how to play bingo

How To Play 90 Ball, 80 Ball and 75 Ball Bingo Games!

Bingo games are broadly divided into three categories – 90 ball, 80 ball and 75 ball bingo. But you can also play newbie bingo, speed bingo and progressive bingo, with lots of themes and styles. Whilst they all follow the same basic principles, there are some differences between the bingo games that it may be helpful to know before you play. So we have created this guide to help you better understand the different basic bingo games.

How To Play 90 Ball Bingo

If you are new to online bingo then it might be best to start with 90 Ball Bingo because it is very similar to the Bingo Hall games. Plus this is the most likely game you will see if you are playing online in the U.K. Like all the other bingo games, you start by purchasing your tickets, then mark off the numbers when they’re called.

There are 15 numbers on each 90 ball bingo ticket. The numbers are arranged in a 9 x 3 grid. Numbers 1 – 9 can be found on the first column, numbers 10 – 19 are found on the second column and so on, with numbers 81 – 90 appearing in the fifth column.
Numbers 1 – 90 will be called at random and there are three opportunities to win in 90 ball bingo:
1 line win where players try to cover off a complete horizontal line on their card.
2 lines win where players go for two horizontal lines. These don’t have to be on the same tickets where 1 line was crossed off, but they have to be on the same ticket as each other.
Full house win where players aim to mark off all the numbers on their ticket.

Each line is a chance to win and the prizes usually get bigger the more lines you have. Eventually, someone will get a full card, called a ” full house” and the game will end.

When the game starts, an automated random number generator delivers the numbers one at a time and you will see the numbers marked off your card automatically too. The tickets will usually shuffle themselves during the game so your best ticket (the one closest to a win) is at the top. The tickets will also usually show how many numbers you have to go until you can win.

How To Play 80 Ball Bingo

80 Ball Bingo is a relative newcomer to the bingo games but is becoming more and more popular. The games are played with a ticket that has 16 numbers arranged into a 4×4 grid. Each column is a different colour and there are many ways to win: Line wins where players can win by marking off horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines. Pattern wins where players can win by making patterns. You’ll find out which patterns you need to make before the game starts.

How To Play 75 Ball Bingo

While it’s still more popular in the US than the UK, a lot of New Bingo Sites offer at least one or two variations of 75 Ball Bingo. Just like in 90 ball bingo, players cross off the numbers on their ticket(s) as they are called. Each 75 ball bingo ticket has five horizontal lines and five columns. Each column is headed by a letter spelling BINGO.

The ‘B’ column has numbers 1 -15, the ‘I’ column has numbers 16 -30 and so on. There is a space right in the centre of the card that is free. This has no number on it and is counted as already being covered. There are a number of ways to win 75 ball bingo: Coverall where players try to cover all 24 numbers on their card. Line wins where players can win by covering a complete horizontal, vertical or diagonal line. Bingo pattern wins where a pattern or shape is declared at the start of the game and players are aiming to cover their numbers to make this pattern on the card. There are lots of different pattern wins available including crosses, chevrons, diamonds and even sailboats, the sun and dog bones!

Other Bingo Variants

While there are three main variants of bingo, you may also come across other bingo types when you play online, or when claiming a No Deposit Bingo Bonus. So if you are looking for something a little different, they may be worth a try. These include :

30 Ball bingo which is relatively new to the online bingo scene. You have nine squares, laid out in a 3 x 3 format and no blank spaces. Because there are so few numbers, 30 ball bingo is a quick game, which may appeal to you if don’t have a lot of spare time. It’s also great if you’re completely new to bingo and just want to try out the game without committing to one of the full-length games.

Progressive Bingo which is played like standard bingo and keeps going until someone gets a full house. With progressive bingo, however, there is a much bigger ‘progressive jackpot’ to be won for calling in a pre-set limited number of balls drawn. If nobody wins within that number of calls the game carries on and the jackpot is rolled over to the next game. This continues and the jackpot keeps on building up until eventually one lucky player wins within the designated number of calls and the jackpot reset to its base amount. The downside of this type of bingo, however, is that it’s much harder to win.

In summary:

With lots of different bingo games and bingo sites on offer, you have lots of options to choose from. While they might look different, most bingo games are based on one of the three main types and the gameplay will be similar so once you understand the basics you can enjoy all the variety that online bingo has to offer.