While some people might think bingo is the same game no matter where it is played that is simply not true. There are quite a lot of variations in the game with many of these being able to be played online. In fact, over the years bingo has changed rather a lot, but while some of the older games have long been forgotten most the variations in bingo games you are about to see are regional ones, but with the right online bingo site you can play more than one of them and more variety is always a good thing…
90 Ball Bingo
This is the type of bingo most people will play and it is made up of 15 numbers over 3 rows. If you have ever been to a bingo house or played this classic game ina social club situation this would have been the type of game you played. The variation of numbers does make the game much tenser with many people waiting a good while for a single number to be drawn. While there isn’t that much variation in the rules of these games with different amounts of balls the game does feel considerably different to play.
80 Ball Bingo
Having played a lot of fun bingo games on my mobile I noticed that 80 Ball Bingo is the most common form of the game mobile game developers use. This is mostly thanks to the 16 numbers being arranged in a square making it great for a mobile screen. This is often a much faster-paced game that is best played with multiple cards, thus you get more cards on the screen especially with today’s longer, taller smartphones.
75 Ball Bingo
I suppose it goes without saying this, but 75 ball bingo is the fastest version of the game and it is often 24 numbers laid out in a square with an empty one in the middle. So you will be playing games like Double Line, X, or Blackout. The middle square is often used as a bonus for people who manage to make a link through it. While the faster pace of this variation pleases a lot of people I am not a fan of it myself as it makes it much harder to win when you are playing against others online or even in person.
Session Bingo
While not all online bingo sites have this style of game it can be the one that offers the most value for money. It is often a session of 5, 10 or 15 bingo games and while most sites will play the same style of 90, 80 or 75 ball bingo some do mix things up and play a variety of games. You should also be aware that session bingo tends to last a good long while with many games played over an hour or even longer, but if you want value for money this is the way to go.
Cash Cubes Bingo
Just when you thought 75 ball bingo was the fastest variation on the game along comes Cash Cubes Bingo to make things even more exciting. Cash Cubes is a unique 36 ball game that consists of one ticket with 12 numbers. What makes this game so unusual is that it is played with those 12 numbers being set across 4 joined cubes, so while the most part of the game is a lotto-style the cubes then drop with the player trying to get 50 cubes of the same colour. While this variation does sound rather complicated once you get into the game it does kind of make sense, but I can’t say it is for new players as it is very quick-paced.
Bingo Slots
This is one of my personal favourite ways to play bingo as I enjoy playing online slot games anyway. While it wasn’t in my list of the most popular online slot games it is a game I play a lot. While for the most part, it is a normal slot game with bingo themed tiles the main feature games are classic bingo games. These are played thanks to a number generator that’s running in the background that players hundreds of bingo games each spin, this way each and every spin has the same odds no matter how much you have played the game meaning there is no point win-chasing on these games (and indeed any other modern slot game).
Picture Bingo
While the main game is played in much the same way this game is often a grid of 4 pictures arranged in a cube and often featuring animals. The idea is to match the animals on your bingo card and you win the game by covering all 4 of them with the usual cry of shouting “house” if you win. This is, of course, a fun game to play with the whole family and you can often find children’s bingo board games in this style.
Road Trip Bingo
When the UK voted for their most popular road-trip games for the kids to play in the car all the usual ones were there like I-spy and Car Colour counting, but a surprise one that made it into the top ten was Road Trip Bingo. Some people take this very seriously and make little road trip boards with various pictures of things the kids might spot along the way. Much like picture bingo and played in the same way, only this version should be played in a moving car with nature being the bingo caller of sorts.
Blackout Bingo
Otherwise known as a “Full-House” this version is played on a 25 tile board and the goal is to “blackout” or cover all the tiles. This can often be played as part of a national or regions game as this is mostly the style of game played when there is a progressive jackpot meaning the numbers drawn are often limited as well making the game harder to win by way more exciting if you do indeed blackout all your tiles.
Speed Bingo
And yes, once again we are back in the realms of less-balls-bingo. This is often a 30 ball game with the playing card arranged in a 3X3 grid (9 number in total). While this is probably the fastest classic variation of the bingo game it is often played with multiple cards making it quite hard to follow along with. If you like small wins and quick games this is the version to play.
Conclusion
At the end of the day bingo is bingo and no matter what version of the game you play online they are all pretty much similar (with a few modern variations being a touch more removed from the traditional game). Bingo has been played for hundreds of years and will probably be enjoyed for hundreds more because it is one of the most fun and simple ways to enjoy a gamble online. In fact, it’s so good for the brain that many care home even those carrying for patients with dementia still play bingo today to keep their brains sharp and grounded. Heck, bingo has even been used as a game to raise money for some charities, it really is that versatile.