How to play Bingo

What bingo is

Bingo is a game of chance played on printed cards of numbers. A caller draws numbered balls one at a time and reads each one out; every player marks, or daubs, that number if it is on a card. The first player to complete the shape asked for in the round, a pattern, shouts "Bingo!" and wins it. The skill is in watching your cards and never missing a number.

Playing bingo on AllFun

AllFun Bingo is 75-ball bingo played for fun, with no money and nothing to bet. Choose 1 to 4 cards and tap Eyes down. Callie, the caller, draws the balls at a Relaxed, Normal or Fast pace, a new number every 4.6, 3.4 or 2.3 seconds. Tap a called number to daub it, or turn on Auto-daub.

A room of computer players daubs along with you, and a round ends when its bingos run out, usually three, two in a blackout round. Each won round gives up to three stars, and stars open four rooms of nine rounds each: Sunny Hall, Seaside Pier, Garden Party and Starlit Rooftop. Daily Bingo gives everyone the same calls, cards and pattern once a day. More games like it are on our board games page.

The rules

The 75-ball card

A card has five columns under the letters B, I, N, G and O. Each column draws from its own fifteen numbers: B 1 to 15, I 16 to 30, N 31 to 45, G 46 to 60 and O 61 to 75. The centre square is free and counts as daubed from the start, so the N column has only four numbers. A caller says "B 7" or "O 64" so you know which column to check. With five numbers in four columns and four in the middle, there are more than 550 septillion different cards.

Calling and daubing

Each ball is called once and never goes back. You may daub only called numbers. You can play several cards at once, but each one is more to watch.

Patterns

Every round names its pattern before the first call. The common ones:

• Any line: five in a row across, down or corner to corner, the free square included.
• Four corners: the four corner squares only.
• Shapes: the letter X, a plus sign, letters such as T, L, H and U, a postage stamp of four in a corner, a diamond, the picture frame of all sixteen edge squares, or two lines.
• Blackout, also called coverall: every square on the card.

Claiming a bingo

Shout as soon as the pattern is complete, before the next ball. The caller checks your numbers; a wrong claim is a false bingo and play goes on. On AllFun a false BINGO! costs no coins, but the button rests for three calls. Two players who complete the pattern on the same ball usually share the prize.

90-ball bingo

The other common version uses tickets of three rows and nine columns. Each row holds five numbers, fifteen to a ticket, from 1 to 90, and a game is played in three stages: one line, two lines, then a full house. Callers often give numbers rhyming nicknames, such as "legs eleven" for 11.

Five bingo tips

1. Read the letter first. The letter sends your eyes to one column, so you check five squares on each card, not twenty-five.
2. Add cards slowly. Start with one or two, and add more once you stop missing numbers.
3. Know how long a pattern takes. On a single card a blackout needs, on average, about 73 of the 75 calls, and even four corners about 61. Lines come much sooner.
4. Watch the nearest shape. AllFun lights the squares of the closest shape softly; on several cards, follow the one that needs the fewest numbers.
5. Shout at once. The room's bingos are limited, so a second's wait can cost the round.

Bingo FAQ