Bingo Rules
"Football" isn't the only sport-and-gaming homonym that means one thing in the UK and another in the U.S. "Bingo" is also a popular game with one set of rules in the United States and another in the United Kingdom. In the UK, bingo is commonly known as "housie." Like American bingo, housie is a communal gambling game that features a card marked with numbers and a caller who shouts out numbers once they have been randomly generated.
Despite this basic similarity, housie's rules differ. For starters, the housie card is usually comprised of three rows and nine columns, allowing for 27 spaces in all. However, only 15 of these 27 spaces will contain numbers. The other 12 spaces will be left blank. (American bingo cards usually contain five columns and five rows for a total of 25 numbers, none of which are left blank.)
Bingo Rules and Winning
There are several ways to win a game of UK bingo, depending on the rules established at the start of the game. During some bingo games, a player cannot win until she has covered two full lines on her card. During less strenuous games, a player wins after covering a single line of five numbers.In really strenuous competition, a player cannot win until he has earned a full house. For instance, in the National Bingo Game, the winning player is required to cover each and every number on his card. Of course, winning isn't the only enjoyable aspect of play. Many new players greatly enjoy the colorful nicknames given to different bingo calls, as well, from "One Fat Lady" (meaning number eight) to "Never Been Kissed" (number 17).
Return to the Playing Card homepage.
Template provided by WEBalley
