How to play Bingo

It is very easy getting started with Bingo and have in mind that many online Bingo rooms look almost identical. Some bingo rooms are, in fact, identical, because they are using the same bingo software, in different, individual setups. Apart from that, the bingo rules themselves are very simple.

Below, you will find a brief summary of bingo rules. We will assume that we are dealing with an ordinary bingo game, with 75 balls/numbers (you will also find games with 90 balls/numbers, but the rules remain the same, so we do not need to go into further details).

If the number that is drawn matches a number on the bingo card(s) that you have purchased, you cross of that number on your card(s). In online bingo, you do not have to worry about the crossing off, since it is done automatically (if you want it to). Whenever a certain pattern is completed in your bingo card, you win. The following patters count as winning criteria:

- A horizontal row
- A vertical column.
- A diagonal row.
- Other patterns (these rarely occur)

Your chances of winning depend entirely upon how many cards you have purchased, and upon the number of participants in the game.

The number of bingo cards held by each individual player depends entirely on how many cards the individual player has chosen to purchase, prior to the beginning of the game. At each bingo card, you will find 5 horizontal rows, and 5 vertical columns. From left to right, the columns have been labeled with the letters `B´, `I´, `N´, `G´ and `O´. With one exception, all squares of the bingo card have a number. The square in the middle of the card is blank. The numbers are distributed in the following way:

All squares in column B contain the numbers 1-15
All squares in column I contain the numbers 16 - 30
All squares in column N contain the numbers 31 - 45
All squares in column G contain the numbers 46 - 60
All squares in column O contains the numbers 61 - 75

Each number can only appear once at the same bingo card.

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An Italian lottery started it

When Italy was unified in 1530, the lottery known as Lo Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia was born.

This weekly lottery has been held virtually every Saturday since its inception.

By 1778 word of this game had spread to France and captured the fancy of the intelligentsia. It was during this period that the popular version of the lottery was born.

Cards were divided into three horizontal rows and nine vertical columns.

Each horizontal row contained a total of nine squares - five with numbers and four blank squares - arranged randomly in the row.

The vertical columns contained ten numbers each:

• column one contained the numbers 1 - 10
• column two contained 11 - 20
• column three contained 21 - 30 and so on
• until the ninth column, which contained the numbers 81 - 90.

Wooden chips with the numbers 1 - 90 were placed in a bag and drawn out one at a time.

Each player had a unique lotto card and if the number called was on their card they marked it off.

The first person to completely cover a horizontal row was the winner.

In the 1800s the popularity of lottery games spread throughout Europe. Education variations were created to aid children in learning their multiplication tables, spelling and even history.