Automatic Bingo Caller Machine
The term bingo machine can have several different meanings – it all depends upon what you are looking for. It could be that you are looking for a simple ball cage for playing at home or for your local village charity event. Or something a little more complex – bingo display boards, blowers or electronic bingo devices. Lets take a look at a few various bingo machine options…..
Bingo Cage.
Free Online Bingo Caller: use this bingo caller to host your own bingo games at home! Now with a bingo card generation tool so you can print cards to play with! Completely free bingo app. Our Fullscreen version of the Online Bingo Caller is great for hosting your own Bingo games! With a clear screen for the number just called, as well as the matching Bingo Phrase its a firm favorite among our users! Free and easy to use!
This is the most basic level bingo machine. You place all your bingo balls inside the cage and turn the handle. One numbered ball will drop out and you call this number (using traditional bingo calls!) before turning again and repeating the process. Simple! The beauty of these is not just the cost but the simplicity of use. No electric connections and practically nothing to break.
Bingo cages are available in a number of different styles and sizes and make great bingo gifts!
Electronic Bingo Machine.
This term will cover pretty much all the equipment you would find at a larger venue. Examples of these bingo machines would include basic display boards or blowers, right up to complex machines which organise and run the whole game.
Some of these may be perfect for if you run a regular local village or charity event. Particularly some of the cheaper number display boards which make the whole game that much easier for those who are hard of hearing or if you have a large gathering. They also add that touch of professionalism to the event.
Bingo Calling Machine.
These are simply portable PAs. They are small and compact and certainly perfect for taking from venue to venue. Even the loudest of bingo callers need a little help at times. And it can be a long evening if the game is being played in a large hall with no microphone or PA system!
Electronic Bingo Devices.
These are not the kind of bingo machine for small clubs or village bingo organisers. These are the necessary tools for the major bingo halls who are turning more and more to electronic bingo gaming sessions. They may be in the form of a handheld device or a screen / terminal. As a bingo player you would be provided with these when you opt in to play – we certainly wouldn’t suggest the need to purchase one!
Points To Consider Before You Buy….
- It goes without saying that you should ensure that your bingo equipment will definitely get used. If you are just starting what you hope will be a regular event then run a few sessions with a cheap bingo game set or pull the bingo balls from a bag. Once you know that you have regular players, then think about investing in bigger and better equipment.
- If you are buying on behalf of some form of social club then think about any other uses you may have for your bingo machine. For instance some machines will also double as raffle ticket pickers. So it may be worth a little extra cost to choose the right one now and then get full use from your purchase.
- This is important – ensure your bingo machine will play the bingo games you want. Most bingo players will already be aware that the two common forms of bingo are 90 ball and 75 ball, though 80 ball bingo is also a common option. This will usually be down to your location – but not necessarily so. The point here is that electronic machines in particular may only cater for one sort of game so make sure you determine this at the outset. It will be quite embarrassing to find your new bingo display board won’t show the last fifteen numbers, or the number 86 is called in a game of 75 ball bingo!
Play bingo with our virtual bingo caller
This tutorial explains how to play a bingo game with our virtual bingo caller. It was designed to facilitate the organization of a bingo game, to reduce the necessary equipment and to easily validate the winning cards. You can play with virtual cards, and/or printed cards. The virtual bingo caller is linked to the bingo cards of a game, and thus allows to track when a card is a winner in the “Winners list”.
You can have one active caller at a time. The caller will be activated for 3 hours, and you can play as many games as you want by clicking “Restart the game”. If you want players to have multiple cards, you’ll need to distribute printed cards. Players can have only one virtual card per web browser. When you restart the game, the caller and the players cards will be reset, and they keep playing with the same cards.
At this stage, you should already have created new game, and you can see it on the main page in your Games List. Go in the line of your game and click the “Play” icon.
Game Settings:
Let’s take a look at the game settings.
Number of virtual cards
This is where you choose if you play a game with printed bingo cards, with virtual bingo cards, or both. The game will be played by default with printed cards. To change the ratio of printed cards and virtual cards, modify the number of virtual cards. If you would like to play only with virtual bingo cards, click “Set all to virtual“. Enter a game name and a password for players to join your virtual game at BingoMaker.com and click “Join a game“.
Here is a video that demonstrates how the host and the players are connected using the virtual bingo caller.
Game name
When you have some virtual cards in your game, you can select the game name. The game name will appear in the Game List page.
Password
Enter a game name and a password for the players to join your game.
