There are many reasons we love bingo. From the thrill of winning big to the enjoyment of just hanging out with friends, there’s a little something available for everyone. That said, taking a look beneath the surface of online bingo can reveal a lot more depth than meets the eye. Investigating just some of these examples, we want to explore some of the different forms of bingo, and what sets these different versions apart.
The Bingo Basics
Before going about examining the different variants of online bingo, we first need to establish a baseline of a ‘normal’ bingo game. An example of this ideal can be found at online-gambling.com when you play online bingo, where 80-ball bingo demonstrates how a general bingo match plays. In this form, players are given a 4×4 square grid of numbers, where wins are made through achieving certain patterns like lines, squares, and corners. Outside of the 80 ball standard are three other types that commonly find their way to front-of-pack popularity. These include:
90 Ball Bingo
The most traditional form of bingo is commonly played in the UK. As the name suggests, this game requires 90 balls, with each ticket consisting of 15 numbers across three lines. With 90 ball bingo, prizes are generally won through collecting one or two lines, or a completed card.
75 Ball Bingo
75 ball bingo is the traditional American counterpart to the UK’s 90 ball variant. Tickets in this game feature a 5×5 layout with a free center square, meaning 24 numbers per card total. Wins in 75 ball are claimed in diagonal lines, shapes, or by collecting all numbers.
“BINGO” (CC BY 2.0) by byzantiumbooks
30 Ball Bingo
Going by the alternative name of speed bingo, 30 ball is a variant developed for its super-fast gameplay. Owing to the smaller quantity of numbers, wins are only found in this game by collecting a full nine marks on a ticket.
Setting the Basics Apart
Though each of these games operates with the same shared backbone, the different methods of winning and required number of marks can make them play out very differently. This means that while our guides at thebingoblogger.com can explain how to play almost all games in general, there are more specific changes within games that require consideration. With different odds and payouts, which game is the best for a player really depends on individual tastes, where there are no wrong answers. Going even further, tastes could be more influenced by what your group likes to play, as the social element is such a fundamental tenant of what makes bingo fun.
Getting More Esoteric
While the above illustrates the most common core forms that bingo takes, they also illustrate only a small fraction of what the modern online environment can offer. This because, as much as these different versions bring, there’s still a lot of competition between and within online bingo gaming. This competition drives many developers to try something new, stepping outside of traditional bingo offerings, even if just on a visual level, to appeal to new players.
The most common way this is illustrated is through the adoption and application of various themes to online bingo rooms. Plus, as we cover at thebingoblogger.com, most rooms will continue to use bingo lingo. Most often these themes take the form of differentiating designs, with different buy-ins and possible winning separated into tiers. Silver, gold, and platinum rooms are common ways that these tiers are illustrated, though other game themes take the idea of different designs a step further.
One of the more famous examples of these changes can be found in the popular Deal or No Deal bingo-themed game. In this title, wins are also tied to the number of rounds that pass, combining an element of the classic gameshow series as detailed at screenrant.com into the even more classic bingo table. It might not completely reshape the game, but types of synergy like this have proven extremely popular in revitalizing bingo for some.
“bingo!” (CC BY-ND 2.0) by martathegoodone
The online bingo market as it is today illustrates the most popular the centuries-old game has ever been. From its early beginnings, as explored by thoughtco.com to mass appeal and eventual international success, bingo is a game that finds itself extremely well suited to evolution and change. It’s this flexibility that forms the basis of bingo’s long-lasting popularity, where online engagement is just the latest in a long line of forms the game has adopted. Reflecting so many developments of technological culture, it’s impossible to predict where exactly bingo might go next. The only undeniable truth is that the game will survive, and it will adapt to become something new.
