Bingo 101

• New Year Newbies Contest At RedBus Bingo
• Bingo on TV
• Free Bingo
• Coverall Bingo Jackpots
• Facebook, Twitter & Bingo
• Making Friends Playing Bingo
• Online Bingo In The UK
• Bingo Slots & Side Games
• Online Bingo Glossary
• Online Bingo Introduction

Online Bingo Glossary

75-ball Bingo: A version of Bingo played worldwide but particularly popular in America that is played with 75 numbered balls in total.

90-ball Bingo: The traditional variation of Bingo played with a total of 90 numbered balls.

Admission: The eligibility factor that has to be met before a player can take part in a game of Bingo.

Admission Packet: A necessary number of strips or tickets that have to be purchased before a player can take part in a particular game of Bingo. Some games will require players to purchase between 3 and 6 sets of tickets although this can vary greatly from hall to hall.

After Game: An additional game or series of games that take place once a main session of bingo has finished.

Auto-Purchase: A popular feature used in online Bingo that automatically purchases tickets for a player in a successive series of games.

Ball Gate: The single-route flap on a ball-dispensing Bingo machine that allows numbered balls to enter the playing area.

Ball Lifter: A mechanical device that raises a Bingo ball from the ball gate and into the shooter tip.

Ball Runway: A channel or grooved pathway where Bingo balls are propelled into the main playing area.

Ball Shooter: A spring-loaded mechanical device that launches Bingo balls onto the ball runway.

Barrier: An area inside a Bingo hall that is sectioned off from other areas where coin-operated games or slot machines can be played.

Basket Bingo: A game of bingo where a prize in a basket is given instead of cash.

Beano: The original name for the game of Bingo that was used up until the 1930’s.

Bingo Bango Bongo: A golf game based on the format of Bingo where players receive points for reaching the green, landing nearest to the pin and putting the ball into the hole.

Bingo Board: A plastic or wooden board, usually with sliding flaps that cover pre-printed numbers. Commonly used in the Prize or Parti versions of the game.

Bingo Booklets: A series of alternately coloured Bingo cards bound together to make a book. These are usually assembled in a sequential order that follows the format of a Bingo session.

Bingo Card: A piece of card or paper usually consisting of 24 numbers filling 25 squared spaces with one free number in the middle of a standard 5x5 grid. Traditionally used in the 75 ball version of the game.

Bingo Marker: A specially designed felt-tipped pen with an oversized bal-shaped nib that is used for daubing numbers on a Bingo card.

Blackout or Coverall: A pattern on a 75 ball bingo card that requires every number has to be covered or daubed to win.

Blower: A mechanical device using forced air to randomly circulate Bingo balls before dispensing them into a ball gate.

Bonanza Bingo: A Bingo game that traditionally makes up the 13th game of a session. A progressive Jackpot can usually be won that is determined by the number of tickets sold for the game.

Book: A series of tickets bound together that make up one part of a Bingo session.

Break Open: A 2-ply piece of card with tear-open flaps which reveal numbers, letters or symbols. Winning tickets are pre-determined by having a winning combination printed on one piece of the 2-ply card.

Buzzword Bingo: A game of Bingo played in the traditional way but cards are printed with particular words or phrases that are covered as they get called out.

Caller: The person responsible for calling out numbers during a game of Bingo.

Card: The ticket or strip used for playing a game of Bingo.

Cash Ball: A progressive Jackpot game that sees the main prize won if a coverall is completed on a particular pre-determined number.

Cash In Prize: A cash prize awarded for winning a game of Bingo

Casino Night (Also Vegas Night): A special event where a qualified company or organisation provides casino games and entertainment at a venue on a strictly one-off basis

Chat Games: Fun games that take place in an online Bingo chat room where small prizes can be won.

Chat Master (CM): A person employed by an online Bingo web site company that provides entertainment in chat rooms and helps players with problems or queries.

Chat Room: A virtual room found at online Bingo sites where players ‘chat’ to each other by typing in messages.

Coin Door: A door that has to be opened in order to gain access to a box containing cash.

Colours: The individual colour of a sheet of numbers found inside a Bingo book.

Consolation Prize: A secondary prize given out in games where the main prize, such as a progressive Jackpot, has not been won.

Coverall: A pattern on a Bingo card where every number must be marked off in order to win.

Cut: The specific direction in which sheets of Bingo tickets are cut from the main printed sheet.

Early Bird Game: A game of Bingo that takes place before a main session begins.

Face: A Bingo card made of 25 numbers that is used in the 75 ball game.

Flimsy or Flimsies: A series of Bingo cards printed out on extremely thin pieces of paper.

Four Corners: A pattern on a Bingo card that requires all four numbered corners to be marked off in order to win a prize.

Free Space: The blank number in the middle of a 25 number Bingo card that is given to players for free.

Full House: Similar to a blackout or coverall where all 15 numbers on a 90 ball game of Bingo are covered.

Game Board: A large electronic display unit that shows players the pattern required to win a game. Game boards may also display the numbers that have already been called out during a particular game.

Game Room: An individual room where bingo is played that makes up part of an online bingo web site.

