The world first noticed Bingo in the year1530, in Italy. It started there as, the Italian National Lottery by the name ‘Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia’ after Italy was unified in that year. In the late 18th century, the French played it with a deck of Playing cards, by arranging them in piles, of three parallel and nine perpendicular rows. Later, it came to they used it as a teaching tool for the children, for teaching them multiplication tables, spellings and other educational topics. The present form of Bingo comes directly from its Italian ancestor. The word Bingo is derived from ‘Beano’ another variant of Bingo, which Americans played in the US, in early 16th century. Beano got its name from Beans, which they used to play a similar game.
How do we play bingo?
In the game of Bingo, the players pick up printed cards, with some numbers on them. Another person, generally called the master of the house, draws numbers at random and he or she calls them out. The first person among the players, to get a predefined arrangement of numbers on his cards, calls out ‘Bingo’, to inform others about the end of game and is the winner. You can play Bingo in two different ways: - Straight Bingo and Point Bingo. Both the games contain a set of printed cards with differently arranged numbers, a checking card or table and number pieces or cards for numbers 1 to 90.
What is the objective of Bingo?
The aim of straight Bingo is to complete or strike off any five numbers on the card, in any direction, i.e. - straight, upright or crossways, as the master calls them. Point Bingo, on the other hand, although played by the same method, differs in its objective. The winner of Point Bingo is according to his points or score. At the end of each round, the winner is the person who first completes five numbers on his card in any of the above-mentioned directions. He earns the points, which equals the sum of numbers. The aim of point bingo is to earn one thousand points in all. Different clubs and organizations may alter their point system according to their rules. There are some special patterns, which earn bonus points also.
How big or small are the stakes in a game of bingo?
The stakes in bingo usually depend on the directives of the government and thus, vary from place to place. Churches however, keep it as a weekly activity and at much smaller stakes. At the clubs, the players usually play the game for cash and the stakes are high. They have several rounds of the game, at a small bet, followed by a bonus or Jackpot round. The coordinator earns huge profits on it. A network of clubs can also have telephone related Bingo, where a huge number of people get to take part in a single game. Bingo is a game of chance, but with a little expertise in selection of your card, you may well be able to beat the odds to win.
Hello, I am Coleen Brown. I am a freelance writer and web designer. I have published number of articles in many ezines and article sites. I have written on UK bingo and bingo games. I have also written on party bingo and online bingo UK.
