A UK ticket is not a grid of random numbers
Almost every free bingo generator produces one anyway, and it plays badly in ways that only show up halfway through a game. The real rules are specific:
- Nine columns by three rows, holding fifteen numbers. Every row has exactly five numbers and four blanks.
- A number's column is decided by its value. Column one is 1 to 9, column two is 10 to 19, on to column nine, which takes 80 to 90.
- A column holds one, two or three numbers, never none, and they read downwards in order.
- A strip of six tickets uses all ninety numbers exactly once.
That last one is the whole point of a strip. Whatever is called, exactly one of your six tickets has it, so you mark something on every single call and no number can ever come up twice for you.
Building that correctly is a genuine constraint problem rather than a shuffle, which is presumably why so few tools bother. The tests here assert every rule above on twenty-five different draws.
With your own words, the question is how many words
This is the thing that decides whether a game is any fun, and no other generator mentions it.
Two cards of K squares drawn from a list of N items share about K squared over N squares on average. So:
- 26 words, 24 squares: about 22 squares in common. Nearly the same card.
- 50 words: about 11 in common.
- 100 words: about 6 in common.
With a short list everybody ends up waiting on the same last word, several people shout at once, and the game is over in four calls. No amount of shuffling fixes it, because the problem is the size of the list rather than the randomness.
Aim for at least twice as many words as squares. Three times is comfortable. The tool works your figure out and says it in plain terms.
Why the middle square is free
A 5 by 5 card has twelve possible lines: five rows, five columns and two diagonals. The middle square sits on four of them. Without a free square those four lines are considerably harder than the other eight, and the game feels lopsided without anybody being able to say why.
Everybody gets it, so it is not an advantage to anyone. It just evens the board out.
Set the printer to 100 per cent, not fit to page
Set your printer to 100% or "actual size", not "fit to page". Fit to page shrinks the whole sheet by a few per cent to clear the printer's own unprintable margin, which makes every card slightly smaller than the cut marks say and leaves you trimming by eye.
The cut marks sit in the gap between cards rather than round the edge of each one, which is deliberate: a line drawn on the card is a line you cannot cut on, because any wobble leaves ink down one side.
Every card is numbered in the corner, which matters more than it sounds. When somebody calls a line, you need to be able to identify their card, and a sheet of anonymous cards makes a disputed claim impossible to settle.
Everything is generated on your own machine. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account.
Common questions
What is a strip of six?
Six UK bingo tickets that between them use all ninety numbers exactly once. That is the whole point: whatever number is called, exactly one ticket in your strip has it, and no number can come up twice for you. Buy a strip and you are guaranteed to mark something on every single call.
Why does a UK ticket have blank squares?
Because a ticket holds fifteen numbers in a grid of twenty-seven. Nine columns, three rows, and exactly five numbers in every row with four blanks. That is what makes a line worth calling: five numbers, not nine.
How are the numbers arranged on a UK ticket?
By value, not by chance. The first column holds 1 to 9, the second 10 to 19, and so on to the ninth, which holds 80 to 90. A column always has at least one number and never more than three, and they read downwards in order. Most free generators ignore all of that and produce a grid of random numbers, which plays badly and is obvious to anybody who has been to a bingo night.
What is the difference between UK and US bingo?
The UK plays 90-ball on a 9 by 3 ticket with lines and a full house. The US plays 75-ball on a 5 by 5 card with the letters B I N G O across the top and a free square in the middle. In the US game a number's column is also fixed by its value, so the caller can say "under the O" and everybody knows where to look.
How many words do I need for my own bingo?
Twenty-four with the free square, twenty-five without, to fill one card. But that is the minimum to print anything, not the number you want. With twenty-six words, any two cards share about twenty-two of their twenty-four squares, so nearly everybody wins at the same moment. Aim for at least twice the squares, and three times is better.
Why do all my cards look the same?
Not enough words. Two cards of K squares drawn from a list of N share roughly K squared over N squares on average, so a short list makes near-identical cards however random the shuffle is. The tool works the figure out and tells you. Doubling the word list roughly halves the overlap.
Why is the middle square free?
Because it sits on four of the twelve possible lines on a 5 by 5 card: two diagonals, a row and a column. Without it those four are much harder than the other eight, and the game feels lopsided. Everybody gets it, so it is not an advantage to anyone.
The cards printed smaller than the cut marks.
Your printer is set to "fit to page", which shrinks the whole sheet by a few per cent to clear its own margin. The layout already leaves a margin no printer will refuse, so set scaling to 100% or "actual size" and it will come out right.
Can I print the same cards again later?
Yes, as long as you have not pressed "different cards". The same settings always produce the same cards, so a reprint matches what you handed out. That matters if somebody loses a card halfway through a game.