Eyes down for a full house! Everyone knows the rules to bingo - or do they?

You don’t need to be a wily old fox to know that bingo is all about crossing off numbers on your card, but there’s more to the game than just waiting to get a full house. 

To give you a hand playing bingo online, here’s a closer look at the bingo rules every player needs to know.

There are a number of different types of bingo, but the basics of the game are identical for each. 

At the start, you choose which game of bingo you want to join, and you buy one or more cards. It's up to you how many cards you buy; there will be a price per card, so your budget will be a factor. The more cards you buy, the greater your chances of winning - but the more expensive each game will be!

With online bingo, your cards will be automatically checked, so there are no worries about having too many cards to keep up with.

Once you have your cards available, you just need to wait for the game to start and the numbers to be called. If any of the numbers called match the numbers on your card, they will be crossed off. Once you have crossed off all the numbers on your card, or in a special formation, you will be eligible for a prize. 

If you cross off all your numbers during the same number as someone else, you’ll share the booty. 

Some games have multiple prizes, with the game continuing after each one until the final payout for the full card. Other types of bingo only have a single prize; once this is claimed, it's on to the next game. 

Some of the most popular types of bingo include:

90 Ball Bingo

This is a popular form of bingo, and it takes the longest to play. The balls are numbered from 1-90, and drawn at random throughout the game. 

Each card for 90-ball bingo is made up of 27 squares in a 9x3 grid. Each horizontal row of nine squares contains five numbers, with four empty squares. Each of the nine columns represents a set of 9 or 10 sequential numbers, which means the first column is 1-9, the second column is 10-19, the third column is 20-29, and so on. 

There are three prizes in 90 ball bingo:

• Crossing off one line
• Crossing off two lines
• Crossing off the full card

It’s important to note that only horizontal lines crossed off are eligible for a prize. Crossing off a vertical line may be satisfying, but there’s no prize!

Players are not limited to winning a single prize per game; there’s nothing to stop the player who wins the prize for one line going on to also win the prizes for two lines, and a full card. 

75 Ball Bingo

75-ball bingo is shorter than 90-ball but is still considered a longer game of bingo. Balls are numbered from 1-75, and the card contains 24 numbers set across a 5x5 grid (with the middle square left blank). 

Unlike 90-ball bingo, there are different ways to play 75-ball. Players can cover a line in any direction - horizontal, diagonal or vertical - using the centre square as a joker that can help towards any line. 

Sometimes 75 ball bingo also includes special patterns or formations, such as a diamond or a cross. There are more than 300 standard patterns used in 75-ball bingo. One of these is the coverall, which requires every square to be crossed off. 

There are many other types of bingo, including speed bingo, 80 ball, 50 ball, 40 ball and more. Check out Foxy Bingo, where you'll find the fun never stops!