A Question of Timing

Does it matter when you play bingo? This is a question that can be answered in one of two ways. If all you want from your bingo experience is the game itself, and things like prize money and conversation are secondary benefits as far as you are concerned then the answer is no. You can play bingo at 8am or 8pm and still get the satisfaction of the game itself.

However, if you want to stand a chance of winning a bigger prize, or you want to know that there are likely to be plenty of other people around to chat with, the answer is yes. In this case a game at peak hours is likely to be far more satisfying than one held at 3am with just two other players who don't speak English.

Almost all online bingo sites host special games at certain times of day. Invariably, many of these special games will be held in the evening, when the bingo sites know that they're up against stiff competition from a night out at the pub or popular soaps on the television, but others can be found in the afternoons as well. These feature gaming sessions are designed to attract as many players as possible, and they generally include one or more of the following incentives:

Bigger Prizes: Feature games can offer cash prizes that are double the usual average amounts, or even better, and these larger prizes are achieved in two ways. First, the bingo room may change slightly more for each ticket. Second, the feature game itself will attract more players just because it has been announced by the bingo room. One could argue about which came first - the bigger prizes or the increased number of players - but since this is like arguing about the chicken and the egg we won't go there. We'll just say that higher ticket prices and more players mean bigger prizes.

Free Tickets: Some bingo sites attract more players to feature games by offering free tickets when you buy a certain number of tickets normally. Since your chance of winning increases with the number of tickets you have in play, this kind of offer is usually very effective in getting people interested.

Better Bonuses: Bingo sites that run loyalty schemes might offer better bonuses at specific times of the day, allowing those who are looking to build up their points a great opportunity to do so for a lower than normal outlay.

Chat Games: Many bingo sites run chat games intermittently throughout the day, but some sites have special chat game hours where the games are played one after the other for an hour or two of solid chat-based fun.

Those of you who usually just play bingo as and when you feel like it should continue to do so. But also look at the web pages of the bingo site you use to see if they host any special feature games are particular times. If they do, and if you like the idea of playing for bigger prizes with a larger group of people, be sure to check them out... You may well discover that doubling your fun as a bingo player is just a question of timing!

16th April 2008