G.T.I.: A device that electronically marks off numbers on Bingo cards in large quantities. Only one G.T.I. device can be used per player.

Hard Ball: The very first number to be called out during a Bingo session.

Hard Card: A plastic or wooden card with shutters that are slid across pre-printed numbers as they are called out.

Hardway Bingo: A game of bingo where an entire line must be covered without using the free space.

House: An abbreviation of a Full House where all numbers have been covered during a game. The House can also refer to an establishment where any form of gambling activity takes place.

Inlaid Card: A Bingo card that is actually printed onto a table and is covered by using small counters or buttons.

Inside Square: A Bingo pattern game where all of the numbers immediately surrounding the free space have to be marked off to win.

Instant Bingo: A game that uses a Break Open ticket and sees players win a prize for completing a particular pattern or revealing a word.

Jackpot: The largest prize to be won at a Bingo session. Bingo Jackpots are usually progressive, and must be won in a pre-determined amount of numbers being called.

Late Session.: An additional series of games that take place once the main session of Bingo has finished.

Lucky Jar (or Cookie Jar): A jar or container holding cash that becomes progressively filled with money given by the house every time the caller makes a mistake. The Lucky Jar can usually be won during any regular game of Bingo by finishing on the same number that was called out first at the start of a session.

Main Stage Bingo: The main entertainment of a particular session of Bingo.

Minimum Buy-in: The absolute minimum money that needs to be spent in order to qualify for playing a specific game of Bingo.

Money Ball: A numbered ball that is decided upon before a game starts, and offers double the prize money if a winning call is made on it.

Moonlight Bingo: A session of Bingo with a late starting time.

Multiple Winners: Two or more players who call on the same number. In the event of Multiple Winners, the prize money is split into smaller equal amounts.

Mushroom: A set of automated Bingo displays that takes its name from the mushroom-shaped layout that the players sit around.

Mystery Intervals: The conception that actually classifies Bingo as gambling and works on the idea that a player may or may not win once a ticket has been purchased.

Nine Pack: A block of nine numbers printed onto a Bingo card.

On: A piece of Bingo terminology that describes the state a player is in when only one more number is required to win.

On The Way: The stage of a Bingo game played immediately before the Blackout.

Outside Square: A pattern in the 75 ball game of Bingo that needs every number on the outer edge of the card to be marked off in order to win.

Parti: An automated Bingo game where prize money is indicated based on the number of players taking part. The term is an abbreviation of Participation Bingo.

Pattern: The shape made by a group of numbers that have to be crossed off to win a game of Bingo

Payout: The amount of money taken in tickets sales that goes back to players as prize money.

Pod Top: The section on top of barriers that contain various mechanisms used during a game.

Postage Stamp Pattern: A winning combination of any four 2x2 patterns in any corner of a Bingo card.

Prize Bingo: A game of Bingo where a prize is won instead of cash.

Progressive Jackpot: A large cash prize that rises incrementally based on ticket sales for a particular game. To win a Progressive Jackpot, players must claim within a pre-determined amount of numbers being called.

Quickie: A fast-paced game where the numbers are called as quickly as possible and a coverall is needed to win the game.

Rainbow Pack: A pack of Bingo cards that allow players to compete for a series of different winning combinations simultaneously.

Reno Night: Similar to a Casino Night where a qualified organisation hosts traditional casino games at a selected venue.

RNG: Random Number Generator. Usually an electronic piece of equipment use by the caller that selects numbers to be called out randomly.

Serial Number: An identification number found throughout a game set that allows winning claims to be verified.

Series: The number of unique faces contained within a single set of Bingo cards. A 5000 series, for example, will contain 5000 unique faces.

Session: A period of time, usually during an afternoon or evening, that is specifically designated for playing Bingo and lasts for around 2 to 3 hours.

Shutter Board: A reusable plastic or wooden board where pre-printed numbers are marked off by sliding shutters over them.

Single Line Across: A winning pattern in the 75 ball game of Bingo that requires a straight line of five numbers to be marked off in order to win. Unlike Hardway games, the free space may be used.

Six Pack: A group or block of six numbers crossed out on a Bingo card.

Special: Individual games that make up an additional part of the main session. Tickets for these games are purchased separately from main session tickets.

Speed Bingo: A Bingo variation where numbers are called out quickly and games can be won in as few as three numbers being called.

Split Pot: A game where the winner splits the pot with the house. The player usually gets a larger percentage and 60-40 is a typically sized split.

Table Board Bingo: A variation of Bingo where a small table board is played in conjunction with a regular main session ticket with separate prizes available on both.

Throwaways: Thin paper ticket used for playing special Bingo games.

Tickets: Printed pages of numbers used in main session Bingo games.

Two Lines Across: A pattern game played on a 75 ball card where two full lines must be marked off in order to win a prize.

Ups: A number indicating the amount of sheets contained within a Bingo book.

Vegas Night: Similar to a Reno Night where a qualified organisation hosts traditional casino games at a selected venue on a one-off basis.

Warm Up: A Bingo game played immediately before the first session of a main Bingo event.

Wild Number: The first number out of the hopper that is played on a double Bingo leading to a triple Bingo.

Wrap Up: The final Bingo game of a main session.