The end of the game came when a player filled an entire line – horizontally, vertically or diagonally – with beans and shouted “Beano!” It seems that Edwin Lowe couldn’t shake the idea that this game was popular, so when he returned home to New York he set about making his own version of the game. If it was there, they’d place a bean on the number.

The caller was pulling numbered wooden disks out of a cigar box and calling it aloud, while players frantically tried to see if the number appeared on their card. Exploring the carnival, Edwin came across a crowd of people playing a game called “Beano”. It’s widely believed that American toymaker Edwin Lowe was travelling when he stumbled across a carnival in Georgia. The game travelled to North America in the 1920s where its name evolved to “Beano” – players used to shout this when they found all numbers in a row. While bingo is a fun pastime enjoyed by many people today, in 19 century Germany the game was also been used as an educational tool to teach children their times tables, animals names, spelling, and history! If players had this number on their card they’d cover it, with the first to cover an entire horizontal line crowned the winner. Like today’s version, “Le Lotto” saw a caller pick a wooden number token and read the number out loud. With numbers from 1-90 randomly arranged in the boxes, it is this design which has survived the test of time and we see in bingo halls and online today. This version featured 27 squares, laid out in three rows and nine columns.

Traditionally played by wealthy Frenchmen and the aristocracy, “Le Lotto” had changed as it travelled across Europe. From there it moved to France in the late 1700s where its name evolved to “Le Lotto”. Legend has it that bingo first began in Italy, originating from their traditional lottery game “Il Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia” in the 1500s. The game has been popular for decades and has experienced a resurgence in popularity recently as it evolves to keep up with trends and demand in the form of online bingo. But over 3 million Britons play bingo in halls and more than 100 million play live and online bingo around the world. For others, it might be a game that you give little thought to at all. What springs to mind when you think of bingo? For some, it might be the game your Gran used to play in the evenings with friends.

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