The Many Faces of Bingo: Bingo Variations
The game of bingo was created way back in the 1500s, and since then it has evolved to the game that so many love to play today. Along the way bingo has spun numerous variations, all fun and enjoyable to play. The following are just some of the more popular variations of the game that are being played by young and old alike.
Christmas bingo This is a very fun game, more especially because it involves presents. Each of the players will bring a hidden gift to the game, preferable wrapped in a paper bag to hide what's inside. All the gifts will then be placed on the center of the table. The players will each be a given a card of 25 spaces, which they will fill out with numbers from 1-40, making sure that no two numbers on the card are alike.
The game begins when the player starts to call out a number. Whoever has that number on his card crosses that number off from his card and gets a gift from the table. He calls another card, and the same thing is done until all the gifts have been taken from the table. Once all the gifts are in the hands of each player, when the caller calls out the next number, whoever has that number on his card crosses that number off, and gets another present from one of the other players. This is continued until the caller has called out all the numbers. The good thing is the players get to keep the presents at the end of the game!
Buzzword Bingo Buzzword bingo is another variation that is more popular in meetings and company gatherings, and probably got its start when bored subordinates noticed the many buzzwords spouted off by the speakers in their speeches or meetings, especially because higher-ups in the business world are notorious for using various business jargon in their speeches. The players use a card that has a set of buzzwords in it. Once a buzzword is uttered that word is crossed-off from the card. Whoever crosses off a predetermined number of words gets to yell 'bingo' first and wins! What makes the game more exciting is the very good chance that you'll get caught playing by the boss, so better mouth that bingo quietly instead.
Online bingo As the name implies, this is simply a virtual version of the game. The play is real, however. Players go online to play against other players, whom they communicate with using chat rooms. Numbers are not drawn and called out by a caller, however, since online bingo uses a random number generator.
Roadkill bingo This is a fun game to play while on the road. Players use cards with pictures of various small animals printed on them. Once an animal is spotted as roadkill, whoever spotted that animal first crosses that animal's picture off the card. Whoever crosses off 5 animal pictures in the same row, column, or diagonal line gets to shout 'bingo' and wins!
There are still a lot of variations out there, and more are being made by creative bingo lovers everywhere. It is up to you and your imagination to fashion the game any way you like for a fun and new twist. Or, you could play these variations, and still have a good time playing!