18 Bingo Patterns You Can Use for Your Games Today

Are you looking for ways to spice up bingo at your retirement club, senior center, or other social gathering? It can be challenging to come up with new ideas that keep this centuries-old pastime fresh and exciting. 

Say goodbye to mundane expectations of bingo with our 18 fully detailed, easy-to-implement bingo card patterns. Use the following patterns for small and large cards and single or multi-round games. 

Dive in now for over a dozen and a half bingo options!

1. Any Letter of the Alphabet

Want to start off with a straightforward pattern? Letters P, M, I, L, C, H, Z, T, and X are common bingo card patterns that you can use right away. Here’s a quick breakdown of the options mentioned here:

• Letter P: All of column one, row one, row three, and the second square in column five.
• Letter M: All of columns one and five, plus a small “v” formation in the upper middle of the card. 
• Letter C: All of row one, all of column one, and all of row five are filled in. 
• Letter H: All of row one, all of row five, and row three are completely filled. 
• Letter Z: All of rows one and five plus a right-facing diagonal line in the middle. 
• Letter X: Two diagonal lines forming an X across the entire bingo card.
• Letter T: The top row and middle column are completely filled.

2. An Airplane

The airplane bingo card pattern consists of the middle three squares being filled in column one, all of row three being filled, and all of column four being filled. Pretty cool to see how creative you can get with bingo-winning patterns.

3. Railroad Tracks

This involves the second and fourth columns being completely filled, which creates parallel vertical lines. 

4. Four Corners 

Four corners are exactly as it reads: each corner of the bingo card and nothing else. It’s straightforward, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy to win!

5. Bowtie

A bow tie bingo design involves the four squares in the upper left being filled in, the four in the bottom right being filled in, and the square in the center being filled in. 

6. Inner Frame

The inner frame pattern forms a small square of the eight bingo squares surrounding the centermost square. Easy to remember but hard to succeed with. 

7. Outer Frame

An outer frame comprises all of the squares throughout the border of the bingo card, which is 16 in total. 

8. Vertical Line

The vertical line is when any single column is chosen as the winning column for a round of bingo. Switch it up to keep the game interesting. 

9. Horizontal Line

This pattern is when any single row is selected as the right row to win the round. This variation, along with vertical and diagonal, makes for fast, exciting, and sometimes hilariously fun bingo rounds.

10. Diagonal Line

The diagonal line can be used heading either left or right, whichever you feel is best. This is one of the easier patterns to win with, so it makes for great speed rounds or bingo newcomers!

11. Plus Sign

The plus sign is exactly as it sounds–one giant “+” using the middle row and column. Definitely one of the easier patterns to watch for, but winning is a different story. 

12. Equal Sign

Just like the plus sign, the equal sign is rows two and four completely filled. Calling all math nerds: this one has your name on it!

13. Tree 

The tree bingo pattern is interesting and can look like a large arrow pointing up to some. To create this one, the middle column and row are completely filled, plus the second and fourth squares in row two.

14. Barbell

The barbell pattern is when the middle (third) row is completely filled and the second and fourth squares are filled in the first and fifth column, respectively. Pretty tricky to find the winning combination. 

15. Coverall / Completely Full

Perhaps the “simplest” bingo pattern in existence this is when every single square is filled on your bingo card. Easy to explain; hard to achieve! 

16. Open / Blank Card

This is when the winning pattern means no squares were filled. Time to flip the traditional idea of bingo on its head!

17. Three Rows

This pattern is when the first, third, and fifth rows are completely filled. That’s a lot of squares to fill, so you better get started!

18. Two Columns

The two-column pattern can be easily customized to be two columns right next to each other, spaced one column apart, or spaced multiple columns apart. Choose whichever variation appeals to you. 

That’s all for our top 18 ways to win bingo. Make a handful easier to remember by printing this sheet out and highlighting five or six of them. 

4 Ways to Use These Bingo Patterns

Not sure how to apply these winning bingo patterns? We’ve done the heavy lifting for you with four easy ways to use each of the winning options above.

Family Game Nights

Need something fun and low-key to enjoy on a rainy day, during winter, or just because? Brand-new bingo designs is the way to go. Grab enough cards for the whole family and dive in!

Senior Activity Centers

Senior activity centers are the tried-and-true option for people who love bingo. Offer several new ways to win with the patterns in this blog post. Turn a timeless favourite into a whole new way to win!

Retirement Clubs

Looking for activities that don’t require much setup and can be used for small and large groups alike? Bingo is your answer. 

Block Parties

Block parties are an amazing chance for an entire neighbourhood to get together and celebrate community. What’s more exciting than getting everyone involved with multiple rounds of bingo?

You can up the ante a bit and choose simple designs like the outer frame or coverall for a speedier version where the best out of three rounds is the winner. Spice it up and see what people love!

How Did Bingo Get Started?

The game known today as bingo has been around in one form or another since the mid-16th century in Italy. A game called “lotto” was being played there and then, though it’s hard to know if similar games were also being played earlier than that in other countries. 

Not only can Italy boast about some of the finest cuisine in the world, but it also happens to be the home of the world's most famous game, ‘bingo’!
Most historians peg the history back to the 1500s when it spread throughout Europe.
Imagine the look of players back then and hearing them yell out ‘BINGO” from their Castles.

Bingo Prizes That People Love to Win

Let’s face it: any prize is worth winning, but for bingo players, it’s not always about the Bengamin’s!

Here are the top prizes in order of polls we have conducted on over 1.5 million bingo players online. 

1. Cash

Yes, it’s a dirty word, but money in the pocket always trumps bonuses, free spins and free bingo cards.

2. Membership Lift

Loyalty matters for bingo players, so if operators can help you move up faster in your level where you get more perks and bragging rights…you should go for it!

3. Gift Baskets

These are high-end flowers and snacks that give players a good feeling they are part of a growing community that cares about their members.  

4. Amazon Gift Cards

The best gifts you get are the ones you pick out yourself