|
A fairly recent introduction to the bingo games offered online is 80 ball bingo. The 80 ball game is much quicker than the more traditional 75 ball bingo and 90 ball bingo games, and this has lead to a rise in its popularity with quite a few online bingo rooms offering it. As far as I know this game is offered online only, although it does resemble some forms of fairground bingo games. For more about how to play 80 ball bingo read below.
The 80 ball version of bingo is played on special bingo cards, which represent shutter boards similar to fairground games of bingo (see the history of 90 ball bingo for some discussion of fairground bingo games). There are four rows and four columns of numbers on each card, with each column being a different colour (e.g. red, blue, yellow, white or silver - but these colours and their order vary from room to room). As the numbers are marked off the 'shutters' are pulled down over the numbers - this is usually represented by a darkening of that number's square on the graphic of the card. Again, as in nearly all games online, this can be done automatically as the game is played - in fact some bingo rooms don't even have a manual option, as the auto option is overwhelmingly the way most people play. As 80 ball bingo is played exclusively online (as far as I am aware) you might want to check out the playing bingo online page as well. That link as well as the others here are listed at the bottom of this page too.
The 80 ball bingo card
Here you can see pictures of two 80 ball bingo cards. The left hand one is representative of a bingo card before play starts, so no numbers are marked. The right hand one has some squares are darkened indicating the numbers that have been called off already, as it would appear during play.
 
The numbers 1-20 are allocated to the first (yellow here) column, 21-40 to the second (green here) column, 41-60 to the third (blue here) column and the numbers 61-80 to the fourth (red here) column. Do remember that the colours vary from room to room, and merely serve to help guide the eye in seeing the patterns and the card. Each four by four card is totally independent of the others unlike in a strip of six 90 ball bingo cards where they are related, in as much as all the numbers 1-90 are present if you take all six cards - see how to play 90 ball bingo. So if you purchase several 80 ball bingo cards the same number can appear on more than one card (like 75 ball bingo).
Playing 80 ball bingo
The aim of the game is to make a pattern, in a similar way to 75 ball bingo but the patterns tend to be simpler as there is only a 4 by 4 grid, not a 5 by 5 one - any horizontal line, any vertical line, a cross, the four corners, coverall (full house) etc. Unlike 90 ball bingo where the patterns are standardized, in 80 ball bingo you will have to check the details of the game being played at the room itself (like 75 ball bingo) to find out the winning patterns - these often change from game to game, and you may well have a choice of patterns as well as game (ticket or card) prices at the bigger rooms. Below you can see a card with an example simple diagonal cross pattern marked on it.
Although a latecomer compared to 90 ball bingo (see the history of 90 ball bingo) and 75 ball bingo (see the history of 75 ball bingo), 80 ball bingo is a fast exciting game of bingo that makes an excellent addition to the games available online (see playing bingo online for more about online bingo)
Further articles on playing bingo
|
Playing Bingo