It’s not clear when the 10 Commandments of bingo were thought up or conveyed to a wide audience.  There also doesn’t seem to have been one universally recognised author.  It certainly wasn’t Charlton Heston coming down from a Mountain with stone tablets! There are a number of variations of the Commandments, especially as presented on Bingo websites, but most agree that they evolved over the years as Bingo grew in popularity. Essentially they started out as rules for live or land-based Bingo etiquette, but a few have application across to online Bingo.

The first five commandments essentially deal with common courtesies. If you’re playing with experienced, dedicated Bingo Players, you’ll want to observe these, or you may get grief. Just like the time I went from playing Texas Hold ‘em Poker with my friends, to a proper one. I was told off for not holding my hand of cards in a fashion whereby the backs could be seen all the time by all the other players.

1.    Thou shalt not sit in thy neighbour’s seat.  Just like regulars in the bar at a pub, many regular Bingo players have a favourite seat. Occupy it at your peril! How do you know which is their seat if it isn’t reserved? Ask one of the organisers before you take your seat. Better to be safe than sorry or you’ll be getting off to a bad start.
2.    Thou shalt not covet (pinch) another player’s dabbers, daubers or cards.
3.    Thou shalt not speak ill of the Caller (as in “I can’t wait for that Caller to be replaced, he brings nothing but bad luck!”)
4.    Thou shalt not utter words to visit bad luck on another player.
5.    Thou shalt not use the Bingo word in vain (in other words don’t call Bingo when you haven’t got a win!).
6.    Thou shalt not murder the Caller (seems to be a lot of protection in these Commandments for the Caller... thank heavens for that!)
7.    Thou shalt not steal thy spouse’s money to play Bingo.
8.    Thou shalt not fib about winnings. Just say you’d prefer not to say, or just that you had a “modest” win.
9.    Thou shalt not covet the winnings of your fellow players.
10.    At the appointed time of a Bingo game commencement, thou shalt not be noisy, or otherwise irritate or distract your fellow players from their game.

Now it strikes me that numbers 3-6, 8 and 10, could all be applied to online Bingo. The Chat Rooms are usually a great place to banter and share news and views in between games, and by keeping to the commandments, that will make them a great place to interact.

I have to say that as an ex-Caller, I particularly like Commandments 3 and 6! That said, I have to admit that I too have been driven to distraction by a caller who is indistinct, too slow, too fast, or doesn’t take control of the game, and allows the players to intimidate him/her. Me? I just take a baseball bat with me on stage, shave my head, and look menacing! Lol!

Good luck and remember the Commandments!