Game Type
If you have a simulation with your project, you can select “Simulation” and the caller will make the draws in the same order previously selected in your simulation. When the selection is at “Bingo Caller”, the caller works as a regular bingo caller.
Bingo Caller: The bingo caller will draw the values randomly during the game as a standard bingo caller used in bingo halls (cage with balls). To print the bingo cards for the game, choose a card template, click “View” and print out the number of cards required. If you plan to play multiple games, print the same cards several times.
Simulation: This option is only available if you have done a simulation for this game. The bingo caller will draw the values like a standard bingo caller, but it will follow the predefined order to reproduce the results. The winning combinations will respect those defined during the simulation and will be displayed in the lists as the game progresses. Select from the versions the simulation you wish to play during the game. If you restart a new game, the bingo caller will replay the same simulation.
Display “Current/Previous draws” on virtual cards
This option can hide the current and previous draw fields at the top and bottom of the virtual card.
Winning patterns to get a bingo
Choose from 64 patterns how players will get winning lines during the game. The boxes are all checked by default. The results will be displayed simultaneously during the game in the winners list. Winning Line (s) is a vertical and horizontal 5 consecutive squares, Winning diagonal (s) is and / (don’t click those ones if you just want the X) 4 corners is quite easy to get because it consider only B and O column, and it’s a requirement in order to get the X. Just select the pattern you want for the game. You can modify the winning patterns every time you restart the game.
Cost (credits)
The first game is free. The cost of using the bingo caller depends on the number of cards of the game at the price of 1 credit per 25 cards and it will be active for three hours. The 3 hours countdown starts when the caller is activate, and it is shown at the top right of the bingo caller.
Description of the virtual bingo caller interface
We tried to simplify the bingo caller in order to make sure anybody can use it. The bingo caller was designed in order to make the random draws, and manage all the other aspects of the game. The host can follow the game on his side using the different lists, and easily validate the winning cards. You can display the flashboard to players on an external screen like the giant board in the professional bingo halls.
Game Information
Players can join your game at this link with your game name and password. You can see in real time how many players are in your game, so you can start the draws when most players have joined. The caller will remain active for 3 hours, and you can play as many games as you want.
Manual and automatic draw
To start the game, manually click on “Make Draw“. To use the automatic draw, select the number of seconds between draws and click “Enable”. To disable the function, click “Disable“. When the option “Stop the draw when a card is winning” is set to “Yes“, the bingo caller will be deactivated when there is at least one winning card. If the option is set to “No“, the bingo caller will continue without taking into account to the winners. Draws will stop when all bingo values are drawn or when all the values of a simulation are drawn.
Board Options
Manual selection of the draws
The table allows organizers to quickly see the drawn values and follow the game. Current and previous draws are displayed at the top of the table. The table is automatically updated after each draw.
Make the draws with your bingo cage in the virtual world. Click the draw option “Manual selection of the draws” and select the numbers in the game table.
Open the board in an external window
This function opens the table in another window. Drag the window into the other screen (TV or projector) and display the board so that the players follow the draws as in professional bingo centers.
Playlist and Winners list
The Winners List displays the card numbers and the winning patterns of the winners.
Automatic validation of virtual cards
Only the cards that are played on a device will appear in the winners list. When a player has the possibility of having a bingo in his virtual card, the card number and pattern will appear in the winners list (not crossed out). Once the player clicks all the squares and get the winning pattern, a pop-up message will appear on the screen “Bingo”. At that moment, the card will be crossed out in the winners list to indicate that it has been validated.
Manual validation of printed cards
The validation of the winners in this table enables you to mark the cards that have been validated. To validate a card, click on the card in the winners list and click “Validate“. The card will be crossed out to indicate that it has been validated. If you have selected the option “Do a draw among winners at the end of the game“, only crossed out cards will be part of the final draw.
Ways to end the game
Automatic Bingo Caller Machine Online
End the game and do the draw
This function allows a draw among players who have won winning lines during the game. Making the draw finishes the game and displays the desired number of winners. Only validated cards will be part of the final draw among winners. This way of ending the game can be accomplished with printed cards by playing with the 4 corners method, read more at: How to play bingo?.
Restart the game
This function enables you to reset all the bingo caller tables and to start another gam. You can play as many games as you want until there is no time left on the active bingo caller. When you restart the game, players stay connected to your game, their cards are reseted, and they keep playing with the same card again.
Close the game
Bingo Call Machine
When you close the game, the caller is deactivated. Players will be ask to leave the game and then redirected to the Games List page. The remaining time of the 3 hours countdown is lost.