What's in a Bingo Card?

Playing bingo is quite simple. Along with the simplicity of the game, you also need simple materials and equipment when playing the game. A bingo game only requires a set of bingo cards, markers and the bingo blower.

The bingo cards are pieces of cardboard which have a twenty five square grid containing any of the numbers for one to twenty five. There are five vertical columns on a bingo card and each column is headed by the letters B, I, N, G, O.

The five numbers under the "B" column of the bingo card should be from one to fifteen. Under the "I" column, the numbers are from sixteen to thirty. In the "N" column, the numbers are from thirty one to forty five. In "G", these are from forty six to sixty, while column "O" are the numbers sixty one to seventy five.

The space at the center, which falls under the column "N" is not printed with a number, but is marked as "free" or "bonus." What this means is that you can play the bingo card as if this space is already marked.

In most cases, bingo cards only have one number printed on each square. There are cards, known as "double-dab," which have two numbers printed in each box.

With the wide variety on how the numbers may be arranged on a bingo card, it is very unlikely to have exactly the same bingo cards in one bingo game. There are over five hundred septillion (That's twenty four zeros after the five hundred) possible number arrangements of the numbers in the bingo card.

Interestingly, the most number of marks your bingo card will have before you get a bingo is nineteen. When this happens, you will have one unmarked box on each column, row and diagonal line. The twentieth number that you will have on your card will surely get you a bingo.

When the numbers are being called, you must be quick in searching and marking the numbers on your bingo card. The numbers are called out quite fast that you have to keep pace in order not to miss a number on your card.

Playing bingo doesn't really require a lot of skill and tactics. All you need to develop keenness in scanning the numbers on your bingo cards. This is probably the reason that bingo is being played by people of all ages. Bingo is even included as a charity game in some organizations.