If you are serious about your Bingo, this is the place for you.
The low down: doors open at 6 PM, early bird games start at 7 PM, and normal games start at 8 PM. The games run until 10:30 at night (wayyy past my normal bedtime). Each person has to buy a main packet, which normally is 10$ for the first one ($15 for 2, $18 for 3, and $20 for 4). Word to the wise - if you are an inexperienced bingo-er like me, don't go for 4. Obviously it is the most cost effective, but you seriously barely have enough time to blot all your cards before the next number is called.
In addition to the normal entry packet, I purchased a special packet for $10. This includes some quickie games (where they call the numbers, without the letters, as fast as they come up, and the first person to blot out their entire card wins) and some other special games that they intersperse throughout the night. Definitely not required, but you will just be sitting around during those games if you don't buy the extra packet.
For the early bird games, I was given a free pack of 5 games with my entry packet, and then additional games were available to purchase on the floor for $1 each. These games had a faster pace than the main games of the night.
Since it was our first time there, we were each allowed to pick out a shiny new bingo blotter for free! Once you become an experienced bingo-goer, you start to collect a bunch of blotters so you can mix up the colors.
The space is pretty bare bones, there are a bunch of rectangular tables throughout the bingo hall, and there are four different bingo boards on each of the four building walls that you could look at to see what had been called. There were also TVs around the room for you to see the next number coming up before it is called. (You want to be blotting your number when it comes up on the screen so that you can be ready to yell BINGO! as soon as the number is actually called because your bingo needs to include the last number called for it to be valid.) there were also some obligatory fake palm trees and the like. (They can't just call it Island Bingo without island-themed decorations!)
There was a snack bar that I didn't get anything from. It looked to mostly be some nachos + a bunch of things that you can normally purchase in the freezer section of the grocery store... like Red Baron pizza. There was an intermission in the middle of the main game around 9 PM where most of the people went out to grab food from either the gas station, Roy Rogers, or the nearby Chinese food place.
Some people had electronic Bingo boards, which I didn't really understand, it seemed like it did all of the marking for the, so they just watched it in the case that the machine won. It seemed like it took all the fun out of the game, but I didn't try it, so I don't really know. There were also a lot of additional games going on that included pull tabs, but I was focusing on figuring out the basic Bingo happenings, so I didn't really get into all of those special things that people where purchasing in addition to their normal games.
Overall, it was a fun night. If I were itching for some Bingo and in the area again, I'd definitely come back here! read more
