Free Games How to play bingo
Bingo (housie, if you grew up with the British name for it) gives you a card of 25 squares in five columns, headed B I N G O. The square in the middle is free. It starts already marked, and it counts towards any line running through it.
Press Call the next number and one number comes out of the bag. If it appears on your card, tap that square to mark it. Fill any row, any column, or either diagonal, and you have a line. Carry on if you like: marking all 25 squares is a full card.
What the letters are for
Each column draws from its own range of numbers, so the letter tells you exactly where to look:
- B: 1 to 15
- I: 16 to 30
- N: 31 to 45
- G: 46 to 60
- O: 61 to 75
That is why a caller says “N 42” rather than just “42”. You only ever have to search one column of five numbers, never the whole card.
No rushing
In a bingo hall the caller keeps going whether you have found the number or not, and that hurry puts some people off. Here there is no clock. The next number is called only when you press the button, and every number already called stays listed under the card, underlined while it is still waiting to be marked. If you miss one and notice it ten minutes later, tap it then.
Marked a square by mistake? Tap it again and the mark comes off. The Hint button tells you what to do next, whether that is a number you have missed or how close your best line is.
No money involved
This game has no wagering, credits, deposits or prizes. Nothing is bought and nothing is paid out.
More games like this
Memory Match and Mahjong Solitaire are the nearest games to it here, and the matching games page lists them together. The printable puzzles page covers the ones you can print.
