Speed bingo. What on earth is it? Let me explain first what it isn’t. It’s not something where at live or land-based Bingo, the caller suddenly realises he’s got to attend to a call of nature and starts rattling out the numbers faster and faster (although I must admit I have done that myself!). Nor is it a computer virus that suddenly, and contrary to most viruses, speeds up rather than slows down your Bingo provider’s programme, causing Chipmunk voices and numbers flooding across the screen at an ever-increasing rate until melt-down.
30 ball Bingo is one of the newest additions to the online bingo scene. It’s played on a 3x3 bingo card with 9 squares and, as the name suggests, only 30 numbers are called to play the game. That’s a third of the usual 90! Because there are less numbers the games are played in a much shorter time- it will be much quicker for someone to win. You only have to get 9 numbers; he only winner of the game is a single Full House covering all the numbers. There are no row wins. However you can play more games in an hour and there are more chances to win.
In a relatively short space of time the popularity of this new style of bingo game has pushed the jackpot amounts offered in 30-ball games higher and higher attracting even more bingo players.
If you’re playing the game live, the caller calls out the numbers very quickly and hence, it demands a lot of concentration and you’ll have to make sure there are no distractions. Online, there’s a less of a problem if you’re using the auto-dauber feature.
Some people like Speed Bingo as a sort of warm-up exercise game. It can be played before a real round of bingo just to accustom or familiarize new players with the game. So is it perhaps a game favoured by the hot blooded youths who lack patience, or time?
Well, I suggest you try it if you haven’t already. My personal take on Speed Bingo is that I don’t like it apart from a warm up/cool down game at the beginning or end of a proper Bingo session. Part of the fun and tension of Bingo comes from seeing your card begin to fill, and wondering who else may be filling up the card. As more and more of the 90 numbers are called, in a live environment, you can feel the anticipation, which never really gets off the ground in a Speed Bingo game. And the joy of winning for me is a bit more when you’ve been playing a longer game. But it’s horses for courses- you pays your money, you makes your choice!
Good luck whether you are a speedster or not!