Bingo really is a fascinating game, is it not? Many people forget that bingo actually has its roots all the way back in the 16th century, with an Italian game called Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia that resembled something in between a modern day lottery and bingo. After this the game moved to France under the name of “Le Lotto”, and from here it quickly entered Germany, where the population used it not for gambling, but education instead. Surely now you can see exactly why bingo is often called multi-faceted?
And here’s the thing: because of the fact that bingo’s evolution took such a winding and complex path it has also resulted in a fair few different bingo variations. In fact, believe it or not, but a universally standardised version of bingo only appeared at the beginning of the 20th century, when an entrepreneurial US businessman called Erwin S. Lowe came up with the idea of a universal set of scorecards. Regardless, keep reading to learn rules of bingo and all of the best bingo variations.
90 ball bingo
Out of all the different bingo variations currently available, 90 ball bingo is probably the most popular, in the UK at least. As you will probably be able to guess from the name, 90 ball bingo is played with 90 different bingo balls in the bingo wheel, and contestants have scorecards with 15 numbers organised with 5 in each column across 3 rows.
Unlike a few other bingo variations, with 90 ball bingo what you need to win is actually quite simple; either one complete row of numbers, two complete rows of numbers, or all of them. Just be aware that the ultimate bingo prize during 90 ball bingo is reserved for whoever completes all of their numbers first, with smaller prizes going to the contestants who complete other rows first.
75 ball bingo
Bingo is a truly worldwide game, and this means that different varieties will be played more in some places than others. Let’s take 75 ball bingo, for example, something that is insanely popular across the USA and Canada, but isn’t quite as well played in the UK. Again, most people will be able to gather from the name that 75 ball bingo is played with, you guessed it, 75 different balls in the bingo wheel.
This means that 75 ball bingo is typically a slightly quicker game than 90 ball bingo, however not by much. There is also a difference in the bingo tickets too; unlike 90 ball bingo a 75 ball bingo ticket comes in a 5×5 grid lay out, and each one of the squares is filled by a number. In order to win there are a variety of patterns that bingo players can make with their numbers, and these often differ from game to game.
30 ball bingo
If you really fancy a super express game of bingo then 30 ball bingo is definitely the one for you. The bingo cards here are very small, with just a 3×3 grid being used.
