Bingo Glossary

Bingo Glossary – Online Bingo terms in Bingo Glossary.

Some terms in Bingo Glossary

Blackout (Also, Coverall)
A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win.
Bonanza
A progressive coverall Jackpot that is usually played as the 13th game of the session. Forty-five numbers are drawn before the session and players mark them on separate cards and set aside. The countdown begins at 48 numbers or less and go up one number per week to 52 numbers or until won. The amount of the jackpot is determined by card sales for that game.
Bingo Caller
The person who calls out the bingo numbers.
Chat Room
A handy monitor or screen where you can read and exchange messages with other players.
Bingo Coverall (Blackout)
A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win.
Dauber (Bingo dauber)
Ink-filled bottle/pen with a foam tip on it used to mark called numbers.
Early Bird Game
A bingo game that starts earlier than another regularly scheduled game.
Free Space
The center square of the card. It’s like a Joker. You get it free every game and it counts towards your winning pattern.
Game Board
The display board above your card(s) that shows you the balls in play.
Game Room
Some online games divide the players into game rooms.
G.T.I., T.E.D.
An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.
Hardway Bingo (Hard-way Bingo)
Bingo in a straight line without the use of the free space.
Bingo Jackpot
A big prize usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern, such as a blackout, within a specified number of balls.
Minimum Buy-in
The least amount you must spend to be eligible for prizes.
Money Ball
A number drawn before the game that will double a player’s winnings if bingo is hit on that number.
Bingo Pattern
The shape you need to cover on your card with called out numbers, usually it is a straight line.
Progressive Jackpot
A Jackpot that gets bigger until it is won.
Rainbow Pack
A paper pack that allows players to play for three or four different prize denominations at once.
Six-pack, Nine-pack
Six or nine numbers in a block on one card.
T.E.D., G.T.I.
An electronic dauber system used to play multiple packs at once. These usually require a rental fee and only one is allowed per player.
Validation
Eligibility required to win additional jackpot amounts. Price varies by number of cards played.
Wild Number
Usually played on a double bingo that leads into a triple bingo. The first number out of the hopper determines the wild number; for example, if 42 is drawn, all numbers ending in 2 should be marked off

Bingo Lingo

As bingo continues to colonise the internet, players have been quick to identify their new cyber-citizenship with a new

Bingo callers in traditional English bingo halls often use funny little names when calling out the numbers, these are known as bingo calls.

Unfortunately, the calls are used less frequently nowadays and are virtually non-existent online, however, because they’re quite fun and because they hold a particularly special place in my memory bank we wanted to include something, even if by way of a little homage to the old days.

Each number from 1-90 has its own bingo call. Some of the bingo lingo is very simple, such as ‘Four and Nine’: 49. Other nicknames follow cockney rhyming slang, such as ‘Pick and Mix’: 26. Occasionally, the bingo call will rhyme with the number, for example ‘Tom’s Tricks’: 6. Other bingo calls don’t rhyme at all but instead have a biblical association e.g. ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’: 23 (referring to Psalm 23 in the Bible) – not very good for those of us who didn’t pay much attention in RE…

Most bingo lingo numbers have more than one call, and depending on the caller’s personality will have a favourite of his own. For example, he may prefer the rhyming slang association; ‘Garden Gate’ (which rhymes with 8), or the visual representation ‘One Fat Lady’ (because the shape of a figure 8 looks like a larger woman wearing a tight belt).

