75 Ball Bingo
Bingo as we know it today has its origins in Europe and first ventured beyond those shores in the early 1900′s when it was brought to the United States. The games evolution in America saw the birth of the popular 75 ball game that is widely played in most countries today. It is seen by its many fans as being a far paceier and exciting game than the traditional UK 90 ball variant and has become a standard fixture of most bingo sites game books. 75 ball bingo play differs quiet a bit from its UK cousin and in this article we’ll take a look at the basics of playing this quick US favourite. The first difference between 75 and 90 ball bingo is to be found in the card or ticket layouts. 75 ball bingo uses a 5 x 5 card where 90 ball games use a 3 x 9 card. The centre square on a 75 ball card is pre marked or free and the vertical columns are designated as “B”, “I”, “N”, “G” and “O”. the first column is reserved for numbers 1 to 15, the second from 16 to 30 and so on making up 75 numbers in total.
The second significant difference between the two games is that 75 ball bingo wins are based on a pre-determined pattern. There are dozens of standard patterns used in 75 ball games and any recognisable geometric shape made up of blocks in the 5 x 5 grid can be used. Standard patterns include the bowtie, champagne bottle, anchor, turtle and a full house or blackout pattern that uses all blocks on the card. Once the pattern for the game has been announced the ball draw begins. The numbers are called according to column and number. So a B12 call signifies that the number is 12 and located in the “B” or first column of the grid.
The object of 75 ball bingo is to be the first player to fill in the pre-determined pattern. This means that with 75 ball bingo there can only be one winner as apposed to the three in 90 ball games. It is this fact and the lesser number of numbers involved that are responsible for the accelerated speed of the average 75 ball game. The fact that most games feature different patterns adds to the excitement of the game and is, in part, the reason for the games great popularity. Although 75 ball is traditionally thought of as the American version of bingo, the game has made steady inroads into the more conservative 90 ball markets and looks to have cemented its place on the UK and European bingo dance card. So, if you haven’t yet played 75 ball perhaps you should see what all the fuss is about and see if you can bag a turtle!
