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Bingo Game Card Numbers Leader School Player Combination

Id ESLPod_0049_CN
Episode Id ESLPod 49
Episode Title Preparing a Paper (for School)
Title The Return of Bingo
Text

The game of Bingo "has been around" (existed) for more than 500 years in some form or another. In the American version, each player is given a card with five "columns" (rows running up and down) on it, with the letters B-I-N-G-O written on top, in the first row. Below the first row, there are more five rows, each with a set of numbers from one to 75. Each Bingo card is different, with different numbers in different positions. The game consists of the leader or organizer picking a small ball or card with a letter-number combination and "calling it out" (saying it out loud; announcing it). For example, the leader might say "B-71? or "G-15." Players who have that combination - the number in the same column as the letter - can then "cover" the number (put something on it). The first player who gets a single row of covered numbers shouts "Bingo!" The game's leader then checks the card to make sure it is correct, and, if it is correct, that person wins. Many language teachers use a "modified" (changed) version of this game replacing the numbers with vocabulary words, and there are many "variations" (different versions) of the game as well.

Most Americans associate Bingo with either old people who play it to "pass the time" (spend time doing something interesting) or with "charitable" (helping others) organizations that use the game to "raise" (get; collect) money for their group. Churches, especially Catholic churches in the U.S., often use this game as a way of raising money.

But Bingo is no longer just for old people and "churchgoers" (people who attend or go to religious services). The game has suddenly become popular on college campuses with the youngsters. ("Youngsters" refers to young people, but it is an old-fashioned word now used jokingly, since only a very older person would use such an out-of-date word.) Some U.S. colleges are using late-night (after 9:00 or 10:00 PM) Bingo as a way of keeping students "on campus" (on the physical grounds or location of the school) at night to prevent drinking and other problems. The Bingo games are "alcohol-free" (without drinking of alcoholic beverages), and in some places "draw" (have in attendance) more than 600 students a night. Prizes can include iPads and Xbox games, but also things like bags of "groceries" (food), a great parking space for your car on campus, and one semester's worth of textbooks.

Topics Education

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