Any one of us who has ever played bingo before knows that one of the best bits is the iconic bingo calls. They bring a whole lot of fun to the game that just would not be there if the bingo caller did not use them – play now.
In fact, bingo calls are part of what make the great game of bingo so famous, and the ‘bingo lingo’ that is used in them is copied across a whole lot of other walks of life.
But where did they come from? What’s the history behind them? This article is going to make that clear, and we’re going to check out some of the best bingo calls that you’ll hear in a bingo call later on too.
First of all, however, let’s get this started by figuring out what a bingo call actually is, for those of you who do not know.
What is a Bingo Call?
The game of bingo primarily features an announcer (the bingo caller himself). His job is to pick the balls from the cage after they have been spun, and then read out the number that is written on the balls.
In a more boring variation of the game, he would simply shout out the numbers. ’88! 54! 37!’. However, bingo callers are entertainers, and they keep things fun by giving a nickname to each and every number in the bingo numbers set, from 1-99.
You can hear the bingo calls in both forms of bingo – physical (in the bingo hall) or online. The reason for the online part is that most bingo games have a real life dealer, who knows all the bingo calls. This makes things a lot more fun for us players as well.
Where do Bingo Calls Come From?
Bingo is an old, old game, and the majority of bingo calls are just as old as the game itself. Plus, the bingo calls are not really recored in written history, so it is impossible to say for certain exactly where each call actually comes from. However, we can certainly speculate.
One such speculation would be that bingo calls are based around cockney rhyming slang. This can be seen in the fact that a lot of bingo calls rhyme with the numbers themselves. It sounds great on the ears, and it’s a lot of fun to listen to too.
One piece of concrete information about the bingo calls that we do have is that in 2003, the famous UK holiday camp Butlin’s attempted to revive interest in bingo. To do this, they invented a whole bunch of new bingo calls, which were actually quite successful and are therefore used quite a lot in bingo today.
The Best Bingo Calls
To conclude, have a look at some of our favourite bingo calls from throughout history. It’s impossible to say what the sources are, but we love them!
- 32 – Buckle my shoe
- 64 – Almost retired
- 52 – Chicken vindaloo (one of Butlin’s!)