When I was younger, playing Bingo altered my attitude to life.

As a teenager, I was depressed over my break up with Jenny. Clearing her mails from my inbox, I found a promo that said, “You will discover online Bingo means much more than a game at XYZonline.com.”

“Big deal,” I muttered, but went ahead and registered. I needed some distraction after all.

I entered a chat room where a Trivia Bingo game was on. The chat host popped a question: Which Hollywood romantic has topped the American Film Institute’s 100 Years…100 Passions list?

I typed in the answer –Casablanca —and went on to imagine myself and Jenny in the roles of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman! The $2 bonus I earned, did not register on my mind. But there was some pesky little thing, cheering me, I noticed. I continued playing mechanically. Until the next question came up, “Which event or day celebrates love?” I answered this too –St Valentine’s Day on February 14. Another $ 2 dropped into my account and I began to sit up and take notice. So did pesky Sarah –she was saying, “Way to Go Sweetheart”, but I ignored her.

Question number three was “Where do you ‘wear your heart’ if you are quick to show your feelings? “Sleeve” I said and earned another $ 2. But Sarah had other ideas: “Do you even have one?” she said. I apologized and thanked her for cheering me on, even as I joined the cheering band. My quota of three correct answers was up.

Know what? I returned to the chat rooms often after that. I don’t know if it was a coincidence. Sarah seemed to be following me …into the Alphabet Bingo game, the Block of Five. I tried Add ‘Em Up and there she was. Funny thing is she thought I was following her!

Well, perhaps it was not just the Bonus Bucks that I was looking out for. Jenny was a distant memory and I was alive again. Or maybe it was just that Valentine was round the corner!

The word ‘Bingo’ immediately conjures up an image of 5X5 card with some basic bingo patterns on it. It has been considered a simple game of chance for over hundred years. I myself perceived it as the most uncomplicated of all social games. In fact there have been times when I made fun of my wife for spending so much time and money on such an effortless game like Bingo. At this she always replied that playing Bingo online is not simple anymore. Then she challenged me to try my hand at a game of Bingo online .

Blinded by my perception of Bingo being an easy game I instantly accepted my wife’s challenge and bought a Bingo card online. I was expecting to get away with some decent rewards by striking off a simple straight line or a diagonal.

Imagine my surprise when I found a crazy cruise ship pattern on my Bingo card instead of the simple straight lines or corners. Seeing my wife’s mocking smile, I took it as a challenge and decided to play further and feed my male ego. But to consternation, I found the crazy cruise ship rotating at a 90° angle after certain intervals. One moment the top of the cruise ship chimney was at N1, the next, I saw it on O3. Soon it shifted to N5 and then unexpectedly to B3. This moving ship actually left me thoroughly confused and I couldn’t concentrate on the numbers being called out and I lost the game. I was humbled. I darted out of the room; with a new-found respect for the wife’s favorite past-time and of course, her proven expertise over my amateur maneuvers.

From that day on I stopped ridiculing my wife. I no longer think online Bingo is as easy as stealing a candy from a baby’s hand.

Well, if you also think that Bingo is an easy game…I suggest you think again.  There is something called dynamic Bingo to contend with you see! On exploring the list of various dynamic Bingo patterns you’ll find out that there are hundreds of such crazy Bingo games. To make the game even more challenging, there are some patterns that rotate at 180° while others turn around at 270°. For instance, the pattern of a ‘Telephone Pole’ rotates at 180°. So, Bingo is not your grandmother’s game anymore.

Initially, fresh online Bingo players feel a bit uneasy playing with such crazy patterns. However, if you have played on the free Bingo version first, I bet you will find it more interesting than any other traditional Bingo game. In fact, I myself prefer these dynamic Bingo patterns to those typical and-easy-to-play-and-win patterns. These dynamic Bingo patterns are more challenging and are quite popular among the youth as well. That explains why I feel young and alert all over again!

I have been following the Bingo mania online in recent times. Frankly, I have begun to wonder whether we are talking about the Bingo ball game or the game of getting celebrities to endorse the game! Just as there were a plethora of Bingo game variations, websites and TV shows, there was a sudden onslaught of promos by the who is who of glitterati.

