Experience the thrills of good clean fun when you play
BINGO! Bingo is a game of chance,
consisting of 75 numbered balls being drawn randomly and announced. Players attempt to match the numbers called
to those listed on a 5x5 square card of numbers. The first person to match a specific pattern
on their bingo card is considered the winner of a prize! Bingo is extremely popular in the United States,
and can be enjoyed by people of all ages.
Bingo actually can be traced to a popular lottery game that
was once played in Spain in the 1500’s. The
game grew in popularity and by the 19th century had grown and spread
to France, who made improvements to include tokens, cards, and a caller to
announce the numbers as they were being drawn.
German culture used Bingo as an educational game to help school children
master language and math skills.
Modern Bingo
Edward Lowe commercialized Bingo play in the United States. While traveling in Atlanta in 1929, Lowe noticed the amount of
enthusiasm players showed while competing in a bingo-like Beano match at a
traveling carnival. Beano was similar
to bingo but used dried beans as markers.
Lowe was inspired enough to take the game of Beano back to New York state and begin
holding games similar to the ones he had seen.
It is believed that his friends helped him make history when, during the
play of the game the winner yelled out “Bingo!” as opposed to the customary
“Beano!” that signaled a win! And thus
the game of bingo as we know it today was born.
Where to Bingo-Go
While bingo games are commonly hosted be churches and
charity organizations, commercial bingo halls do exist. Often cash is offered as the prize for these
games. Many Native American reservations
run casinos and bingo halls for profit, as well.
If you decide to give bingo a try, there are some rules of
etiquette that one must follow. It is
considered very rude to carry on conversations or use a cell phone during the
play of a round of bingo. It is also
considered poor practice to make excess noise with the dauber, the ink marker
used to play on paper sheets. Many
seasoned bingo-goers play a large number of cards to increase their chances of
winning, and must have a quiet environment in which to concentrate.
Bingo halls are often listed in the phone book. Other ways to find the local bingo games for
your area include checking out church bulletins, newspaper announcements, and
sheer word of mouth. Grab your good luck
charm, a bingo dauber, and jump on in!
