Bingo players have never had it so good, with online sites offering them the opportunity to play several different variants of this iconic game.
Traditional bingo played in land-based venues during most of the 20th century largely featured two versions – 90-ball bingo and 75-ball bingo.
The 90-ball variant was generally played in the United Kingdom, while operators in the United States focused on the 75-ball version.
However, the shift towards online play around the turn of the century allowed bingo companies to be creative by widening the scope of the games they offer.
Before we look at some of the most popular types of bingo in the modern era, we provide some handy tips to help you win on all bingo games you play.
A winning bingo strategy
While bingo is classified purely as a game of chance, it is feasible to use strategies to tip the odds more in your favor.
Buying more tickets for game is an obvious place to start as the mathematics behind this boost your hopes of winning a prize.
For example, let’s say that you join a 90-ball bingo game with 99 other players. If you all buy six tickets each, there would be 600 in the game.
Every player would have a six in 600 chance of winning the full house prize. This effectively equates to one in 100.
Buying another 30 tickets would improve your chances to 36 in 630 while everyone else would have a six in 630 chance of winning.
Although the financial outlay is higher, having more tickets in the game boosts your odds of being successful in a single bingo game.
It can also be useful to play bingo at off-peak times, as this usually means that you will face fewer players in each game.
The cash prizes will be smaller, but you are more likely to win regularly. With our strategies in place, we can now look at some of the top bingo games.
90-Ball Bingo
The 90-ball variant of bingo was popularized in the United Kingdom during the 1900s, with the game played by millions of people in land-based venues across the country.
Bingo was the main entertainment activity in the UK during the second half of the 20th century, particularly amongst the working classes.
The game’s popularity waned around the turn of the millennium, but has since become an integral part of the online bingo scene.
Each 90-ball bingo ticket contains three horizontal lines and nine columns, with 15 numbers on each one and 90 on a strip.
The game is usually split into three parts – one line, two lines and full house. Players win prizes for being the first to complete those elements.
75-Ball Bingo
75-ball bingo first appeared in America in the 1920s, with toy salesman Edwin Lowe adapting the game after discovering at a carnival in Atlanta.
It is played on tickets with five columns and five horizontal lines. Each column is headed by a letter spelling BINGO, while numbers run from 1-15, 16-30, 31-45, 46-60 and 61-75.
The middle space on the card is labelled ‘FREE’, thus providing every player in each game with a head start.
The aim of the game is to complete different patterns – generally vertical, diagonal or horizonal – or a full house.
Some bingo sites have special 75-ball games where the chatroom host will play special prizes for patterns such as four corners or crosses.
Flash Fives
Game combinations have become all the rage in the bingo industry in recent years, with most online sites now offering at least one exciting variant.
One of the best of the bunch is Flash Fives – an immersive game which provides a thrilling take on the best bits of bingo and poker.
The numbered balls are replaced by a standard deck of 52 playing cards in Flash Fives, with players required to complete five-card hands to win cash prizes.
The cards are called out randomly and marked off with a casino chip if they feature in the player’s hand. The first player to hit five cards, wins the game.
As the name suggests, Flash Fives is one of the fastest bingo variants around, making it ideal for anyone who only has a few minutes to spare.
Swedish Bingo
Also known as 5-line bingo, this version offers players more opportunities to win than any other bingo game.
The ticket is the same as in 75-ball bingo, containing 25 squares comprised of five rows and five columns divided into the same numerical groups.
Unlike the 75-ball version the centre square contains a number. Prizes are awarded for being the first player to complete one, two, three and four lines, and the full house.
The action is fast and furious in Swedish bingo, with the format generally creating multiple winners in a single game.
If you love the repeated anticipation of waiting for numbers to complete a line or full house, Swedish bingo is the game for you.
Bingo Roulette
Our final bingo game is another game combination which takes one of the most iconic casino games and cleverly merges it with bingo to form bingo roulette.
Tickets in the game contain five numbers from 52 displayed on a special roulette wheel, and players can buy up to 96 tickets for a single game.
Bingo roulette mimics bingo roulette, with the ball fired around the wheel before landing in a numbered pocket.
If the number the ball lands in is on you card, it is marked off. The first player to complete all five numbers on a ticket wins the game.
Bingo roulette bears some similarities to Flash Fives, particularly in terms of speed, making it another excellent choice for speedy gaming sessions.