Frequently Asked Questions

I haven't played bingo in years and I am not sure what I need???

• We understand some of our you haven't played bingo since you were children. Don't worry!  The basics of bingo are still the same. For any bingo game, you need 3 things:

1. Something to play bingo on: Traditional American bingo is played on a bingo game board with 25 squares with bingo numbers 1-75.  Typical bingo boards are paper cards (disposible) or hard cards (reuseable) See below for more info on different types of bingo cards available.
2. Something to call the bingo numbers with: Since you now have something to play bingo on, your next step is something to call out the bingo numbers with.  Traditionally bingo numbers are called using bingo balls rolled out of a bingo cage. You may also use bingo calling cards (a deck of 75 cards numbered B1-O75 similar to a deck of playing cards).
3. Something to mark your bingo cards with: Now that you have your cards and something to call bingo with, the last thing you need is something to mark your cards with once your bingo number is called.  For paper cards, the most tradtional why to mark off your numbers is with a bingo ink marker called a bingo dauber.  Daubers come in various shapes, sizes, and colors (super fun!) OR you can use bingo chips (the little plastic round discs) to cover the number.  Bingo chips can be used with both paper cards and hard cards.

Paper Cards, Hard Cards, Shutter Cards...WHAT???

• You know you need a bingo card (board) to play on but which one is the best fit for your bingo event? We literally carry hundreds of different types of bingo cards in various forms of paper and hard cardboard. Here's a quick overview to help you narrow it down.

1. Paper Cards -  Bingo paper cards are made of paper that is the tickness of newspaper print.  No, its not that thick, but its the industry standard of professional, high quality bingo paper and we sell it! Paper cards are meant to be used with bingo ink markers (more on those later) and are considered disposible after one use. Bingo paper cards are sold in various forms, however the two most popular are:

• Bingo Sheets - Single individual bingo sheets that are given out one at a time. 
• Bingo Books - collated "books" are bingo sheets that are glued together at the top to form a packet of different colored sheets (pages). Normally the number of "pages" in a books are equal to the number of bingo grounds you plan on playing.  Ex: 5 page books = 5 rounds of bingo
• Specialty Papers - This are papers that are used for special bingo games such as bonzanza games or u-pic-ems.

1. Bingo hard cards are made of a thick layer of cardboard and are meant to be reusable. You cannot use ink daubers on them so you will want to mark them with something resuable such as bingo chips.

    3. Shutter Cards - Shutter cards are hard reusable bingo cards that have an tab or "shutter" that is built into the card that is used to mark the card if the number is called so you will not need any bingo chips or other markers.