Bingo is bingo, right?
Well, actually, there have been quite a few different versions of the game over the years and this includes huge variations between UK and US bingo.
These are two countries where there are millions of people who enjoy playing bingo as part of their leisure activities, and in some areas and target audiences, it is even a big part of the culture. So what are some of the differences?
The main thing is that you can play the two games with different amounts of numbers on your card. If you were to look at a UK bingo and a US bingo card you would see some quite distinct differences between them.
Interestingly, one of the differences is the popularity and the place within the culture. In the UK, there have been a lot of large venues where people can go with friends and play bingo. “Bingo halls” have been a part of the culture for many decades.
The game itself is thought to have come over from Italy, where it started in the 1500s. It is a form of lottery, or at least this is the way it was seen by the Italians, and then it spread to France and eventually across the channel to the UK.
The game has had a lot of variations over the years but the main one that we all know now is the fact that US bingo and UK bingo are played with a different number of balls.
90-Ball Bingo
This is the main variety of the game that you will see in the UK. The game has 27 spaces on the tickets or cards, and each of those are arranged into nine columns by three rows. The rows contain five numbers each (this means four spaces too).
Each of the columns from left to right contains three numbers, which cover a 10-digit space. 1-9, 10-29, etc.
The tickets are commonly known as strips if you buy them within a bingo hall or even when playing online bingo. A strip gives you six tickets, which covers every number in the 1-90 sequence.
Of course, that doesn’t mean that having every number is a guarantee of any sort of win. It is a lottery, and the fact that each of the tickets has a random collection of numbers between one and 90 means that you will need a fair bit of luck if you are going to be the holder of the winning ticket.
The prizes for the game aren’t just for the full house, there are usually prizes for one line across or two lines across. If you are playing in person then the real skill is being able to mark your cards properly as the numbers are called, and not miss anything.
75-Ball Bingo
In the US, 75-ball bingo is preferred and this means that the whole game is actually a bit different from the UK version.
The way the cards look are definitely different, with 25 squares, with a free space in the middle. That means a card covers 24 numbers in total. There is a grid system, with columns titled B I N G and O (the letters of bingo) which can help players, especially beginners, to find their numbers.
In 90-ball bingo the cards are strips, which means that each strip is a different combination of the same numbers. This isn’t true for American bingo, so it is possible that you may not have a number at all and it is possible that you might have two. Though it sounds counter-intuitive, you may actually find the 75-ball game to be slower.
In American bingo, you can win based on different patterns that wouldn’t count as wins in 90-ball bingo. This means certain shapes such as diamonds, diagonals, and even four corners can be classed as a win. A “full house” is still the biggest win that you can get, meaning that you have matched all of your numbers on your card. This will usually represent a sort of “jackpot” win.
If you are going to play these games online, you may find that there are some variations put in place by the bingo companies. For instance, they may introduce different shapes that can provide wins for their users, such as an “arrow” shape. Some even include certain mini-games for a bit more fun and extra ways of winning.
Summary
As online bingo takes over from playing in person it is likely that more and more people are going to experience different variations of the game, but 75 and 90-ball bingo varieties are by far the most popular and have their links between UK and US bingo and venues where the games are played and enjoyed by so many.
Also Read: Games Global Making a Name for Itself in the iGaming Sector
