When you play bingo you will notice some bingo equipment specifically designed for the game you love to play. This article will go over these items and briefly explain what each is and what they are used for.

Bingo Balls

Bingo balls are an important piece of bingo equipment. Without them it would be difficult to play the game as it has evolved. Before the advent of the bingo ball the caller would pull numbered wooded tiles from a box, hat, or cloth bag and then call out the number on the tile. While this is a good method that works, the use of bingo balls is better. All bingo balls in a set are exactly the same size and they are clearly marked which means there is less chance that someone can cry fowl.

Bingo Cards

Bingo cards are the essential piece of bingo equipment that could have prevented the game from becoming as popular as it has. At the start of the game that is now call bingo, there were only a few different cards available which meant if there were more players than the number of different cards available, you had some people playing cards with the exact same numbering sequence. Because this problem was addressed by Mr. Lowe very early on, you don’t have to worry about what might have been.

There are two types of bingo cards, disposable and non disposable cards. Disposable cards are the type used in most bingo halls as it is possible to have multiple cards printed on a single sheet of paper. With disposable cards the players use ink daubers to mark each number as they are called. At the end of the game the card is discarded and a new card is used for the next game.

Non disposable cards are typically used in smaller games where players tend to play only a few cards at a time. These cards usually have a shutter that can be slid across the number as it is called and then opened back up for the next game.

Bingo Blower

The largest piece of bingo equipment could very well be the bingo ball blower. The blower is a clear box that uses a fan to shuffle the balls and a tube at the top to randomly select a ball. The bingo blower makes the calling of the numbers more transparent than previous types of number selections.
If you are familiar with casino keno you will regonize the bingo blower as a very similar device is used for selecting Keno numbers.

In some bingo halls the bingo blower and balls have been replaced by a random number generator (RNG). The RNG which as its name suggests uses a computer to randomly generate numbers from a given range.

Bingo Board

The bingo board is the score board so to speak of the bingo world. This piece of bingo equipment allows the bingo hall to keep a running tally of all the numbers that have been called during a particular game. The board is usually located behind the caller with all the numbers listed which light up as the number is called. Larger halls may have a few of these boards around the hall. Keno and online keno also uses a board like this to track the numbers that have been called.

Bingo Dauber

The bingo dauber has all but replaced the use of chips in bingo halls. The dauber allows players to quickly and precisely place a mark on a called number. With a dauber there is no need to worry about knocking the chips around and losing a number, or worse, gaining a number that hasn’t been called.

Caller

Well not really a piece of equipment, but just as important. The caller adds excitement to the bingo game and keno game as they call out the numbers as the blower or RNG produce them.