Introduction

There are two forms of bingo: 90 ball and 75 ball. Some online bingo sites only offer one form, but many offer both. 90 ball bingo is a game traditionally played in the United Kingdom, Australia and other countries of the Commonwealth. 75 ball bingo is traditionally played in America and offers more variety than the standard 90 ball game.

How to play 90 ball bingo

Each individual face (grid of numbers) is called a ticket. 90 Ball bingo tickets consist of 3 rows and 9 columns. Each row contains 5 random numbers and 4 blank spaces. 90 ball bingo is almost always played with strips of tickets. A strip is a set of 6 tickets, containing all 90 numbers, distributed throughout. When a strip of tickets is played in one bingo game, every possible number from 1-90 is covered and therefore, a number is crossed off at each bingo call. You buy strips of tickets at the beginning of each game, up to a maximum of 48 tickets.

The game is played with 3 patterns. The patterns are called One Line, Two Lines, and Full House. The first player to correctly cross off a horizontal line wins the first prize. The game then continues and the first player to cross off two horizontal lines wins the next prize. Finally, the first player to cross off all the numbers on a ticket (Full House) wins the maximum prize.

How to play 75 ball bingo

75 ball tickets are square and contain five rows and five columns to create twenty-five squares. Each column has a letter at the top spelling out BINGO. Once again, the ticket is filled with random numbers. There are no blank spaces on the ticket, unlike 90 ball bingo.

As well as playing for the usual patterns, this game is more versatile, and you may play for a pattern such as a cross or the shape of a letter or number. The pattern is announced at the beginning of each game. You can also play a coverall game, where the winner is the first person to mark off all the numbers on their ticket and the jackpots are usually much higher.

Progressive bingo game

Some online bingo sites offer progressive bingo games. This contains a jackpot which increases from game to game. When the pattern is announced at the beginning of the game, it will have a number representing the amount of calls needed to claim the jackpot. If a player achieves the pattern in this amount of calls or less, they win the progressive jackpot.