If you ever watched the gameshow Deal or No Deal when it was on Channel 4 then you’ll be familiar with the concept for this particular bingo room on Gala’s site. It is based heavily around the TV show, complete with theming, colours and even Noel Edmunds doing the calling as the balls are drawn. In actual fact, the game is so popular that Gala offer both a 90 ball version and a 75 ball alternative, so we’ll have a look at both of them together on this page.
You’ll know roughly how to play the feature game if you’ve had a go of Gala’s exclusive Big Banker Bingo, with that game being based heavily around the same idea as Deal or No Deal, though obviously without the branding associated with the TV show. When the game first loads up you’ll see Noel and his trademark beard and horrendous shirt leaning against a counter featuring the famous telephone and a series of red boxes. From then on it’s into the world of Deal or No Deal but with a distinctly bingo flavour, as we’ll explain.
Playing the Game
Starting with the 90 ball game, then, you’re after the usual line-based patterns for winning things. The tickets line up in two columns of four, allowing for eight to be on the screen at any one time. The tickets feature no special branding and are standard in appearance, with a selection of boxes filled with numbers and the other left blank.
The 75 ball game is slightly different when it comes to the tickets. They are square in appearance, with a star in the middle box. All boxes are filled with numbers, with none of them blank or containing spaces. Much like with the 90 ball game you’re looking for lines to win, but in the 75 ball game it works slightly differently. there are four columns with two tickets in each, again allowing for eight tickets to appear together.
Prizes
In the 90 ball game there are three ways to win in the normal game, with the feature and the jackpot on top of that. Firstly you’ll be looking for a line, then you’ll be after two lines and finally you’ll be searching for House.
You’re also looking for a line to begin with in the 75 ball game, but because of the square nature of the ticket and the fact that the middle tile is a star, you can get your line in a number of ways. The starred box essentially counts as a number you’ve already ticked off, so you can fill your line through it and you’ll need less numbers to win. You can also go horizontally, vertically or diagonally with your line. After the line there’s 2 lines, then 3 lines, then 4 lines and finally 5 lines. 5 lines is basically House, but presumably the stared box means they can’t call it that.
Features
If you watched the Channel 4 gameshow when it was on TV then you’ll know roughly how the feature works. It’s pretty much the same in either room, so we won’t bother describing it twice. Before the game begins there are 25 different amounts of money that ‘placed’ into numbered boxes. One of them is put to one side and is the ‘player’s box’. Every time a ball is called that has the same number as has been randomly assigned to the boxes, that box is ‘removed’ from the game and its associated amount disappears from the board. You’ll know if that happens as there is a ‘hallelujah’ type sound.
At the end of the game, once all of the regular prizes have been won, the House winner (or 5 line winner in the 75 ball game) will get an offer from the Banker. The offer will normally be somewhere between the highest amount remaining on the board and the lowest. Say, for example, that there are four amounts left on the board at the end of the game, £1.50, £12, £18 and £150. In that instance the Banker might offer the House winner £37. The other players in the room vote on whether or not they should take it and the House winner makes a decision. If they ‘Deal’ they get the £37, if they opt for ‘No Deal’ then the player’s box will be opened and the House winner will get the amount therein.
Much like with any other game, the House can be won by numerous people. In the event that that happens the player’s box will be opened automatically and whatever amount is contained within it will be shared equally between all of the players that won House. No deal will be offered by the Banker.
Jackpots
In both the 75 ball room and the 90 ball room there is a progressive jackpot. In both rooms the jackpot is won by House being called within a given number of bingo calls. Say that the jackpot will be won if House is awarded within 31 calls and you get House after 28 calls, you’ll also win a share of the jackpot.
The 90 ball room’s jackpot begins at £10,000 and the 75 ball room has a jackpot beginning at £7,500. If you win you’ll get 50% of whatever’s in the jackpot at the time, along with a proportionate share according to the number of tickets you bought. Everyone else in the room gets share of the remaining 50%, again according to the number of tickets they bought. That is the same for both rooms.
