75-Ball Bingo

What is 75 Ball Bingo?

75 Ball Bingo has been played for many years and it became very popular back in the 1940’s. It has been played as a fun game in Bingo halls all across the US as not only a way to meet old friends on an evening, but also to win some prizes. With the invention of the internet, 75 Ball Bingo spread to outside the US and many people around the world are now aware of this version of the game. With hundreds of different winning pattern options, the 75 Ball Bingo game enables players to get some variety as well as meeting new and different people in the chat rooms.

75-Ball Bingo Where Did It All Start?

The 75-ball bingo variation was first launched online in the USA, and today the online version is enjoyed by millions worldwide! The game itself is an old-time classic, enjoyed by many players on a daily basis. Where does the game originate? It’s origins are believed to lie in a lottery-type game called ‘Lo Giuoco del Lotto d’Italia’, which was being played in Florence, Italy, around 1530.

The bingo game might not have changed all that much since then, but the fashion in clothing has certainly changed. In those days, ladies wore dresses comprising multiple layers, with under garments, doublets, and what not, due to the chillier weather brought about by what is known as the Little Ice Age. It’s not too hard to imagine the bingo ladies of the time sporting those bulky dresses you might be familiar with the Italian Renaissance style of dresses from the paintings that depict them.

However, can you picture us ladies in this day and age, sitting playing bingo wearing those huge dresses? Well, it might be difficult to withstand the heat in those dresses, but we certainly could hide a multitude of bingo sins under those layers! Anyway, I could never be seen playing bingo in the Basque, for example. I would sorely miss the comfort of playing in my pyjamas!

The 75-Ball Bingo Card

The card takes the form of a grid containing five numbers across and five numbers down. The word B-I-N-G-O is normally displayed across the top of the card, with each column of numbers placed under each letter. I find 75-ball most enjoyable to play because some of the patterns take longer to play than other types of games, which allows me to take my eye off the bingo ball and chat to my bingo friends at the same time.

How Is the Card Organised?

The center square under the column N is a free space sometimes marked by a star, which, as the name implies, is given free to bingo players. All rows and columns on the card consist of five numbers except for the ‘Free’ third box in the middle row and N column. The list below explains how each column is organised:

• B Column: Five numbers that range between 1 and 15.
• I Column: Five numbers that range between 16 and 30.
• N Column: Four numbers that range between 31 and 45.
• G Column: Five numbers that range between 45 and 60.
• O Column: Five numbers that range between 61 and 75.

What Is the Procedure When Playing 75-Ball?

• The player buys their bingo cards.

• If at a bingo hall, the bingo ball machine rotates to reveal a number, or if at an online bingo site, the numbers are randomly generated.

• The numbers belonging to the five different columns under the word BINGO are distinguished by their colour, being one of the five colours available.

• The caller announces the numbers at random, for example B10.

• Players can manually daub their cards or if playing online they have the auto-play option, which means that the numbers on the cards are marked off automatically as they’re being called and all you have to do is sit back and enjoy the game!

• The objective of the game is to cross off all the numbers on your card in order to complete the winning pattern.

• The first player to complete the pre-determined pattern wins the prize.

Those Famous Bingo Patterns

There are a number of patterns that players can aim to achieve in 75-ball, which is an interesting game for the simple reason that each particular game comes with its pre-established pattern. In earlier times, there were only a few patterns available, such as the single line going either diagonally, down or across. However, with the changing times, bingo patterns have become far more multifarious. In fact, there are over 300 different patterns available to Bingo now, some of which include the popular umbrella, picnic table, blackout (covering all 25 squares), lines, and letters.

The Prizes

Yes we all love the thrill of the number calling, the fun of chatting to new friends and the excitement before a game begins, however winning cash is definitely the biggest highlight of Bingo. The amount that is paid out to those lucky winners is all dependant on the cost of the playing cards as well as the number of you lovely Bingo players that opt into a game. So the more players that opt into a game and the higher the card price, the larger the prize! To keep you on your toes, sometimes sites offer fixed price games regardless of the number of players and the price of the cards. Watch out for extra jackpots also in certain games.