At first glance some of you might have thought that the name of this column indicated that I would be writing about useful words to start a Wordle puzzle. Instead, let’s put aside our electronic devices and explore a game that also deals with alphabet letters but has been around for over 500 years. To paraphrase a kindergarten song, “and Bingo was its name O.”

Many trace the origin of Bingo to the 15th century when a game of chance called lotto was invented in Italy. Then in 18th century Naples they added cards with numbers that each player tried to match when they were called out. If you had a number that was called, a token was placed to cover it. If eventually you had 5 tokens in a row it was a winner.

In the 1920’s an early version of Bingo was introduced in the Pittsburgh area when Hugh J. Ward standardized the game and offered it at carnivals and fairs. It became a big attraction leading to him publishing a rule book and getting a copyright.

The game spread throughout America thanks to a traveling salesman named Edwin Lowe. In Georgia, Lowe stumbled upon a huge crowd in a carnival tent playing a version of Ward’s game. The game was called “Beano” because instead of tokens or marking up the playing card, patrons would place a bean on a called number. If they filled in a row, the winner would shout “beano.”

Lowe experimented with the card’s layout trying out different variations of rows and numbers. Eventually he settled on the format as we know it today. He invited his friends to try out his version of the game. Legend has it that one of his guests, filled out a row, stood up and instead of beano, mistakenly shouted “bingo.” To Lowe, it sounded like a bell going off and so he named his game Bingo!

Lowe began manufacturing Bingo boards also known as cards, that he sold in a set that contained wooden balls in a hand-cranked cage and a rule book. He also hired a mathematician who came up with over 6,000 numerical variations on his boards.

After his success with creating Bingo, Lowe looked for other games to distribute in America. His company manufactured miniature chess and checker sets that were used by soldiers during World War II.

His company developed a variety of toys and games. Lowe even sold a boxed miniature toy casino set that he named the “Monte CarLowe.”

In 1956 a Canadian couple told Lowe about a dice game they invented and played on their yacht. He acquired the rights to their dice game and since it had been invented on a yacht, he named the game “Yahtzee.”

The board game empire, Milton Bradley, acquired Lowe’s company for 26 million dollars in 1973. When he went to the bank to deposit the check, I would not be surprised if Lowe shouted out “Bingo” or “Yahtzee.”

Bingo players use differently designed cards depending on where they are in the world. In America traditionally our cards have 5 rows and 5 columns. In Great Britain they use cards with 3 rows and 9 columns. The numbers on our cards go from 1 to 75. If you are playing at tea time in London you’re hoping to see numbers from 1 to 90 on your card.

Casinos used to have huge Bingo rooms. Most of them eliminated the game when they realized that the age group who played Bingo would drop more money in slot machines.

The largest Bingo game occurred in Bogota, Columbia in 2006. According to the Guinness World Records over 70,000 players stood outdoors in a large field holding their cards anxiously waiting to hear “N treinta” or “B cinco.” 

Bingo has evolved and managed to be played in some form for over 500 years. The inventors of Wordle, the newest game to develop an avid following, are hoping for such a life span. To help those who plan on jumping on the Wordle bandwagon, I suggest using the opening word “ADIEU.” It either places or eliminates 4 vowels putting you on the right track. That concludes this column, so I bid you adieu.

Hudson Cooper is a resident of Sullivan County, a writer, comedian and actor.