Bingo Terms part 1
Bingo is still one of the most popular UK leisure pursuits. Over the years that game has developed and now offers a wide variety of different games and methods.
Here is a glossary of some common bingo terms to get you started.
Admission. This is the entrance fee at land-based bingo halls. Online bingos are free to enter but you usually must sign-up before you play.
Basket Bingo. This is a bingo game in which prizes are real items from a basket instead of cash.
Blackout. This means you have marked every number on your bingo card. This is the same as ‘coverall’ and ‘house all’.
Dauber. This is a special large pen used for marking bingo cards. Online bingo sites sometimes offer and auto-daub function that automatically marks your card for you.
Eyes Down. By tradition this is announced before the first number is called. It also refers to the start of a game, so ten minutes to ‘eyes down’ is ten minute to the start of the game.
Flyer . This is a bingo card with only one bingo game printed on it.
Free space. This is the blank square at the center of the card and is used as a wild card or joker.
Hardway Bingo. This bingo played with cards that don’t have the blank center space.
Inlaid card. These are bingo cards that inlaid into a tabletop and players use discs to cover the number. These types of cards are often used for Parti Bingo.
Instant Bingo. This a form of bingo that uses scratch cards with hidden bingo numbers or letters.
Lucky jar. This is an additional cash prize in a jar that is won if a player scores bingo on the ‘lucky number’. The lucky number is the usually the first number called in a session and each time the lucky number comes up more cash is added to the jar.
Money ball. Before a game a special number is drawn. If a player hits bingo on that number it doubles to game prize.
Parti Bingo. Bingo played on a 4×4 board. Games are faster than regular bingo.
Payout . The is the percentage of the admission fees that is returned as prize money. In most bingo halls this is 75%.
Progressive Jackpot. These are jackpots that are carried over from each game to the following game until they are won. Progressive jackpots increase in size over time.
Speed Bingo. Very quick games of bingo where the numbers are called rapidly and even simple patterns are winners.
Split Pot. Dividing the first prize between two or more players who all scored bingo on the same number.
Texas Blackout. This is a style of bingo where the first number that is called sets whether even or odd numbers will be played. The aim is to cover all of the played numbers.
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