Hold your cards. We may have a bingo

“B! I! N! G! O! And Bingo was his name-o!” That little ditty from our elementary school days will probably stick with us forever, whether we want it to or not.

 

If you have never played Bingo in your life, I don’t even know what to say to you. It’s such an ingrained game for so many people. I grew up with it being played one Sunday night every month in our church basement. St. Mary’s in New Ulm is a pretty big parish, and the turnout was always tremendous. My dad called numbers, and I tagged along to retrieve Bingo cards when someone thought they had attained whatever the goal was for that game.

 

We introduced our kids to Bingo at the Litomysl church festival many years ago. I don’t recall if they won or not, but they enjoyed it. Just walk by the Bingo tent at the Steele County Free Fair at any given time, and it’s usually full of competitors.

 

Many years ago, when the Legion was still open in New Richland, a group of us went up on a weeknight to play Bingo. When one member of our group happened to win, the glares of death that descended on us from all the “regulars” were intense. How dare these young whippersnappers come in here and dare to win a game!

 

My grandma used to head over on a bus to Jackpot Junction Casino just to play bingo. One summer she hit two different jackpots, winning $500 one time and $1,000 another. I can only imagine the groans when she called out, “Bingo!” each time. 

 

According to the National Bingo Game Association, Bingo originated in Italy. It has its origins in a lotto game from the 1500s, though cards and calling out numbers came about in the 1700s. Hugh J. Ward brought it to America in the 1920s, using it in carnivals in Pennsylvania and copyrighting it.

 

Edwin Lowe, who worked with toys, saw a version being played called Beano. People used dried beans as part of the game action. Using his toy connection, he mass-produced cards for sale. It’s said that it went from Beano to Bingo when a woman who won was so excited that she said the name we know it by instead of Beano when she won.

 

There are a lot of different ways to play Bingo. The usual way is to get five in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. The middle space is a free space, so it’s a little easier to work through there. You can also play four corners; a postage stamp is all four squares in a particular corner. I also learned in my research that some play to win with a small plus sign or a small letter x. 

 

There is always a blackout game, too. You must fill every square on your board to win, and that’s often for a big jackpot. In England, they play with a 90-square board instead of the 75 we Americans use. That would be a long blackout game!

 

When I used to help Dad with Bingo night, I was always amazed at the folks who would get there as soon as the doors opened to find “their” cards. They had to have certain numbers in certain columns or they didn’t want the card. Hey, it’s no different than always dribbling the basketball two times before shooting a free throw!

 

Why do I care so much about Bingo right now? Well, I happen to be calling games for the All Saints Church Fall Festival on September 22 in New Richland! We have mass at 8:00, and then I need to eat my share of Dad’s Belgian Waffles before setting up our Bingo stand outside. 

 

You’re invited to join me and my lovely assistant, Michelle, for a fun morning of Bingo games! I’m sure I’ll have my share of corny Bingo humor. (“I21. I better be 21 if I’m going to have a beer over at the drink stand. I21.”) Plus, who doesn’t enjoy a good festival at a church?

 

I grew up with a big festival in September in New Ulm, so it’s fun to be part of that again. When St. Aidan’s was open in Ellendale, we had our famous ham dinner in October, though the meal was about all we had, in addition to a raffle. At All Saints, we’ve moved to the Dad’s Belgian Waffles since we once again have a Sunday morning mass instead of Saturday evening. 

 

And last year, we also had chicken poop squares! Hopefully, we’ll have that again. After all, it’s just another form of Bingo! Come join us on September 22 in New Richland. I’ll save a Bingo card for you.

 

Word of the Week: This week’s word is logodaedalus, which means one skilled with words, as in, “The logodaedalus impressed the crowd as he called Bingo games with his non-stop use of funny language related to the game, while his wife rolled her eyes.” Impress your friends and confuse your enemies!