According to an urban legend, the process drove Leffler insane.Ħ) Another fun bingo fact concerns the origin of the game’s name. Lowe eventually hired a Columbia University math professor, Carl Leffler, who created more than 6,000 distinct bingo cards. The game was well-received, and Lowe quickly decided to begin producing a boxed edition to sell across America.ĥ) Early versions of the game consisted of a 12-card set and 24 cards. After seeing the game at carnival circuits, Lowe re-created it at home and played it with his friends. Ward featured a game called beano, which was very similar to the bingo we play today except that players used beans to cover the numbered spaces.Ĥ) The design of the standard bingo card and the most significant effort to propel the game to global popularity came from New York toymaker, salesman, and game entrepreneur Edwin S.

In the 1770s it was picked up by the French, who called it Le Lotto – not to be confused with the modern lotto game.ģ) Bingo as we know it today is derived from a 1920s county-fair game in the United States. All we really know now is that bingo is a descendant of the 16th-century Italian lottery game Il Gioco del Lotto d’Italia. Yes, bingo is older than pizza.Ģ) The name of the game’s inventor is written on one of the many lost pages of history. History of Bingoġ) Let’s start at the very beginning: Italy, circa 1530. With our extensive list of interesting bingo facts and stats, you’ll feel right at home even if you’re only just starting out.

Impress other players with your knowledge of the history of the game and back up your arguments with a couple of impressive statistics. You should know whether you’re playing a 75-ball or a 90-ball variant and what strategies will yield the best results. Before you turn up at a bingo game and take your place among the pros, it might be a good idea to arm yourself with some cold hard facts.

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