What are the bingo calls?

Bingo calls: every number from 1 to 90

Bingo calls are the nicknames that callers give the numbers, mostly in British 90-ball bingo. Many rhyme with the number, like cup of tea for 3. Others play on its shape, like two little ducks for 22. The caller says the call, then the number: legs eleven, number 11.

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All 90 bingo calls

These are the traditional calls of British bingo halls, one or two for each number. Callers have their own favorites, and many halls add new ones, so you will hear others too. A few old calls are rude; we leave those out.

Calls 1 to 10
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
1	Kelly's eye	Old military slang. It may point to the single eye slit in the helmet of the outlaw Ned Kelly.
2	One little duck	The 2 looks like a duck. Players often answer with a quack.
3	Cup of tea	It rhymes with three.
4	Knock at the door	It rhymes with four.
5	Man alive	It rhymes with five.
6	Half a dozenTom Mix	Six is half of twelve. Tom Mix, a star of early cowboy films, rhymes with six.
7	Lucky seven	Seven is a lucky number in many cultures.
8	Garden gate	It rhymes with eight.
9	Doctor's orders	In the First World War, army doctors gave soldiers a laxative pill called Number 9.
10	The prime minister's den	The British prime minister lives at 10 Downing Street. Callers use the name of the prime minister of the day.

Calls 11 to 20
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
11	Legs eleven	The two 1s look like a pair of legs. Some players answer with a wolf whistle.
12	One dozen	Twelve is a dozen.
13	Unlucky for some	Many people see 13 as an unlucky number.
14	Valentine's Day	Valentine's Day is February 14.
15	Young and keen	It rhymes with fifteen.
16	Sweet sixteenNever been kissed	A sweet sixteen is a big birthday in the United States and Canada. Never been kissed comes from an old song.
17	Dancing queen	The ABBA song Dancing Queen is about a girl of seventeen.
18	Coming of age	At 18 you become an adult in the UK.
19	Goodbye teens	19 is the last year of the teens.
20	One score	A score is twenty.

Calls 21 to 30
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
21	Key of the doorRoyal salute	People once came of age at 21 and got a key to the house. A royal salute is 21 guns.
22	Two little ducks	The two 2s look like ducks. Players answer: quack, quack.
23	Thee and meThe Lord is my shepherd	Thee and me rhymes with twenty-three. Psalm 23 begins with The Lord is my shepherd.
24	Two dozen	Twice twelve.
25	Duck and dive	It rhymes with twenty-five, and the 2 looks like a duck.
26	Pick and mixHalf a crown	Pick and mix rhymes with twenty-six. Half a crown was an old British coin of two shillings and six pence: two and six.
27	Gateway to heavenDuck and a crutch	Gateway to heaven rhymes with twenty-seven. The 2 looks like a duck, and the 7 like a crutch.
28	In a stateOverweight	Both rhyme with twenty-eight.
29	Rise and shine	It rhymes with twenty-nine.
30	Dirty Gertie	It rhymes with thirty. Dirty Gertie is the nickname of a 1927 statue in London and of a soldiers' song of the Second World War.

Calls 31 to 40
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
31	Get up and run	It rhymes with thirty-one.
32	Buckle my shoe	From the nursery rhyme One, two, buckle my shoe.
33	Dirty kneeAll the threes	Dirty knee rhymes with thirty-three, and the number is two 3s.
34	Ask for more	It rhymes with thirty-four.
35	Jump and jive	It rhymes with thirty-five. The jive is a dance.
36	Three dozen	Three times twelve.
37	More than eleven	It rhymes with thirty-seven.
38	Christmas cake	Old rhyming slang for thirty-eight.
39	All the steps	From The Thirty-Nine Steps, the 1915 spy novel by John Buchan.
40	Life beginsNaughty forty	From the saying life begins at forty, the title of a 1932 book.

Calls 41 to 50
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
41	Time for fun	It rhymes with forty-one.
42	Winnie the Pooh	It rhymes with forty-two.
43	Down on your knees	It rhymes with forty-three. Soldiers used the phrase in wartime.
44	Droopy drawers	It rhymes with all the fours. Drawers are underpants.
45	Halfway there	45 is half of 90, the last number.
46	Up to tricks	It rhymes with forty-six.
47	Four and seven	The two digits of the number.
48	Four dozen	Four times twelve.
49	PC	PC 49 was a police officer in a BBC radio show. Players answer: evening, all.
50	Half a centuryBullseye	Half of a hundred. The bull of a dartboard scores 50.

Calls 51 to 60
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
51	Tweak of the thumb	It rhymes with fifty-one.
52	Danny La RueDeck of cards	Danny La Rue was a British entertainer whose name rhymes with two. A deck has 52 cards.
53	Here comes Herbie	53 is the racing number of Herbie, the Volkswagen Beetle of The Love Bug films. Players answer: beep beep!
54	Clean the floorMan at the door	Both rhyme with fifty-four.
55	Snakes alive	It rhymes with fifty-five, and the two 5s look like snakes.
56	Was she worth it?	A marriage licence once cost five shillings and six pence. Players answer: every penny!
57	Heinz varieties	From the 57 Varieties slogan of the food brand Heinz.
58	Make them wait	It rhymes with fifty-eight, and the caller often waits a moment.
59	Brighton line	Nobody is sure where it comes from. Five and nine may simply rhyme with Brighton line.
60	Five dozen	Five times twelve.

