|
Each bingo player is given a card marked with a grid containing
a unique combination of numbers and, in some countries, blank spaces. The
winning pattern to be formed on the card is announced. On each turn, a
non-player known as the caller randomly selects a numbered ball from a container
and announces the number to all the players. The ball is then set aside so that
it cannot be chosen again. Each player searches his card for the called number,
and if he finds it, marks it. The element of skill in the game is the ability to
search one's card for the called number in the short time before the next number
is called.
The caller continues to select and announce numbers until the first player forms
the agreed pattern(one line, two lines, full house) on their card and shouts out
the name of the pattern or bingo. One of the most common patterns, called house
in the United Kingdom and Australia and full card, blackout and cover-all in
Canada and the United States, simply consists of marking all the numbers on the
card. Other common Canadian and American patterns are single line, two lines,
centre cross, L, Y, inner square (4 × 4), roving square (3 × 3), and roving kite
(a 3 × 3 diamond). On Canadian and American cards lines can be made
horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. Inner and roving squares and kites must
be completely filled; roving squares and kites may be made anywhere on the card. |
Bingo
