Gameplay and Rules
This game will be a game of blackjack between all the players, with me acting as the dealer/house rather than a caller.
How this will work.
Once people have signed up, I will send them a number (randomly assigned) that will correspond to a Bingo Card to play. Due to the nature of the game, you must be signed up before the first cards are dealt.
All possible Bingo cards will be posted in the thread (more on this below).
Just as in standard casino blackjack, the goal of the game is to get as close to 21 as possible without going over. Numbered cards are worth their stated value. Face cards have a value of 10. Ace has value of 1 or 11.
You are playing against me, the Wizard/dealer. If you are closer to 21 than I am, you win the hand. If you get over 21 points, you bust, and lose. If I am closer to 21 than you are, you lose.
As the dealer, I will force myself to hit if my point total is less than 17. I will stand on 17 or greater.
I will use 4 nearly standard decks* of playing cards to deal the game. If you want to track/count the cards, be my guest. I will clearly announce when I need to perform a reshuffle.
*Since this is bingo game #53, it wouldn’t be right to play with a deck that has 52 cards. This means that I will add in a joker to each deck to get a total of 53 cards per deck. So because we have 4 decks, this means there will be 212 cards to deal before a reshuffle.
The winning card must fill out 21 out of 25 boxes, in a pattern specified by the caller (or a player; see more below).
Daily gameplay is as follows:
- I will post a morning announcement dealing the cards.
- I will deal “down the list” using a predetermined list generated by random.org (RANDOM.ORG - Playing Card Shuffler)
- So I will get my first card as dealer, then players 1st - nth will get their first card. Then I will get my down card and all players will be dealt their second cards.
- I will post your cards for each player each morning using @ to alert you that the cards were dealt.
- You will have until 1800 Eastern time to post “Hit” or “Stand”. If I don’t hear from you, I will assume that you are choosing to “stand.” You can only choose to hit once in a day (constraint I’m imposing due to this being a game being played asynchronously between multiple players).
- At about 1800 eastern, I will give additional cards to all players who have chosen to hit, and reveal my “down card.”
- As mentioned above the dealer must hit if under 17, I will hit as many times as needed to get to 17 or above (so different than the only one new card for the players).
- If you win a hand, you will have the opportunity to post ONE valid standard American Bingo Hall bingo call (1-75) in the official bingo thread. Once that call is posted, it cannot be altered if it is outside of the normal editing window.
- If you hit a straight blackjack (ace + ten/face card), you have options. You can either make a standard call, or you can nullify a past call.
- Jokers: if a player is dealt a joker, you have options. You must either trade bingo cards with another player or you can change the winning pattern on the card. When you make your choice, please post it in the thread and it is a binding choice. If I am dealt a joker, all players will be randomly assigned a different Bingo card to play.
- An invalid call, failure to make a call, or repeat call will be a lost opportunity for the player who made that call (i.e. I am not giving you a do-over if you mess up).
- You will have until 0800 Eastern the next morning to post your call or other action (as detailed above).
- The number of calls in any given day will be equal to the number of players who have won the right to make a call.
The standard “fine-print”:
1. Sign-ups are open starting right now. Due to the nature of the gameplay, no late entrants will be allowed.
2. You must be a TSC member in good standing, with at least 10 meaningful posts. Hopefully this will encourage at least some of our newer members to jump in!
3. Spirited banter is highly encouraged, but be a gentleman in all interactions.
4. Calls must be Standard American Bingo Hall calls, consisting of the Letters: B, I, N, G, or O and their corresponding Numbers: 1-75 (Examples: B2, I18, N42, G55, O69). Numbers found without the corresponding letter are not valid calls.
5. The number of calls in any given day will be equal to the number of players who have won the right to make a call.
Calls will be found only on the official Bingo Game #53 thread.
6. Calls must be clearly recognizable and posted in the thread to be considered valid in this game.
7. Bingo cards: Each player will receive a number which corresponds to a Bingo Card, which will be sent via PM before the game begins. You may choose to reveal which card you are playing or not, it’s up to you. You can print out your card, or keep it digital. As calls are received mark them on your cards. As explained in the “Joker” section above, you may not be playing the same Bingo card during this entire game.
8. To win, you will need to match the winning pattern on your card. Once you believe you have a bingo you must type "TSC BINGO" in this thread. The first person to call TSC BINGO wins the game (There are no ties). Then you must submit a photo of your card in this thread, for verification by the caller, before it is official. If it is not a good Bingo, play will resume.
9. The winner of this game will receive the following:
The highly coveted Bingo Wizard Badge and bragging rights!
The honor of being the caller of the next Bingo game (to be started within 4 weeks of winning--no bogarting the badge!).
An additional prize may be offered at the discretion of the caller (callers are not required to offer a prize). See below for more on prizes this game.
10. These rules must be posted by the caller before each game, edited for the specifics of their game.
11. If you have any questions, or if any rule needs clarification, let the caller know. The caller has the final say in any questions, disputes, or clarifications regarding calls/rules.
12. Have Fun! Or, Go Crazy! But..... Why Not Both??
Because this is a new format Bingo game, please ask any questions you have about gameplay/rules before we get underway publicly on this thread and I will respond. I’m hoping this mashup leads to a very player driven, participation heavy iteration of Bingo.
Sign up and prizes announced soon.
. Don’t make me go on spaghetti western on you Stefan 
