Bingo Halls UK Primer for Americans

Bingo is a favourite game around the world, but in each country you visit, the cards will probably be a bit different. Although the game itself is set up pretty much the same, with balls, a caller and a dabber (that’s dauber to Americans!) the cards will be quite different. In the US the columns are lined up 5 across spelling the word B-I-N-G-O, whereas in the UK, the cards are 9 columns by 3 rows (3 x 9).

Bingo halls in the UK will generally sell books of tickets (cards) and they may be colour coded, lime, gold, yellow, violet, grey, pink, blue, orange red and white, not necessarily in that order of course. They also sell multiple books of tickets that generally have 6 tickets of each colour. Experienced players can play all six tickets at the same time while newcomers may want to start out slowly with one or two tickets.

In some bingo halls across the UK, callers will call the balls quite rapidly so there is no time to search for your numbers if you are not quick about it! It is always best to start slowly, and get a handle on the game before trying to keep up with the balls. It is suggested that if you want to socialize a bit that you go to some of the bingo halls in the smaller villages and by the shore. In the cities the players are serious about their game and tend to be a bit more formal, but in the towns and villages, bingo halls are the local meeting places where you’ll get to meet the people and maybe win a prize or two!