I Got A BINGO!

Bingo is a game of luck which once revolved around the community. In olden times, much of the social fabric of a community revolved around the weekly bingo game. I can remember my father spending his last two dollars for the chance to make it twenty. My grandmother also attended regularly and so did I as a child. I can remember winning a few times and this kept you coming back in the hopes of winning again. It could be quite addictive. The prizes were modest but it had a jackpot which grew until someone won it, and sometimes the prize was substantial. The crowd attending bingo grew in proportion to the jackpot, and it was easy to see when it was high. The smoky haze in the hall hurt your eyes! My, how things have changed.

Bingo rules are simple. The game itself consist of a big container full of numbered balls, from one to seventy-five, that revolve until a number comes out through an opening. A bingo caller then puts the number up on a lighted screen and calls out the number. If that number is on your bingo card you will mark it with a bingo dot. When I was a kid, the cards which were made of very hard cardboard which had little windows that you could pull over your number to indicate it had been called. I don抰 know if those are still around or not. I think they are mostly made of paper these days that are thrown out after the game is over.

Each bingo card has a random selection of numbers from one to seventy -five. The center of the card is marked free. There are five heading on each card, one of each letter of the word bingo. Column B is from one to Fifteen, column I is from sixteen to thirty, column N is from thirty-one to forty-five, column G is from forty-six to fifty-nine, and column O is from sixty to seventy-five. Depending on the game you are playing, the first with the required pattern covered on the card yells 揃ingo? After the numbers are verified, you are presented with the prize.

During most bingo sessions various games are played. Usually you play until you have formed a straight line, either horizontal, diagonal or vertical. Some games require you fill only the four corners of the card. Usually to win a jackpot, you must fill the entire card. Bingo is still popular today, but with all the casinos and lottery games, it has its share of competition.