It can have a range of positive social, recreational, cognitive and community-building outcomes. An appreciation of these features enables communities to utilise it more effectively.
Typically a bingo game is conducted in a room with many people who share a common interest, as well as one caller who dials and calls out the drawn numbers from a machine with balls placed into the vial. Afterwards, they are called out to the players and are then marked in their cards by them. They then walk to the podium when they have the winning combination to scream out ‘Bingo!’
Church Halls
Indeed, bingo’s association in popular perception with community events and convivial play will continue to drive its popularity and persistence as a form enjoyed by the public. Its ease of play, social character, variety of formats and possible pay-outs all work in its favour.
But Pictionary is easy to play; you don’t need special skills except for reading a number, and (if you don’t mind steadying the board with other players) only one person at a time is holding a pen, preventing a dominant image-maker from monopolising the fun. This super-social game lets you meet other players as participants; starting new friendships or deepening old ones.
The competitive nature of the game is an additional factor behind its longevity – players attempt to translate skin into bone by winning full houses or better. As well as helping keep them sharp, rivalries between older players can help prevent dementia, and other forms of mental and physical degeneration. And this exercise may make players feel younger too.
Social Clubs
The Crosby Soroptimists recently held a bingo evening with more than 1,800 people in attendance, winning loud hollers of excitement when one player scooped a biggie! The brand new bingo night, after lockdowns due to COVID-19, saw Crosby Hall full to the rafters and one very lucky person.
An attractive design for a Bingo board can keep an audience engaged. Stickers and text tools with interactive elements such as a countdown clock and questions can be used. Q&A streaming can add dimension to the event and help foster more active participation by the community.
Instagram’s Q and A session can be used to answer questions about your rules faster and more efficiently, engaging your audience while demonstrating that you care and are paying attention. Faster responses to submissions let people (especially if they’re a bit more creative) know that you have them front and centre in your mind, which can make your community on Instagram feel like it’s a fun Bingo game.
Online Communities
The sensations of suspense and anticipation accompanying each called number can help create an intense atmosphere, making it the perfect choice for both fun and companionship.
The social aspect comes out in the online bingo experience because of the chat rooms that encourage players from the four corners of the world to discuss, and constantly banter with, each other. In addition to that, many of these sites host competitions or tournaments that encourage people from all walks of life to come together and enjoy bonding in a virtual space, while also enjoying the games at their core that much more because they’re able to share their experiences.
Virtual bingo is as much fun at home as it is in a bingo hall: you just need to find a venue online and people gathered in it, who are ready to meet at that particular place and with an entertainer who reads anecdotes and trivia between the rounds.
The Enduring Popularity of Bingo
From the comfort of their homes to the bustling halls of congregations, bingo has been a popular pass time for many decades. It remains appealing, and always has, but what has enabled it to evolve and spread into new situations is its open adaptability.
The other cause for Bingo’s enduring prosperity lies in the fact that it had cross-cultural appeal. People of different ages and backgrounds in different cultures learnt and enjoyed this easy-to-understand game. Moreover, Bingo provides an excellent platform for players to communicate and form a sense of community.
This promotes camaraderie and competition, making participation itself a reward, especially at community and charity games where the players are encouraged to compete with one another. The call-outs – ‘Crappy Dibbles! Captain Blackjack!’ – are part of wider popular culture and all help to account for bingo’s continued success and vitality into the 21st century.
