Basic Bingo: A Guide

New to bingo, whether in a hall or online? Or are you a 90 ball bingo loyalist and fancy trying out a game of 5 line bingo? You might find our guide helpful – on this page we go through the rules of four of the most popular forms of bingo played on bingo sites – 90 ball bingo, 75 ball bingo, 80 ball bingo and 5 line (Swedish) bingo.

90 Ball Bingo

90 ball bingo is the most common form of bingo played in the UK and is played both in bingo halls and online – pretty much every bingo site you play on will offer 90 ball bingo! As can be expected, there are 90 balls in play.

The bingo cards in this game are made up of three horizontal rows and nine columns. There are fifteen numbers printed on each card, ranging from 1-90 and printed randomly. The online game is usually played with strips of six tickets with all 90 numbers in play, although they can also be bought individually.

There are three chances of winning a prize – by getting one line, two lines or full house. Sometimes the same person can win all three prizes! One line requires marking off all the numbers on one line, two lines requires marking off all the numbers on two lines, and full house requires marking off all the numbers on the card.

75 Ball Bingo

75 ball bingo is another common form of bingo, and is the favourite version in the USA, where it is played in bingo clubs. It’s another form that you’ll find on most UK bingo sites, so you’ll likely become familiar with it quickly. With only 75 balls in play, these bingo games tend to be quicker than 90 ball bingo games.

The bingo cards in this game are 5×5 squares, with the centre square usually marked off as a free space. Sometimes the cards are marked with patterns, and the first person to stamp off all the numbers on the pattern wins. There’s only one chance to win with this game, no one or two line prizes – so it can get a bit more intense than 90 ball bingo!

80 Ball Bingo

Another form of bingo you might see at your favourite bingo site is 80 ball bingo. In this game, each ticket is made up of 16 squares in 4×4. Every square contains a number, and every number from 1-80 will appear on a strip – five tickets.

There are four types of 80 ball bingo.

• Any Single Line: Stamp off the numbers of any single line – horizontal, vertical, diagonal – or the four corners or centre squares to win.
• Any Line, House: There are two chances to win in this game. The first is the same as Any Single Line, and the second way to win is to get full house by marking off all the numbers on the card.
• Any Line, Columns, House: There are four chances to win in this game. The first is the same as Any Single Line. The second is to mark off all numbers in two columns (vertical lines), and the third is to mark off all the numbers in three columns. The fourth way is to get full house.
• Full House or Pattern Bingo: There is only one prize in this game. Players must either cover the entire card, or a specific defined pattern.

5 Line Bingo

5 line bingo is also known as Swedish bingo, and involves – yes, you guessed it – 5 lines on your bingo card! There are 75 balls in play, but there are some key differences from 75 ball bingo. The first is that the word ‘BINGO’ is printed along the top of the 5×5 card – with one letter above each column.

• The B column contains five random numbers ranging from 1 through 15.
• The I column contains five numbers ranging from 16 through 30.
• The N column contains five numbers ranging from 31 to 45.
• The G column contains five numbers ranging from 46 to 60.
• The O column contains five numbers ranging from 61 to 75.

There is also no free space in the centre of the card like in 75 ball bingo. And instead of just one way to win, there’s five! Here are the different ways to win:

• Single Line Win: First player to mark off one full line of numbers.
• Double Line Win: First player to mark off two full lines of numbers.
• Three Line Win: First player to mark off three full lines of numbers.
• Four Line Win: First player to mark off four full lines of numbers.
• Full House: First player to mark off all five lines of numbers.

Most games will allow for a full horizontal, diagonal or vertical line to be counted as a win.