ABC'S National Bingo Night

ABC is hoping their newest prime time game show will be a success. The first show aired on May 18, I along with many others went to ABC.com and printed my bingo cards. You get three pages, each with three bingo cards per page. They are color coded, white, red, and blue. The host of the show tells you which card you should be using and what prize you can win. This is not like regular bingo. The contestants that are on stage are playing a different game. We the home viewers are playing bingo. It is a little confusing at first. In this game the studio audience, home viewers and the contestant on stage have a chance to win. The Stage: there is this giant ball mixer (or what ever you call it) with bingo balls in it bouncing around.

And a big display screen. The contestant gets a handheld button thing that releases balls from the ball mixer. However, before they release a ball they have to guess if it is going to a high or low number. Let us say the first ball is 15 that would be low. And, the starting point for the rest of the first game. Before releasing the next ball, the contestant has to guess higher or lower then the previous ball. If the contestant is right they get the difference between the number on that ball and the one before it in miles. Example: we start with ball 15, the contestant says higher, and it is, 30. The difference would be 15.

The contestant is trying get to 500 miles before someone in the studio audience gets a bingo. The studio and at home audience use every ball that comes out of that machine until the game is over. The prize for the first game is usually a $5 dollar Kmart gift card, and you are entered into a drawing for a 50,000.00 Kmart gift card. Prizes for "White card" game are a little better and change each week, as do the prizes for "Blue Card" game.

This is five-across Bingo, meaning to get a bingo you have to get five spaces marked off in a row. Either horizontally (side-to-side), diagonally across or vertically (up and down). Do not worry if you miss the show but printed bingo cards, you can check to see if you are a winner on the website for the show.

I was very excited before I played it. The idea sounded great, people at home could play and win. I was disappointed that I did not win anything that first game. Who wasn't? I am not sure how many people won anything. The contestants on stage have hardly won anything, the studio audience made out like bandits. They should put all the bingo cards on one page, having to print three pages seems like a waste of paper and ink, especially if you're not winning anything. After watching and playing, three times it lost its charm for me. And, if you are not playing it is not fun to watch. That's what going to keep it from being to successful.

It was as good attempt by ABC, but lacking in fallow-through. It was fun the first few times.

If you want to be in the studio audience go to ABC.com.