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!

More often then not, your love for bingo remained confined to the local bingo hall. That was before the coming of online bingo. Now, with online bingo , if you don’t have the cash for gas, can’t make it to their location, have other things to do when they’re hosting the game, you can still play online bingo at home. All you need is a computer and a high-speed internet connection. You can zoom into the world of online casino at home and come out with money and loads of fun.

To start playing online bingo at home, register with an online bingo site. You will then be given a random card that is computer-generated. You can have a go at fifty cards simultaneously and the computer software will call a number from 1 to 75. If the pattern called out matches with the pattern in your card, you can declare yourself a winner by shouting ‘Bingo!’

You can also win handsome amounts of money playing bingo online at home. I’d suggest that you do not take too many cards at the same time. This will help you put your eggs in many baskets and increase your chances of winning, but it will also confuse you with the numbers and patterns. Since you have to make sure you can pay all your attention when the calls are made, too many cards in your hands can confuse you and you may end up missing a bingo pattern .

Before starting to play online bingo games at home, you can practice playing on free online bingo sites. You don’t get to win any money, but you don’t have to invest any money either. You can acquire the skills which will come in handy once you start playing with real money. So spice up your life playing online bingo at home. It’s fun and it also rolls in the dough!