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The simplicity of bingo lends itself to various creative ways of playing the game. There are several popular versions of the game being played, especially relevant for the holiday season is the Christmas Bingo. The object of the game being to win presents, it also achieves the social and community bonding, mood of the season.

In Christmas Bingo each person attending the party brings a wrapped present and places it in a brown bag under the tree. The object being none of the paricipants know what the present is. They also pick up blank bingo cards and fill it with numbers of their choice in the range of 1 to 40, taking care not to repeat numbers. A caller then picks random numbers from chits placed in a hat or bowl. The participants with the matched number pick a present. After all the presents have been picked, the participants play the game till all the numbers have been called by “stealing “ from another player. The end result is everyone gets to keep the present they have at hand.

One of the variations that started with Dilbert comics, is called “buzzword bingo”. This is more of a dare version of the game, wherein the participants carry bingo cards with buzzwords commonly used by speakers of business events or political candidates. The object is to cross out words that the speaker uses very predictably in the speeches, an example would be the use of “ customer service” in a business setup. The game is almost played as a satire, to prove to the participants the predictability of the speakers.

Other variations of the game have been used to play games during roadtrips. One such variation is called “roadkill bingo” wherein the person marks of pictures of roadkill animals or insects as and when they spot them. Another variation to mark of the last numbers of number plates of cars passing by. Usually these games are played on long distance travels.

The bingo concept has been used in many televised games, fundraisers and card games too. “Lingo” was one such televised game that had several variations in several other countries. The game was played by two teams which were given a bingo card each, with certain places covered. The team would them be given a letter and they had to guess a five lettered word starting with that letter. Each time they had a correct guess for a letter in the word, one covered place would be revealed, and the team won prize amounts.

These are just some versions that are popular, but there are many many more versions particular to each geographic region and culture. The rules may vary but the basic concept of the game remains the same. Only goes to show us that bingo is a very versatile game that continues to evolve. Just look how popular online bingo is today!!

Bingo is often considered the most socially acceptable form of gambling. So it is no surprise that it has been now marketed commercially. It is often played commercially in the United States in the casinos in Nevada and also in Native American operated casinos. The bingo played here is of modest stakes, but it is still higher than the stakes offered by churches and other community organisations.

Bingo houses offer sessions mainly to local players as it is not as popular among tourists as other casino games. In order to increase the “jackpot” money the various bingo houses are connected by telephones . These connections may span dozens of commercial bingo houses. Though they increase the prize amount they greatly reduce the chance of winning.

Keno is one such bingo like game played popularly in casinos. The casino in this case draws twenty balls with random numbers, the players then place wagers on the numbers. The prize amount is determined by the number of matching numbers and the wager amount.

Bingo forms the basis of lottery, wherein because of the large amount of lottery tickets sold the prize amount is also huge but the chance of winning it remains slim. The concept however remains the same, when one buys a lottery, one is given a set of numbers, such as “ lotto numbers” and the winning numbers are picked and broadcast on television. The person with the matching ticket gets the lottery reward. The popular “scratch-to-win” schemes also use the bingo concept. In these cases the numbers are pre-drawn for each card and they are hidden till the cards are scratched.

Apart from casinos the games has been used in churches, fundraising activities, raffles, sport events. Bingo is extremely popular throughout the world and though the game rules vary from country to country, the concept remains the same. UK has one of the largest bingo houses where the game is known as “housie”. The game is extremely popular in UK and they have several large bingo houses such as:
• Gala Bingo
• Mecca Bingo
• Riva Bingo

Huge bingo houses, is also true for several other countries such as Australia and Argentina. In nothern Ireland for example the Planet Bingo Group has spanned its seven clubs over five major cities. This just goes to show the growing popularity of the game and its evolution to cater to a new generation. Bingo is no longer a living room game but a huge gambling enterprise.

Bingo has a history that dates back to 15th century. It was played widely in Europe and has assumed many forms.In its early forms in the United States it was a carnival game called “beano”. Edwin Lowe is credited to have introduced the game into the living rooms of America in the 1940’s. History has it that the game name changed from “Beano” to “Bingo” when an excited participant at Edwin’s game called it that by mistake. Since then the game has stuck with the name “Bingo”.

Bingo is essentially a gambling game with a very simple concept. The idea of the game being each player is given a bingo card with numbers on them. One person calls out randomly drawn numbers, and all the players try to match the called numbers with those on their card. The first person to have a card where in the matched numbers form a specific pattern such as a straight line is the winner. Though a straight line of marked numbers is considered a win, many playing houses now include a variety of patterns, including marking four corners etc. Traditionally the winner has to called out the word “bingo” to alert everyone of the win. The card of the winner is examined for accuracy and the person then is given the prize.

Bingo is often the traditional game of choice in churches, parties and charity organizations. Because of the simplicity of the game rules, it is often a favorite of senior citizens. Churches usually organize weekly games for modest prizes. The object being to increase social interaction and provide an entertainment outlet to often the senior citizens of the community. However bingo has also been used in fund-raising events, and also in educational events.

Today the game of bingo has evolved into something incredible. To find out what the all the fuss is about visit www.littlewoodsbingo.com