The Therapeutic Value of Bingo for Senior Citizens

Friday night bingo is a tradition in many households. Each week hundreds of thousands of people, many past the age of 60, gather up their money and head off to the local bingo parlor. They come equipped with their specially designed bingo markers (also known as bingo daubers), lucky charms and some sort of a homemade snack. For the next 3 hours, they will be in a world of their own.

Regulars know all of the ins and outs of Friday night bingo. They arrive early so they can stake out either their lucky seats or regular one. They need time to buy and lay out their bingo cards and set up their section of the table. Before the first game starts, they take the opportunity to say hello to their other bingo playing friends and wish them good luck, even if they want to win themselves, it is just good manners.

Once the games get started, things get a little more serious. There are some players that concentrate on their cards and nothing else. They may have only 1 card for the game or they may have 10. It does not matter to this type of player. They are only concentrating on each number as it is called in hope of getting a bingo.

Most of the players do not take the game quite so seriously. They are there for fun. Winning is nice, but it is not what brings them back week after week. Bingo is actually a therapeutic experience for many who do not get out of the house very often. It is a chance to talk to others and share their experiences. The typical topics that are discussed amongst many seniors are family, politics and current medical needs.

While marking their cards, a player has a chance to strike up a conversation with the person to either side of them. They may talk about how their children and grandchildren don't visit them or they may talk about the sad state of our economy. Issues that are important to them can be shared. It is almost as if they've been storing up ammunition all week until they can release it in the bingo hall.

Perhaps the number one topic of conversation is talking about their recent experiences with doctors. They may tell you of their ailments in painstaking detail. They may tell how they went for an operation and how it was nip and tuck for a time before they pulled through. Complaints about waiting in doctor's offices and the high cost of their prescription drugs are shared with their playing partners. Getting things off their chests is a very therapeutic release of pent-up emotions.

When the games are coming to an end, everybody turns a little more serious, hoping to leave with a winning ticket. Some go home with more money than they came with. Most leave with a few dollars less than what they had when the night started. Everybody leaves feeling a little better, having had the chance to interact and share their feelings with their bingo playing friends.

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