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Bingo equipment
Real world bingo games use a variety
of equipment, though obviously this is all simulated
in web versions of the game.
Cards
Bingo is played with game cards that have pre-printed
numbers on them. Once the game is finished the card
is no longer valid and can be thrown away.
Most game cards are made of paper though some halls
may use a type of hard board that may be made of laminated
card or plastic and can be used more than once.
Some games may use a fingertip or shutter card where
plastic shutters are shut when the corresponding number
is called.
A standard bingo card has 25 squares arranged inn five
columns of five boxes each. With the exception of the
middle ‘free square’ each square is numbered.
The free square automatically counts as a number for
all players.
The first vertical column is headed by the number B
and contains 5 numbers in the 1-15 range. The second
row, under the letter I, has five numbers in the 16-30
range, and similarly, the third row, under the letter
N, five numbers ranging from 31-45, the fourth row,
46-60 under the letter G and finally the last column,
the fifth, five numbers in the 61-75 range.
The B-I-N-G-O above each column serve only as reference
points to help the players locate their numbers and
otherwise serve no real purpose in the game.
Bingo balls
Bingo is played with 75 ping-pong style balls. Each
ball has a number printed on it between 1 and 75.
The cage and blower
The 75 balls are randomly mixed in a spherical cage.
Traditionally the balls are hand spun, however, modern
bingo games use an electronic device called a blower,
which uses streams of air to circulate the balls.
The blower allows only one ball at a time to come to
the top of the machine and be ‘trapped’.
The ‘trapped’ ball is then called and will
be subsequently removed from the proceedings.
Masterboard and rack
After removal from the cage the ball are placed in
a masterboard or rack. This is simply a flat board with
holes for the bingo balls. As they are placed in the
masterboard the same number will appear on the flashboard;
an electronic board that displays the numbers drawn
thus far so that players may verify their results.
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