Time flies when you’re having fun, or so the old saying goes; perhaps this is why a game of bingo seems to fly by in a matter of moments?
In actuality, individual bingo games don’t tend to last a very long time at all, so when you add the enjoyment factor into the mix they can really whiz by.
However, with so many different types of bingo out there these days, not all bingo games are equal, so while the slowest can last about as long as my other half can focus on a task (the record is 7 and a half minutes in case you were wondering), the fastest are over in little more than 60 seconds.
I’m going to run through the fastest and slowest bingo games in this article, but be aware that the majority of them will only be available online – bingo halls tend to stick to 90 ball bingo most of the time.
Eyes down, here we go.
Understanding the Variables
Before moving onto the fastest and slowest bingo games themselves, you should understand that just because a certain type of bingo game can be over and done with in x amount of time, that doesn’t mean it always will.
Lot’s of things can impact how long a game of bingo takes, but chief among them other than the game type, are:
- Number of tickets sold
- Where you play
- Random chance
The number of tickets sold has a theoretical impact because the more tickets there are in the game, the higher the probability that someone will get a line or a full house in a smaller number of calls.
To explain this, imagine you had every single possible bingo ticket combination in a single game. It stands to reason that the game would be over after 15 calls every time, because the ticket with those 15 numbers would be out there somewhere.
If you reduced the number of tickets in the game though, the chances of someone holding the ticket with the right numbers on it would reduce too, so the game would, in theory, take longer to find a winner.
I say in theory, because we still have to account for random chance, or variance to give it a more technical term.
Each individual ticket has the same chance of winning as every other ticket, so it is perfectly possible for a game with only a single ticket to end after 15 calls too. Just because it is possible, however, that doesn’t mean it is likely.
In fact it is incredibly unlikely, but it is theoretically possible. There are 552,446,474,061,128,648,601,600,000 different bingo ticket combinations – that’s 552 septillion – just to give context to what I’m explaining here.
Back in the real world, where games consist of a few hundred or maybe a few thousands tickets, it is still true that the greater number of tickets there are in the game the more likely it is to finish more quickly, but players won’t feel the impact of that anywhere near as sharply.
Finally, where you are playing could impact the timings because online bingo is simply a quicker way of playing a game.
Not only are the mechanics of the game so much faster, with perfectly times calls, instantly checked claims and payouts, and games on a loop with set timings in between them, but you can buy tickets for pennies so many more tend to be in play, and as I just explained, this has an impact.
In a bingo hall there is a human calling the numbers, tickets cost more so there are usually less of them in play, and it takes time to manually check claims and issue prizes.
Bingo Games: Fastest to Slowest
With all of that said, we can still give an average time it takes to complete a game of bingo, so here goes.
I could go over each game one at a time, but why say in 500 words what you can more effectively show in an old fashioned table?
| Game Type | Time to Complete |
|---|---|
| 30 Ball | 30 secs-1 Minute |
| 36 Ball | 40 secs-1.5 Minutes |
| 40 Ball | 1-2 Minutes |
| 50 Ball | 3-5 Minutes |
| 75 Ball | 3.5-7 Minutes |
| 80 Ball | 3.5-8 Minutes |
| 90 Ball | 4-10 Minutes |
It’s no surprise that the more numbers there in the game the longer that game can take, because this impacts how many numbers are on the ticket, but how quick is a game of 30 ball bingo!? No wonder it is also known as speed bingo.
These times combine online and real world play, where real world games exist that is – I’ve never heard of a 36 ball game in a bingo hall, but that doesn’t mean it has never happened.
This sort of thing might be useful to you if you tend to have shorter periods of time in which to play, but still want to get through plenty of games. Equally, you might just love games that have more pace to them, or want to experience something a little bit different.
Do Quicker Games Mean Smaller Prizes?
No, quicker games do not equate to smaller prizes.
A 30 ball game can be structured in different ways just like a 90 ball game can, with jackpots and the like, plus, it’s not the number of balls that dictates the prize money, it’s the cost of tickets and the number of tickets sold.
So a 30 ball game with 1000 people playing can end up paying a lot more to the winner than a 90 ball game with just 100 people playing, assuming the tickets are the same price.
Of course, the opposite can also be true, but that’s the point: the length of the game has no bearing on how much can be won from playing it.
This is great news for anyone who wants their bingo short and snappy, because there is no compromise. You don’t have to accept smaller prizes if you enjoy faster games, you can simply choose the game you want.
All bingo sites show you how many players are in the room and what the prize is worth while you are still in the lobby too, so you can easily see what the situation is before you enter a bingo room.
So it’s all down to you.