A Quick Guide to Stage Bingo

Forget ping-pong balls and "kelly's eye" - modern Stage Bingo is an exciting high-technology game where the only "clickety-click" you'll hear is when the caller presses a button to release a number!

Stage Bingo is the main game played in Bingo Clubs across the UK. Players buy a pack of books from a selling point ("booksales"), which usually consists of a number of multi-page books and a few quick single page books known as "flyers". Additionally, players may purchase separate books for Link and National Games.

The games are always played in a set sequence, known as the "Policy". The ticket numbers which have been sold are recorded in a computer called an XSCe, which automatically calculates the prize money for each game and controls the order in which the games are played.

The caller operates a computer called an RNGe which calls the numbers for each game in turn. The numbers are announced as well as displayed on TV monitors and, often, large electronic displays.

When a player marks a line or full house, they shout "Bingo!" and the caller stops the game. A member of staff reads out the player's ticket number which is typed into the RNGe for validation. If it's a valid win, the player is paid the appropriate prize.

Every so often, one of the games will be a "Link" game whereby several clubs all join together for one large prize. Plus, every evening and some afternoons, several hundred clubs join together for one massive prize - the National Bingo Game.

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