  • After Game – The last game of a session.
  • Admission Packet – The minimum number of cards that players have to buy for their admission.
  • Ball Runway – The opening where the ball shooters launch balls to go into the main playing area.
  • Ball Lifter – It is a device for lifting the ball from playing area to shooter.
  • Bingo Board – usually an electronic board that lights up with the calling of each number.
  • Ball Shooter – The plunger who launch the ball in the playfield area.
  • Bingo Marker – A marker for marking off the bingo cards’ numbers.
  • Bingo Card – The card required for playing the game; it contains 24 numbers and a vacant space in the lay-out of 5 rows and 5 columns.
  • Break Open – numerous cards that are made from paper products or paper with perforated tabs for break open.
  • Coverall or Blackout – The act of covering all the called-out numbers, players aim to cover all numbers to win.
  • Chat Room – The room in an online bingo site where gamers interact with one another.
  • Caller – The person responsible for calling bingo numbers out when the numbers are drawn.
  • Cash-In-Prize – A game that offers a prize in place of cash rewards.
  • Dauber – A pen that comes with a foam tip to cross called-out numbers off.
  • Early Bird Games – bingo games that start before the general schedule.
  • Face – bingo sheets that come with one empty space and 24 numbers.
  • Free Space – the Square in the middle of each card that counts towards players’ wining game.
  • Four Corners – The numbers found on the four corners of the card. Players can win a game if they get these four numbers.
  • Game Room – rooms that are designed for different types of bingo games and to divide players as per their selection of games.
  • House – the centre or hall where the game takes place, it can also be the operator or owner of gambling games.
  • Hard-way Bingo – A game which is played in straight line without using the vacant space.
  • Instant Bingo – It is meant for open tickets contain the letters B I N G O. Winning tickets come with the word B-I-N-G-O or a bingo pattern or logo.
  • Jackpot – A huge prize given away for completing a difficult bingo pattern.
  • Lucky Jar – it is the other name for cookie jar that contains cash. Players that win a game also win the jar and take the cash home. Money is added to the jar every time the lucky numbers are called and when bingo callers make a mistake in game.
  • Late Night Bingo -games that begin quite late at night, usually around 10pm, these games are also called Moonlight Bingo.
  • Minimum Buy-in – The minimum mandatory amount that gamers have to spend to be entitled for playing and winning prizes.
  • Multiple Winners – When more than one player wins at the same time.
  • On The Way – The game that is played before the blackout game on the same card.
  • On – players those who are lacking just one number for winning are considered as ‘On’.
  • Pattern – To win a game, players need certain patterns like straight line, vertical, horizontal or diagonal line to cover the numbers on the card.
  • Payout – It is the percentage of sales that is paid by the House. Majority of bingo halls pay around 75% out of their sales.
  • Progressive Jackpot – A special type of Jackpot that keeps on growing in amount until a player finally wins.
  • Prize Bingo – Cash which is offered as the prize for winning a game.
  • Quickie – A fast-paced game in which numbers are called rapidly and to win the card has to be full and all numbers need to be crossed off.
  • Rainbow Pack – It is a paper booklet which enables players to play for multiple prizes simultaneously.
  • RNG – Acronym for Random Number Generator; it is an electronic device that generate numbers randomly for a game.
  • Reno Night – this term means an evening filled with various casino games such as blackjack and roulette.
  • Session – An entire evening or day time scheduled for bingo.
  • Shutter Board – A reusable board made of plastic that come with pre-printed numbers in a 4×4 format; player’s numbers mark off the numbers by closing the shutters over each number.
  • Speed Bingo – A faster version of regular bingo where numbers are called out quickly and players can win in just three numbers; most new bingo sites host these games.
  • Speed Game – this game is played as a single game and with a single card in the way mentioned above.
  • Six-pack, Nine-pack – six or nine numbers placed in one block on one card.
  • Split Pot – where winners split the pot with the House or bingo hall.
  • T.E.D., G.T.I. – An electronic marking method which is used to play several different packs at once.
  • Tickets – these are the printed pages laid out in grids on which the bingo is played. Tickets usually come in books and some of them come with bar codes describing numbers to help check claims.
  • Texas Blackout – A specific variants of bingo games.
  • Wrap Up – it refers to the last game of a particular bingo session.
  • Wild Number – generally played on double bingo that eventually lead to triple bingo, The first called-out number decides the wild number; for example if 38 is the first called-out number all numbers that end with 8 need to be marked off.

The online bingo demographic has created a language to encourage a sense of community. Our list is provided as a dictionary of terms to help all confused players!

So now there’s nothing stopping you. The next time you are asked for a quickie, don’t freak out!