Bingo terms have always been something that are closely associated with the game. In fact, they’re as much a part of it as the actual participation in it. It’s quite commonplace to remember callers shouting out phrases like, “Kelly’s Eye…number one” or “Two fat ladies…eighty-eight”. Yet, the older generation isn’t the only one that can really say it’s connected to bingo anymore. Instead, younger people are taking their opportunity to change the way the game is perceived…and in the process, are also changing the language associated with it.
According to some sources, these ‘woke millennials’ are altering the terms used to describe a variety of bingo numbers. And why? Because they’re afraid of offending people with the phrases. So, gone could be the days of hearing such phrases come out of the mouths of bingo callers. Maybe you won’t hear, “Legs Eleven” being shouted anymore, and instead you’ll get much more PC variations. In fact, the newer phrases are gaining such traction that they threaten to cancel out the traditional phrases that people are familiar with.
The question is: are we ready to see these classic phrases taken over by a newer snowflake generation of bingo calls?
Bingo Sites Redesigning Games to Fit New Terms
The move towards the new bingo terms becoming more common is actually being driven by online site Foxy Bingo. There, players were asked to vote on their top 20 new bingo calls, and these were based on suggestions made in chatrooms. The Director of the site, Jonathan Bowden said:
“We’re seeing a record number of younger players visiting the site to play bingo and the new wave of bingo calls is switching things up”.
Following the votes on the new calls and the traction that using such terms has received, Foxy Bingo is also now considering redesigning the games on its site later on in 2020, to match up with the millennial terms.
Of course, whether or not those changes will affect how callers shout out in bingo halls is another question. Millennials do still attend bingo halls to participate in the games, but there is also still a throng of the older generation who go to play bingo at these locations, too. So, is there a happy medium that could be reached for such events?
And what exactly are the changes that have been seen via bingo chatrooms?
Traditional Terms Being Altered by Millennials
Some of the number calls that have been witnessed in chatrooms include the following restructures:
| Traditional Call | Millennial Call |
|---|---|
| Two Fat Ladies…88 | Wills and Kate…88 |
| Time for Tea…83 | Gluten free…83 |
| Four dozen…48 | Not another Brexit debate…48 |
| Hit the Floor…74 | Recycle more…74 |
| Danny La Rue…52 | Brunch for two…52 |
| Lucky…7 | Flexitarian…7 |
| Christmas cake…38 | Avocado on a plate…38 |
| Young and Keen…15 | Yas Qween…15 |
| Steps…39 | Love Island Time…39 |
| Buckle My Shoe…32 | Fake News…32 |
Many of these options were voted as being favourites by the users of Foxy Bingo, which is why they could become a lot more commonplace, if not at land-based establishments, then certainly at online bingo destinations.
Then again, Foxy Bingo is owned by Entain PLC (previously GVC), which reported a great year in 2019 as far as revenue is concerned. So, it can doubtless take the risk of altering its bingo software to fit in with the new millennials’ phrases without it being so much of a drawback whatever the outcome.
Not Everyone Believes in Changing The Traditional Calls
Naturally, bingo callers who operate in brick-and-mortar halls may not be so quick to accept such changes. Blake Robson, a 12-time winner of the Bingo Caller of the Year award, doesn’t have such positive impressions of the millennial phrases coming to popularity. Speaking of the potential for change, he said:
“It would be a real shame to see traditional calls disappear”, he said while speaking with The Sun. He went on to state that it would be a much better option to teach the younger generation about the older calls. “Bingo is part of Britain’s tradition”, he finished with.
He’s not really wrong on that front either, as there are still around four million people engaging in the game of bingo within the British Isles. Of that figure, many of them still play in traditional bingo halls as well, despite the fact that online bingo play is increasing in popularity at quite a voracious rate.
Yet, is it really necessary to update bingo and other games just because a new generation wants to see what it deems as less-offensive phrases. And what’s more, does anyone really need reminding that Love Island remains on television?
The Times recently looked at a variety of traditional games that, if left to millennials to commandeer, could end up being rephrased for a variety of reasons. For example, the card game of Snap could be reworked because, actually, “no two cards are identical. They are all different and special”. Meanwhile, Backgammon could be considered “triggering for vegans”, while Trivial Pursuit may end up being renamed because, after all, “it might not be trivial for everyone”.