While it was quite the expected thing to see music manager Sharon Osbourne on Gala Bingo, it is quite another to spot comedian Vic Reeves in drag on 888Ladies.

Ironically, the two ads tell the tale of Bingo’s evolution online. While women flocked Bingo games websites to play the game for years, there has definitely been an increase in male players of late. The catch is that many of them would rather pass themselves off as women!

It all started with girl pop band, Atomic Kitten’s Kerry Katona at Bingos. On her heels came glamorous singer and model, Katie Price –better known as Jordan—who made news with her celebrity endorsements of Foxy Bingo. The site also boasted of a Katie Room where she made appearances and a Katie Charity game -50% of whose proceeds went to the disabled and the visually challenged.

The fad caught on and Irish model, Glenda Gilson took centre stage for a while with her 90 ball Bingo room and Bingo for the lads and ladies at Rehab Bingo. As the fever spread to radio, the charming Denise Van Outen was in the news, spotted at local Bingo halls in Essex every now and then, drawing her own fan following into the Bingo circle.

With everyone doing a me-too, matters became so repetitive that commentator Stuart Hall’s chatty appearances at Bretford Bingo or Keith Chegwin’s Cheggers Bingo seemed mandatory!

I did a quick check of the celebrity scene in Bingo land now and it seems like 2009 is going to be just a little different. All the Bingo sites are splurging on TV advertisements and tempting offers of huge jackpots. Wink Bingo is relying on diamonds as a prize to do the trick, while Foxy Bingo is falling back on its mascot, the Fox, with a mystery around its ad campaign, “He is Back”, and Gala is making a ‘Splash’ with money flying all over the place. Do not be surprised though, if celebrities manage to squeeze their way in. Guest appearances, if nothing else!

Bingo is no longer just a game for old women. It is a fast-growing cult that promises to become a full-fledged ethos of living.  The latest addition to the burgeoning Bingo bandwagon of causes, celebrities and events is the BingObama craze.

If the run-up to the US elections saw the gambling habits of John McCain and Barack Obama being analyzed in minutiae, post elections, it is the Bingo Obama game that has everyone spellbound. I was in Washington last week, watching the inauguration and was puzzled to see my extended family (grandpa, cousins, uncles, aunts, nieces and nephews) settling down enthusiastically with Bingo cards when the President began his speech.  I later gathered that some enterprising soul had put together probable words that would come up in the speech, as a Bingo game!

Now this was one presidential speech that had people hanging on to every word!
While I am no great Bingo fan myself –I prefer Craps –like McCain does-the incident prompted me to go online and check out Bingo. I was in for a bigger surprise. I found dozens of Obama Bingo game variations, including a Mrs Obama’s Online Bingo.  Launched by Kezia Obama, President Obama’s step-mother has launched this game to raise money for the Sue Ryder Care Foundation in UK which helps people suffering from Parkinson’s Disease, Alzheimer’s and Multiple Sclerosis.
Ever since, I have been on the Bingo trail and am simply astounded to see what the game has achieved in terms of philanthropy.  Most celebrities when invited to do ball calling, donate the proceeds to a charity.  UK pop star Robbie Williams whose music video shows him playing the game with Splash actress Daryl Hannah, has done his bit for breast cancer through the Bingo game.  In fact, as the proceeds of the game was meant for the UK Charity, Breakthrough Breast Cancer –players even screamed “Bingo Breakthrough!”
Hollywood stars, Michael Douglas, Russel Crowe, and Catherine Zeta-Jones are all self-proclaimed Bingo aficionados and unwittingly serve as brand ambassadors of the game.  Others in Bingo Hall of Fame are the Queen of England, Prince Williams and former US President, Bill Clinton.

What is surprising is that sports stars spare time to play Bingo as well.  Professional golfer Phil Mickelson has hosted many a Bingo event, while defender of the Middleborough Football Club, David Wheater enjoys the game with his girlfriend. Bingo’s acceptance as a sport is best reflected in former Formula One driver Damon Hill’s words: : “I’m addicted to adrenaline, that’s why I love it. It’s a bit like racing a Grand Prix car.”

Suddenly, Bingo is a billion dollar buzzword.