BINGO TERMINOLOGY: THE

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90 Ball: UK style bingo using 90 balls, played at most bingo sites.

75 Ball: American style bingo using 75 balls.

80 Ball: Bingo variant popularized by the internet, uses 80 balls.

A

Admission Packet: The minimum number of cards you must buy to participate in a bingo game.

Auto-Daub: An online bingo feature that automatically marks the numbers on your card as they are called.

B

Blackout: A pattern where you must cover all spots on your bingo card to win.

Bingo Card: The card with a grid of numbers used to play bingo.

Bingo Caller: The person who calls out the numbers during a bingo game.

Bingo Hall: A place where bingo lovers gather to play.

Bonanza Bingo: A progressive coverall jackpot typically played as the 13th game in a bingo session.

Board: An electronic bingo board that lights up the numbers as you play.

Buyin: The cost to participate in the bingo game (1 ticket).

C

Caller: The person who calls out the numbers in a bingo game.

Coverall: A bingo game with the objective to cover all the numbers on your ticket.

Chat: Most online bingo halls have interactive chat with other players.

Chat Games: Side games where you can win money by playing mini chat games during the bingo game.

Consolation Prize: A prize given to bingo players for either the 2nd person to hit bingo or if during a progressive game nobody gets bingo within the max amount of balls.

D

Dauber: A special pen-like ink marker used to mark off numbers on a bingo card.

Diamond: A pattern in bingo where you need to cover a diamond-shaped pattern on your card.

Diagonal Line: A winning pattern from one corner to the other, including free space.

E

Early Bird Game: A bingo game that is played before the main session begins.

Electronic Bingo: Playing bingo using an electronic device that tracks your cards for you.

F

Flimsies: Thin, paper bingo cards, often used for special games.

Four Corners: A pattern where you must cover all four corners of your bingo card to win.

Fair And Square: A bingo game where everyone must buy the same amount of tickets so nobody has an advantage of multiple tickets. Available at most online bingo sites.

Free Space: The free bingo space in each game, usually in the middle of the ticket.

Full House: When a player covers all numbers on their card in a regular game.

G

Game Board: The display board that shows the numbers that have been called.

G.T.I.: An electronic dauber system used in bingo halls.

H

Hard Card: A reusable bingo card made of cardboard.

Hardway Bingo: A bingo win that is achieved without using the free space.

I

Instant Bingo: A game where a player can win immediately after buying a ticket, typically played with scratch-off cards.

Inlaid Card: Permanent bingo cards built into the bingo table.

J

Jackpot: A large prize awarded for achieving a difficult pattern, like a blackout, within a specific number of balls.

Last Call: Last bingo game of the night.

Jumper: A game where... (the description seems to be cut off)

K

Kite: A pattern in the shape of a kite on a bingo card.

King’s Corners: A pattern where you cover all four corners and the middle square of your bingo card.

L

Late Night Bingo: Bingo games that start late in the evening, sometimes after 11:00 pm.

Lights Out: The final game of a bingo session, often a blackout game.

Lucky Jar: A progressive jackpot that you get when the “money ball” is won on.

M

Money Ball: A number drawn before the game that doubles a player’s winnings if bingo is hit on that number.

Moonlight Bingo: Another term for Late Night Bingo.

Max Bet: Maximum amount of money you can buy one ticket for in any game.

Max Tickets: The maximum amount of tickets you can buy in any one game.

Min Buyin: The minimum amount for a bingo ticket in any particular session.

Multiple Winners: When the prize is split among two people hitting bingo on the same number.

N

Nine-Pack: A pattern consisting of a block of nine numbers.

No Deposit Bingo: Online bingo games where you can play without making a monetary deposit.

O

Overlay: A prize that’s more valuable than the game’s cost.

On The Way: The game before the coverall game.

Pattern: The winning formation you need to get numbers on to win the game.

P

Payout: The percentage of sales paid out by the house.

Postage Stamp: A pattern where the goal is to get a block of 4 numbers blacked out in any 4 corners. (2×2)

Progressive: When a bingo jackpot must be won within a certain amount of balls and isn’t, a progressive jackpot grows until somebody beats the threshold.

Pull-tab: Pull-tab games, also known as break-opens or pickle cards, are games of chance played with paper tickets containing hidden symbols or numbers.

Q

Quickie: A game where a whole card must be filled and numbers are called very fast.

R

RNG: Random Number Generator (to ensure fairness)

S

Session: A set of consecutive bingo games played in one day.

Speed Bingo: A variation of bingo with a faster pace and typically fewer numbers.

Shutterboard: A special type of bingo ticket where the numbers are covered by slots or “shutters” and you close them as the numbers are called out.

T

Texas Blackout: A variation of blackout bingo where the first number called determines whether all even or all odd numbers are wild.

Tickets: The paper or other material you use to keep track of your numbers.

U

Under: Refers to the numbers under a specific letter in the bingo card. For example, B-Under would include numbers 1-15.

Upwards: A game where the prize increases with each game that’s played.

V

Validation: An additional fee paid to qualify for a larger jackpot.

Vertical Bingo: Winning a game by covering all the numbers in a vertical line on the bingo card.

W

Wildcard Number: A number that can be used to represent any other number in a pattern.

Wrap Up: The final game of a bingo session.

X

X-Marks the Spot: A game where the pattern to win is in the shape of an X on the bingo card.