Culture

Games often have multiple bingos — for example, the players may first play for a single line, then after that is called continue playing for a full card, then for a consolation full card.

Players often play multiple cards for each game; thirty 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 dabbers. 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, however. The numbers already called and the patterns being played are also displayed on electric signs.

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.