The History of Playing Bingo
Posted by
25 January, 2010 
Bingo has a very long history. This game was born in the form of Italian Lottery in the 16th century. The fun of rewards and the socialization that it was known for made it popular throughout Europe and later in other continents too. The ease of learning, mass participation, equal odds of every player for winning rewards and a chance to meet new people and make friends have the main reasons for the booming popularity of this game.
This game was introduced in America in the 19th century as a game for evening parties and has since then found its place in the hearts of people of all ages. To understand the reason of the popularity of this game, we should know how it is played, so let’s look at the procedure in short.
All the players buy cards. All the cards are unique with a set of numbers printed on them. Players can buy one or more cards according to their strategy. When all the players are ready, the caller starts picking balls from a tub or bag. Each of these balls has a unique number printed on them, in progression over the range of numbers present in the cards. For instance, if it’s a 75 ball game, then numbers of the cards will be only from 1-75. Now, as the caller keeps calling the numbers, players keep daubing these numbers on their cards. The player who completes the pre decided pattern of numbers first, is the winner.
As it is clear from the procedure of the game, it is a very simple game with no strategies and skills needed to be a winner. All the cards have an equal chance of being the winning card and thus all the players play this game with enthusiasm. This may seem a bit boring to people who want games that are more complex and something to give their skills a test. But skills are not what this game is for after all.
This game is for people to get together, talk, eat great food, crack joke, have a few drinks and enjoy as a group. It’s not a bit like other gambling games where you see every other player as an opponent that you have to compete against to win the prize. These games are about competition, about strategies, about scheming to make other loose. But Bingo about playing with a smile on your face and in case you end up being the winner, you just make that smile bigger and other clap for you.
Over the years, people have tried to make bingo more interesting by introducing several versions. Different themes, different card patterns, number of balls, the style of calling out and picking balls are used to create more interesting variants. You can use this game as an educational game for kids in which they can learn about alphabets and numbers. Bingo has been played on TV, in the newspapers, on the radio and the biggest medium of today, the internet.
Online bingo has broken all the bounds of traditional bingo and spread to parts of the world where it was unknown before. Bingo has broken into bedrooms and people can take their share of fun by simply logging on to a website and diving in. This is surely a game that appeals to every one and now that you have read this article, you know why that is. So, join the fun and say ‘BINGO’
Filed under: Bingo
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