90-ball bingo

How to play

1. Give each player one or more tickets. Each ticket has 15 numbers, five in each of its three rows.
2. Agree on the prizes before play begins, for example the first completed row, then two rows, then the full ticket. Confirm any house rules with the group.
3. Cut the caller sheet into slips and shuffle them, or use the on-screen caller, which draws from 1 to 90 without repeats.
4. Call each number clearly. Players mark it on their ticket if they have it.
5. When a player completes an agreed pattern, they call it out, and the caller checks the ticket against the numbers already drawn.
6. Continue until the agreed prizes are claimed, then start a new set. That resets the caller for the next game.

Tips

• Print one page as a test and check that two-digit numbers are clear at the size you have chosen.
• Large print with one ticket per page gives the largest numbers and the most room to mark them.
• Keep the caller sheet with the caller so the upcoming numbers stay hidden from the table.
• Give each player counters that are easy to pick up and large enough to cover a number without hiding the next one.
• Save the setup as a file, or note the repeatable seed, so the same set can be made again for a repeat game.

Where it comes from

Tombola is a traditional Italian family game with numbers from 1 to 90, and it is traditionally played at Christmas, especially around Naples. The same format is called housie in Britain, and tambola or housie in India. Lotto-style games in general are often traced to a 16th-century Italian lottery, though the links between them are not fully documented.

Played in: Europe · South Asia

Questions