What if people yelled out "beano" instead of "bingo" when they won?
Well, apparently, they used to!

Bingo dates way back to the 1500s. The game evolved, like any other, moving from country to country, witnessing a number of variations, until it eventually became popularized as "beano."

Apparently, it was only somewhere around the 1920s where the winner yelled "bingo," instead of "beano," thus changing the name forever. Or until someone else can trigger a change like that.

Well, you're only going to have a shot at name changing if you know how to play bingo.

So let's have a gander at how it works.

What Do You Need?
As a game of chance, bingo has seen its fair share of variations. However, this is what you need for a typical, classic style of bingo.

• Cards: You need a good set of bingo cards with five columns and rows. Each column must begin with an alphabet (B, I, N, G, O). And continue with random numbers ranging from 1-15 (in the first line) followed by 16-30, 31-45, 46-60 and 61-70 in subsequent lines.

• A Caller: Someone to conduct the whole game by picking random numbers and calling them out.

• The Numbers: These are generally numbered balls that are read out by the caller.

• The Dauber: This is a sort of marker for players to cross out numbers on their card that called out.

General Rules on How to Play Bingo
Who Can Play: Pretty much anyone can play bingo! Typically it depends on the kinds of prizes that are up for grabs. If it's money, maybe you wouldn't be comfortable letting your kids play, but generally, it's a family-friendly game, particularly big among the seniors of the community.

How it Works: The caller calls out a random number, and if you have it on your card, you get to block it or mark it out with your dauber. However, if you're playing bingo online in UK, or anywhere else, the system will probably mark it out for you.

Remember that each column begins with an alphabet. Now when you mark out all the numbers in any given column, you can then mark out the alphabet as well.

Before the set of numbers get called out, the caller may tell you what you're playing for. Yes, everyone is playing for "BINGO", which is when all your numbers (and alphabets) get blotted out. However, sometimes there are prizes for the person who gets the first five numbers or the first full-line, so pay attention.

The person who marks out all their numbers gets "BINGO". Yelling bingo when you get it is appreciated.

Other Variations
Well now that you know how to play bingo, you can consider other variations. If you're hosting a kids party you can even use things besides numbers to fill in the lines. Maybe tiny animals, fruits or whatever you think they'll enjoy.

Want to work your brain? Head over to our own games section for fun puzzles of every kind!