Bingo supplies vary depending on the game you are playing, but generally you will need a set of cards, some markers, a dice set, and a bingo ball. Cards can be purchased in sets or individually.
Markers can be either permanent or temporary. A dice set will come with 6 different dice, and a bingo ball is simply a ball with spots on it that correspond to numbers in the game. .
If you are playing American Bingo, you will need 90 cards. The front of each card has a number from 1 to 90, and the back has two lines that intersect at 45 degrees. The lines on the back of each card represent columns in the game.
The numbers one through nine are in the first column, 10 through 59 are in the second column, and 60 through 89 are in the third column. If you are playing European Bingo, the numbers one through 90 are all on the front of each card, and the columns are numbered 1 to 9 from left to right instead of from top to bottom.
To begin playing, shuffle the cards and place them in a circle on the table. Each player takes turns drawing one card from the deck and putting it face down on their table. If they draw a number that is already showing on one of their cards (i.e., they have drawn a number from 1-9 twice in a row), they can either put that card back into the deck or keep it and continue playing.
If they draw a number that is not shown on any of their cards (i.e., they draw a 10), they can put that card back into the deck or put it into one of their “extra” piles next to their table (these piles will be explained later).
If they draw a number that is shown on one of their “extra” piles (i.e., they have drawn a 3 or 5 from one of their extra piles), they can either put that card back into the deck or keep it and continue playing.
If they draw a number that is not shown on any of their cards OR if they draw a number that is shown on one of their cards AND there is another player who has already drawn that same number (either from their own hand or from an extra pile), then that player cancels out (or “ties”) their current turn and play passes to the next player clockwise around the table.
After everyone has played one turn, each player drAWS two more cards and continues play until somebody either drAWS all 90 cards (in which case they win) OR somebody drAWS an “X” which indicates that bingo has been called for that round (in which case everybody else loses).
If somebody plays all 90 cards before somebody else does, then that person wins automatically!
Bingo balls come in various colors and sizes, but most games use a standard size ball with spots numbered 1 through 15 across its surface. The ball is placed in the middle of the players’ tables and each player takes turns rolling it around until it comes to rest with its spot facing up towards them. When someone rolls all 15 spots on their bingo ball, they win!.
