Glossary of BINGO! terms

Blackout
A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win. Same as coverall.

Caller
The person (or machine) who calls out the bingo numbers for the player.

Card
Your playing card, of course!

Chat room
A screen displayed alongside your game where you can type in messages to other players and read their reponses.

Coverall
A pattern where you must cover the whole card to win. Same as blackout.

Early bird game
A bingo game that starts before another regularly scheduled game.

Free space
The middle square of the card. You get it free every game and it counts towards your winning pattern.

Game board
The display board over your cards that shows you the balls in play.

Game room
Some online games divide the players into game rooms. The smaller group makes a more manageable chat room.

Jackpot
A big prize usually awarded for achieving a difficult pattern (such as a blackout) within a specified number of balls.

Pattern
You only need the numbers that form the pattern to win the game. The most basic patterns are straight lines in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal direction. One popular pattern is the “blackout” or “coverall” where you have to cover the whole card to win.

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