Bingo is a game of chance in which randomly selected numbers are drawn and players match those numbers to those appearing on 5x5 matrices which are printed or electronically represented and are known as "cards." The first person to have a card where the drawn numbers form a specified pattern (usually in a straight line) is the winner and calls out the word "Bingo!" to alert others and inform the caller of the win. The card must first be properly checked for accuracy before the "win" is officially confirmed at which time the prize is secured and a new game is begun. At a travelling carnival near Atlanta in 1929, Beano was being played with dried beans, a rubber stamp, and cardboard sheets. Edwin Lowe, was watching this game and noticed how engaged the players were. The carnival worker had to dismiss the players at 3 am. Lowe took the idea with him to New York where he introduced the game to his friends. He conducted bingo games similar to the ones he had witnessed, using dried beans, a rubber numbering stamp and card board. His friends loved the game. It is said that one of his players made bingo history when he was so excited to have won that he yelled out Bingo" instead of Beano." The Lowe Bingo Game had two versions; the first a 12-card set for $1.00, the second a $2.00 set with 24 cards. Bingo was a wild success. By the 1940s Bingo games were all over the country. Lowe had many competitors and all he asked was that they pay $1.00 a year to conduct the games and of course to use the name Bingo. Bingo cards are flat pieces of cardboard or non-reusable paper which contain 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five horizontal rows; Dual dab, or "double-action" cards have two numbers in each square. Each space in the grid contains a number, except for the center square, which is considered filled. The highest number used is 75. The letters B, I, N, G, O are pre-printed above the five vertical columns, with one letter appearing above each column. The center space is marked "Free". The printed numbers on the card correspond to the following arrangement: 1 to 15 in the B column; 16 to 30 in the I column; 31 to 45 in the N column; 46 to 60 in the G column and 61 to 75 in the O column. Single games often have multiple bingos; for example, the players may first play for a single line; after that, play may go on until a full card is called; then, play could continue for a consolation full card. Players often play multiple cards for each game; 30 is not an unusual number. Because of the large numbers of cards played by each player, most halls have the players sit at tables to which they often fasten their cards with adhesive tape. To mark cards faster the players usually use special markers called daubers. At commercial halls, after calling the number the caller then displays the next number on a television monitor; bingo cannot be called until that number is called aloud. Bingo is often used as an instructional tool in American primary schools and in teaching English as a foreign language in many countries. Typically, the numbers are replaced with beginning reader words (such as those drawn from the Dolch word lists), pictures, or unsolved math problems. Recently many teachers have taken to using software to automate the creation of bingo cards, as it is slow and laborious to do it by hand for large numbers of cards.
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