The game of bingo is a popular member of the lotto family of games. The game evolved from the sixteenth century Italian lottery. In Ireland, Australia and the United Kingdom, the game is based or ninety numbers and played a rectangular ticket of nine columns by three rows. These are five numbers on each of the three lines. A regular bingo consists of the competition of one line, while the completion of two and three lines are special games. The coverall is the completion of three lines and is also known as a full house, house or housie. The ninety number game is known as the British version.

The American version of the game is the seventy five number version. This is played on a square five column by five row card with one letter of the word 'Bingo" over each of the columns. The middle of the 'N' column is a free space which can be used to complete any pattern in which it is included. A regular bingo is the competition of one line, either horizontal, vertical or diagonal. Some house rules allow for the four corners as a regular bingo.

The square nature of the card in the seventy five number game allows for the formation of many different patterns which can be shapes, numbers or letters. These are usually used for special games.

These are the two basic bingo version and the mechanics of play are the same for both. When the randomly selected number is announced, the players check their cards and cover the number where it occurs. The first one to complete the pattern is the winner of the game. This is also true for most of the game variations.

There are numerous bingo game variations based on one or both of the bingo game versions. There is an eighty number abbreviated variation of the seventy five number version and also an abbreviated variation of the ninety number version. There are also games like Speed Ball and Lucky Number Bingo. Sites also offer progressive jackpot bingo which can generate a lot of excitement when its jackpot become large.

If you are looking for more information on bingo and the offerings at the different bingo sites, visit a good bingo information site. This kind of site will provide not only the latest bingo news, but also bingo reviews and links to the different playing sites.