Description of UK Style Bingo or Housie Game Rules

 

Guide to English UK Bingo also known in Australia and New Zealand as Housie

An ezDraw housie ticket is shown above. It contains fifteen numbers, arranged in nine columns by three rows. Each row contains five numbers and four blank spaces. Each column contains either one, two, or very rarely three, numbers: The first column contains numbers from 1 to 9, The second column numbers from 10 to 19, The third 20 to 29 and so on up until the last column, which contains numbers from 80 to 90 (the 90 being placed in this column as well). The game is presided over by a caller, whose job it is to call out the numbers and validate winning tickets.

He will announce the prize or prizes for each game before starting.The caller will then usually say "Eyes down" to indicate that he is about to start. He then begins to call numbers as they are randomly selected using the ezDraw Bingo Number selector function. Calling takes the format of simple repetition in the framework, "Both the fives, fifty five", or "Two and three, twenty three."

 

The different winning combinations are:

  • Line covering a horizontal line of five numbers on the ticket.
  • Two Lines Covering any two lines on the same ticket.
  • Full House covering all fifteen numbers on the ticket.
  • In New Zealand, in bonus (Super Housie) games, often three lines may be claimed - top, middle and bottom, usually with much larger prizes, are also played at various times throughout the session.
  • In the UK however, it is most common for a line game to be followed directly by a two line game and a full house game, or just by a full house game. In the UK's national bingo game only a full house game is ever played.

In all cases, the last number called must be in the winning sequence.

​When players first come to the venue (often a church hall, rugby club or other place with sufficient tables and chairs, including in the UK many specifically designed bingo clubs) they can buy a book of tickets or get tickets printed using ezDraw.In Australia or New Zealand a night of housie usually involves fifty tickets which are played over the course of the night. In UK bingo clubs, playing is divided into sessions with different books, or tickets may be printed on demand.

As each number is called, players check to see if that number appears on their tickets. If it does, they will mark it with a special marker called a "dabber" or a "dauber. When all the numbers required to win a prize have been marked off, the playercalls out "Line" or "House" depending on the prize, and an official or member of staff will come and check the claim. Each number in the winning combination must be read out. The caller will check to see if each number has been called, and if it has, he will say something similarto "House correct - please pay out".