Bingo has become our indoor multigenerational family game. No, really. We are going to the Disney Vero Beach Resort for a multigenerational vacation and are excited they have a family bingo game. My daughters and I have gone to Canyon Ranch in Lenox every year for a bonding weekend for more years than I can count.
Saturday night Bingo was always fun. One of us seemed to win a game each year. We have more Canyon Ranch mugs than we need. But, that’s the beauty of Bingo—playing the game is as much fun as winning. The beauty of an I Pad bingo app is that you can only play about 15 minutes a day for free so it limits Bingo addiction.
When my first grandson was born, one of the first games this Grandma bought him was a toddler Eboo Lotto game. We had so much fun. Preschool Lotto Game
Eboo, a great game company has more choices for toddler bingo games that are less than $15 found on www.amazon.com.
All of the Bingo Games available to purchase are under $20 and make a great grandchild gift. Alex Toys Wash and Dry Bingo, Alex Little Hands Series
There is dinosaur bingo for the four and five year olds into dinosaurs: Dinosaur Bingo
There is USA bingo to learn the names of the 50 states: Eeboo USA Bingo
One favorite game, really a memory game, is an Oppenheimer Platinum Award game, which I have purchased for my grandchildren and friends’ grandchildren as gifts, “I Never Forget a Face,” which has pictures of children from around the world to match: I Never Forget A Face Memory Game
Another favorite Bingo version game is Zingo. The manufacturer advertises: In this fast-paced, energetic variant of Bingo, kids get a kick out of pulling the Zinger forward to reveal two mystery tiles, and then try to be the first to call out the tiles that match the images on their cards. The first player to fill his or her card wins by yelling “Zingo.” Two levels of play add zing to the competition.” There are different varieties of the game and even a travel version. I have bought them all. ThinkFun Zingo
Nick Jr. on line has a great bingo game for five to six year olds. http://www.nickjr.com/games/nick-jr-bingo.jhtml
The internet even has websites that have instructions for Grandma to create homemade bingo games with the grandchild or for the grandchild. http://www.ehow.com/way_5799031_homemade-bingo-game-toddlers.html
I enjoy the bingo games rather than the bingo apps for the little grandchildren. This Grandma wants to limit their time on the iPad and there are better apps for us to play together on the I pad than bingo.
When my mother-in-law got her I pad at age 89, one of the first apps she wanted was a Bingo game. We have tried many, and have found the following to be the absolute best. The real trick is knowing how to play the game. Since my mother-in-law have been playing, and sometimes we are playing on our respective I pads in the same game, we are learning all of the intricacies of the games and passing the education on to our children and grandchildren. If our five and six and nine year old grandchildren can become pros, so can you. Here are our choices for top three Bingo app picks and how to play them:
BINGO RUN:
What all the doodads mean: Bingo Run has a short tutorial. Do not skip it. It helps you see the different icons to start. First go to the “SHOP,” the icon that looks like a storefront in the top right hand corner. You will see five categories:
Bingo Bucks. Bingo Bucks are the cost of a game of Bingo. Either 2 or more Bingo Bucks
per game. Each day you sign on, you automatically get Bingo Bucks to play. You can buy Bingo Bucks. If you get really hooked and need a fix when out of Bingo Bucks, this best is to buy a combo pack, silver or regular.
Coins are needed to buy Power Ups. Power Ups are very important. You earn coins when you play Bingo because there are coin power ups that if you daub, you will get coins.
Gems help you to go to the”collections” found by hitting “All Collections” under “Shop,“ and earn bonuses by playing a slot wheel. If you click on Tropical Island room collections, for example, you can see the types of bonuses you get, such as 2 Bingo Bucks, a one-time bonus of 500 coins, an extra Bingo Buck Daily.
Go back to “Lobby.” You can see all the different Bingo Rooms you can play in. Each costs different amounts of Bingo Bucks and the payoff is different for every room. You see that some rooms unlock at different Levels. So we are up to looking at levels. As you fill the yellow bar on the top left, you go up a level and win a bonus of Bingo Bucks.
Power Ups. I left the most important for last. Power ups are the player’s competitive edge.
If you go to “Shop” and hit the power up tab, you will see “inventories” at the bottom of the screen. Under “regular inventory” you can win coins, gems, free cells (the best because it daubs one to two to three numbers on the card), instant bingos (also the best because if you daub this you automatically win Bingo), free bucks, and collectibles. I have never bought ‘elite inventory” and still have one first or second place bingo. However, I do wonder if the players who continually get first or second place bingo, with a higher reward of bingo bucks, are so competitive that they are the ones to buy from this inventory.
How to Play. It is Bingo. Buy one or 2 cards. A regular Bingo affectionado can easily handle two. If you play with another, especially a grandchild, give them the card that is easier to reach with their dominant hand. The next screen is “Waiting for Players,” and you wait until the game starts. You will next see the screen with the cards. Play and you will see coins flying off when you hit a number that has a coin power up on it, etc. If you get bingo, you hit the bingo bar on the bottom of the card. You can watch the number of bingo winners on the right or close and see the numbers played. At the end of the game you see your game winnings in experience (gets you levels), coins (gets you power ups), Bingo Bucks (for games and to buy coins), gems (to spin the wheel and get collections to get bonuses).
See, it is easy, once you know what everything means and does.
BINGO BASH: Many affectionados say Bingo Bash is number one. I say number two for two reasons: the numbers flow slower than Bingo Run, which is the perfect speed, and there are less Bingos to win per game than Bingo Run. All my grandchildren but the two year old can handle the speed, and the two year just hits every button anyway! For some reason, Bingo Bash goes off line more than Bingo Run, but they do reimburse you for lost games.
Also there are more screens to decline and close before you get to the games. The cover screen is similar. Here there are two categories of Bingo Rooms: “wonder rooms” and “featured rooms.” I only seem to like the wonder rooms. The concept is almost the same as Bingo Run. The lowest game cost is two, this time the icon looks like a red circle with a B in it, instead of Bingo Bucks. Coins are shown the same and they are used similarly to buy power plays (not power ups) which are on the right center on top, looking like a red hammer. Your level is the star, and like in Bingo Run, it opens more “rooms” to play in. Here you have a “store” instead of a “shop.” The best buy is 2500 coins for 15 powerplays.
Here you win collections when you win them as a power play choice or when you are offered a gold ball and you place it on the correct card and get Bingo. This game is great. You just win less bingos. But the starting bonus each day is larger than for Bingo Run!
Bingo Rush.
Bingo is fast, fun and addictive. Why not teach our children and grandchildren our staple game? We can share the
Joy,
Mema
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