth noting that no numbers are repeated on any single set of bingo tickets.
You’ll find that the numbers are grouped together in columns from left to right. Singles, tens, twenties, thirties and so on. This makes it easier to mark off your numbers as they are called.
How to Win
The aim of the game is simple, get a line or a full house before anyone else. To do this, you need to mark off a number that appears on your ticket each time it is called.
A Line
Your first chance to win is to cross off an entire line of numbers on your ticket. On these types of games, this must be a line going across, rather than down or diagonally as in other types of bingo. If you manage to do this, be sure to call out. You’ve won some money! And you may be on your way to winning even more…
Two Lines
This one depends on where you’re playing. Some games do two-line wins, others don’t. If you’re in a two-line game, then it’s simply a repeat of the above process for a second line. The lines don’t need to be together, as long as they are both on the same ticket.
Once again – and I can’t stress this enough – be sure to find your voice if you cover two lines. Your winnings depend on it.
Full House
Now for the big one, and it’s pretty self-explanatory really. To get a full house, you must have all of your numbers called and crossed off your bingo ticket. If you are a skilled bingo player of Olympic proportions and you bag the full house, congratulations.
Don’t just shout, but scream BINGO, HOUSE or HERE and claim what is rightfully yours: anything from twenty quid to thousands of pounds.
Money
Everyone’s favourite bit, if they do indeed get to it. Collect your winnings and spend it on whatever you want. Here’s a tip; more bingo…
Not ready to play like a pro? Then grab an electronic tablet, sometimes called a Bingo Bee or TouchPad. They mark your tickets automatically and alert you when you have a winning combination. All you have to do is shout to claim your winnings. Perfect if you want to take the stress out of your first bingo visit.
Considering giving it a go? Now that you know how to play bingo, pop down to one of our bingo halls in Birmingham, Reading or Leigh and give it a try.