Calls 61 to 70
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
61	Baker's bun	It rhymes with sixty-one.
62	Tickety-boo	It rhymes with sixty-two. Tickety-boo means fine, all in order.
63	Tickle me	It rhymes with sixty-three.
64	Almost retiredRed raw	64 was one year short of 65, the old UK retirement age for men. Red raw rhymes with sixty-four.
65	Old age pensionStop work	65 was the age at which men in the UK got the state pension.
66	Clickety click	It rhymes with sixty-six.
67	Stairway to heavenMade in heaven	Both rhyme with sixty-seven.
68	Pick a mateSaving grace	Both rhyme with sixty-eight.
69	Either way upAny way up	69 reads the same when you turn it upside down.
70	Three score and ten	Three twenties and ten. In the Bible it is the span of a life.

Calls 71 to 80
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
71	Bang on the drum	It rhymes with seventy-one.
72	Six dozen	Six times twelve.
73	Queen beeUnder the tree	Both rhyme with seventy-three.
74	Hit the floorCandy store	Both rhyme with seventy-four.
75	Strive and strive	It rhymes with seventy-five.
76	Trombones	From the song Seventy-Six Trombones in the musical The Music Man.
77	Sunset StripTwo little crutches	From the TV series 77 Sunset Strip. The two 7s also look like crutches.
78	Heaven's gate39 more steps	Heaven's gate rhymes with seventy-eight, and 39 and 39 make 78.
79	One more time	It rhymes with seventy-nine.
80	Eight and blank	An 8 and a 0.

Calls 81 to 90
সংখ্যা	Call	কেন
81	Stop and run	It rhymes with eighty-one.
82	Straight on through	It rhymes with eighty-two.
83	Time for tea	It rhymes with eighty-three.
84	Seven dozen	Seven times twelve.
85	Staying alive	It rhymes with eighty-five, like the Bee Gees song.
86	Between the sticks	It rhymes with eighty-six. In football, the goalkeeper stands between the sticks.
87	Torquay in Devon	It rhymes with eighty-seven. Torquay is a seaside town in Devon, England.
88	Two fat ladies	The two 8s look like two ladies side by side. Players answer: wobble, wobble.
89	Nearly thereAlmost there	89 is one away from 90, the last number.
90	Top of the shop	90 is the highest number in 90-ball bingo.

How a bingo caller calls the numbers

A British caller draws a ball and says its call, then the number: two little ducks, 22. A number with one digit is called on its own: on its own, number 7. Some calls get an answer from the room, like quack, quack for 22.

In 75-ball bingo, the caller says the letter of the column first, then the number: B 12, N 42, O 70. The game has no tradition of nicknames: the letter tells the players which column to look in.

A good caller speaks slowly and clearly, says each number the same way, and pauses so players can mark their cards. The caller also keeps a board of every called number, to check a winning card.

75-ball bingo: the B-I-N-G-O columns

A 75-ball card has 5 columns under the letters B, I, N, G and O. Each column holds 5 numbers from its range, and the middle square of the N column is free, so a card has 24 numbers. Players win with a pattern, such as a line, the four corners, an X, or the whole card.

Letter	সংখ্যা
B	1 to 15
I	16 to 30
N	31 to 45
G	46 to 60
O	61 to 75

90-ball bingo: tickets, lines and a full house

A 90-ball ticket has 3 rows of 9 squares. Each row has 5 numbers and 4 blanks, so a ticket has 15 numbers. The first column holds 1 to 9, the second 10 to 19, and so on to the last, which holds 80 to 90. Tickets come in strips of 6 that hold each number from 1 to 90 once.

A game has three prizes: the first player to mark one line, then two lines, then all 15 numbers, the full house.

75-ball and 90-ball bingo compared

ধরন	Where people play it	The card	How to win
90-ball	United Kingdom, Ireland	A ticket of 3 rows of 9, with 15 numbers	One line, two lines, then a full house
75-ball	United States, Canada	A card of 5 by 5 under B-I-N-G-O, with a free middle square	A pattern: a line, four corners, an X, or the whole card

Call a game with our free bingo caller

Our bingo game calls 75-ball or 90-ball games for a class or a party. It shows every called number on a board, can say each number aloud, prints up to 60 cards, and checks a card by its number. Keep this list open next to it to add the calls. You can also play alone against 3 computer players.

সাধারণ জিজ্ঞাসা

What do you say when calling bingo numbers?

In British bingo the caller says the nickname, then the number: two little ducks, 22. A single digit is often called on its own: on its own, number 7. In 75-ball bingo the caller says the letter of the column and the number, like B 12 or N 42.

Why is 56 called was she worth it?

A marriage licence in Britain once cost five shillings and six pence, five and six. The players answer the call with: every penny!

What does 69 mean in bingo?

The call is either way up, or any way up: 69 reads the same when you turn it upside down.

Do American bingo callers use nicknames?

Not by tradition. In 75-ball bingo the caller says the column letter and the number, like G 52, and the players look under that letter on their card. The nicknames belong to British 90-ball bingo.

Are some bingo numbers called more often than others?

No. In a fair game every ball left in the machine has the same chance of coming out next, so over many games each number comes up about as often as any other.

What are the odds of winning bingo?

When every card plays for the same pattern, every card has about the same chance. With 50 cards in play, one card wins about 1 game in 50, and two cards win about 2 games in 50.

Why do bingo players shout house?

House is the old British name of the game, from housey-housey. A player shouts house, or bingo, when they have a full house: all 15 numbers of a 90-ball ticket.

How many numbers are on a bingo card?

A 75-ball card has 24 numbers and a free square in the middle. A 90-ball ticket has 15 numbers, 5 in each of its 3 rows.

Can I call a game with these calls?

Yes. Open our free bingo caller, choose 90-ball, and read the call of each number from this list as the ball comes up. The caller shows every called number on a board, so you can check a winning ticket.