The most common bingo cards are flat pieces of cardboard or disposable paper that contain 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five side-to-side rows. Each space in the grid contains a number, except the middle square, which is designated a “free” space.
A typical bingo game utilizes the numbers 1 through 75. The five columns of the card are labeled ‘B’, ‘I’, ‘N’, ‘G’, and ‘O’ from left to right. The center space is usually marked “free” or “free space” and is considered automatically filled.[4] The range of printed numbers that can appear on the card is normally restricted by column, with the ‘B’ column only containing numbers between 1 and 15 inclusive, the ‘I’ column containing only 16 through 30, ‘N’ containing 31 through 45, ‘G’ containing 46 through 60, and ‘O’ containing 61 through 75. The way the numbers are assigned to each column makes a horizontal line win about three times more probable than a vertical line win when many people play together.
A game of chance called lotto was played in Italy about 1530. In the 18th century, a version called Tombola was created in Naples using cards, tokens, and number calling. The French game Le Lotto appeared in 1778, featuring 27 squares in three rows and nine columns.
In the early 1920s, Hugh J. Ward created and standardized the game at carnivals around Pittsburgh. He copyrighted it and published a rule book in 1933.
The game was further popularized by Edwin Lowe. While at a traveling carnival near Atlanta in December 1929, the toy merchandiser saw people eagerly playing a game called “Beano”, following Ward’s rules, with dried beans, a rubber stamp, and cardboard sheets. Lowe took the game to New York, where friends liked playing it. The Lowe-produced bingo game had a 12-card and 24-card set. By the 1940s, there were bingo games throughout the US.
The origin of the name Bingo is unknown, but it may date to the mid-1920s when a friend of Lowe was so excited to win that she yelled out “Bingo”.
December is considered Bingo month perhaps because Lowe first discovered the game then. These days, Bingo is often used as an instructional tool in American schools and in teaching English as a foreign language in many countries. Typically, the numbers are replaced with beginning reader words, pictures, or unsolved math problems. Custom bingo creation programs now allow teachers and parents to create bingo cards using their own content.
Join Poolesville Seniors on Tuesday, December 3rd at 1:00 p.m. for Ho Ho Ho BINGO.