50-Ball Bingo is a modern addition to the bingo games arsenal, among the 90-ball, 75-ball, 80-ball and 30-ball bingo. It’s something between the lines of 90-ball and the speedy 30-ball bingo.
So if the classic UK bingo is too long and the quick alternative is no fun either, then the 50-ball bingo should fit in nicely between the two. Here’s a quick overview of the 50-ball bingo and how to play it.
How to Play
There’s no skill needed to play 50-ball bingo, like with most games of luck, but it’s no fun if you don’t know the rules. For that matter, the game’s played similarly to the one it takes inspiration from: the beloved 90-ball bingo. And since there’s less balls to call, bingo rounds are almost twice as short.
There are 10 squares on each card, which are made of 2 rows with 5 numbers each. For comparison, 90-ball bingo has 27 squares, 3 rows and 5 numbers in each one, while 30-ball bingo has just 9 squares, with a number in each one.
In this type of bingo game, a strip is a group of 5 tickets, which contain every number from 1 to 50. This means the first column in a strip will contain the numbers 1 to 10, the second column 11 to 20, third column 21 to 30, fourth column 31 to 40 and the fifth column 41 to 50.
Unlike 75-ball bingo with patterns, players of the 50-ball bingo can win multiple times, as prizes are awarded for 1 line and House or Bingo. As usual, there’s no manual dubbing as it’s all done automatically.
General Rules
The prize is determined by the number of players, tickets purchased for the game round and the cost per ticket. The more bingoers there are in each game, the bigger the prize pool.
Remember, to be one of the two, you need to be the first to fill up a horizontal line, or better yet, all numbers per ticket. And if there’s more winners or winning cards per game, the prize pool is divided equally between each party.
Note that some bingo sites may also offer 1-to-go winners, distributing a small percentage of the total prize money between the few lucky players to keep the suspense high.
Finally, most bingo sites now also offer a chance of winning a progressive jackpot. It can be yours for hitting bingo in a certain amount of calls, which is usually within the range of 19 balls.
Where to Play
There are only a few online bingo platforms that offer this type of bingo game, with more likely to follow. You can currently find it on sites like Gala Bingo and the ones which are part of one of the Cozy Games powered networks. Be sure to read the house rules for each site as certain terms may vary.
Summary
50-Ball Bingo is a modern type of bingo that’s based on the British favourite 90-ball bingo. It lasts for less time because of fewer balls, and is played with 2 rows with 5 numbers on each one. Fill up 1 horizontal line to win the first prize, and all 10 squares to claim the House or Bingo prize.