Bingo Italy:

The game of bingo originally started in Italy. It travelled through Europe to France where wealthy persons enjoyed the game. In Germany the game was used as a fun way of teaching maths to students. When the game started in Europe it was called 'beano', but when it was introduced in the U.S. someone accidently heard 'Bingo' and the name stuck. Bingo is a game in which a person receives a card of numbers in five columns. A "Caller" will pick random letters and numbers. An example of this would be the caller saying 'B-12'. As the number and letter are called out the players look to their cards and see if they have the corresponding combination. If the player had 'B-12' on their card they would mark it off. The goal of bingo is to be the first to get five numbers in a row, horizontally, vertically or diagonally. Some additional goals also include Four Corners and an X as winners. When you do achieve any of those combinations then you shout 'Bingo' as a way to show you won. Once the caller checks over the player's card then they are officially the winner.

For many years bingo has been played in Bingo Halls in which many people come together and compete against each other. These Bingo Halls are often more of a social event rather than harsh competition. Computers have been easily able to mimic a bingo game because it is so simple. There are many online bingo games in which people all over the world could play against each other, much like online poker. There are many people who play bingo online but there are still many places that hold weekly or monthly bingo events. The presence of these games shows that many people still view bingo as a fun social event that a computer game cannot replace. Who would have thought this simple game started way back in 16th century Italy would be such a popular game around the world.