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Usually at least once on a Carnival cruise they offer "Cheapo Bingo", as I recall, at $10 per card.  The place is packed and it is  fun even without winning.  That to me is what Bingo should be, a lot of fun, a level playing field, with a remote shot of winning more than the entry fee.  I am not going to pay $69 x 4 so I can play Bingo with my grands on the ship, but at $10 per card, we all go and enjoy it. 

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1 hour ago, BeancounterUSA said:

Have yet to see a cogent post in this thread about the value proposition of playing Bingo.  Several posts are also confusing the tablet and the term "machines".  They are not the same things.  Tablets are an option for playing and machines is a reference to the old ping pong ball method or the new electronic method depending on who is commenting.

 

First of all, by its very nature, Bingo is a negative expectation game.  There is only 1 winner per game (unless there is a tie in which case the spot is split) regardless of the number of people.  Therefore, almost everyone in the room will lose, and very few will win during a session.  The amount won by the winner is based on the number of players and whether it is game 1 of 3 (lowest $), game 2 of 3(medium $) or the last game (highest $) of the session.  You do NOT have to buy the package that includes the tablet.  There are two other options for purchasing cards that you can mark yourself, and if you buy the package with the tablet you get paper cards in addition to the tablet to mark on your own.  The tablet option is priced to give you more chances (24 on each tablet) per $.  The card only option has fewer chances but a higher price per chance and a lower overall cost.

 

It takes almost no skill to use the tablet.  After every ball it arranges the 24 cards in order of the fewest numbers needed to win.  If it gets to 1 number needed it will generate a musical tone so you can stand up and get booed.  If you win it will tell you in an unmistakable way.  Can't tell you how many times (pre-tablet) there was a Bongo (someone who claims a win but made a mistake) in the "old" days.

 

It's really that simple.  When you boil it all down, you look at the overall price for each package, the price of the number of cards (chances)/$, and what is best for you, individually, to enjoy your 1 or so in which you have a small chance to win and will most likely lose.  If you don't want to play, don't play.   If you play, do it in such a way, with your package choice, where you will have fun even if(when) you lose.  /rant

 

Truly living up to your screen name, there. 

 

I think you’ve missed the entire point of this thread - cruisers miss the good old days of paper cards, ball in the cage, inexpensive Bingo. Period. 

 

I don’t know what other cruiselines do, but I think RC has priced a lot of cruisers out of enjoying why used to be (should be) a classic game. I posted earlier that my husband and I won $750 on our honeymoon. We were young and broke and paid less than $100 for a week of Bingo playing. At today’s prices, we couldn’t have afforded this... one game, maybe, and that’s about it. 

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2 hours ago, BeancounterUSA said:

Have yet to see a cogent post in this thread about the value proposition of playing Bingo.  Several posts are also confusing the tablet and the term "machines".  They are not the same things.  Tablets are an option for playing and machines is a reference to the old ping pong ball method or the new electronic method depending on who is commenting.

 

First of all, by its very nature, Bingo is a negative expectation game.  There is only 1 winner per game (unless there is a tie in which case the spot is split) regardless of the number of people.  Therefore, almost everyone in the room will lose, and very few will win during a session.  The amount won by the winner is based on the number of players and whether it is game 1 of 3 (lowest $), game 2 of 3(medium $) or the last game (highest $) of the session.  You do NOT have to buy the package that includes the tablet.  There are two other options for purchasing cards that you can mark yourself, and if you buy the package with the tablet you get paper cards in addition to the tablet to mark on your own.  The tablet option is priced to give you more chances (24 on each tablet) per $.  The card only option has fewer chances but a higher price per chance and a lower overall cost.

 

It takes almost no skill to use the tablet.  After every ball it arranges the 24 cards in order of the fewest numbers needed to win.  If it gets to 1 number needed it will generate a musical tone so you can stand up and get booed.  If you win it will tell you in an unmistakable way.  Can't tell you how many times (pre-tablet) there was a Bongo (someone who claims a win but made a mistake) in the "old" days.

 

It's really that simple.  When you boil it all down, you look at the overall price for each package, the price of the number of cards (chances)/$, and what is best for you, individually, to enjoy your 1 or so in which you have a small chance to win and will most likely lose.  If you don't want to play, don't play.   If you play, do it in such a way, with your package choice, where you will have fun even if(when) you lose.  /rant

the reason is most of us don't know the definition of value proposition.

 

You really named yourself correctly on cc. :classic_laugh:

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22 minutes ago, BunnyHutt said:

I think you’ve missed the entire point of this thread - cruisers miss the good old days of paper cards, ball in the cage, inexpensive Bingo. Period. 

I don't think I hijacked the thread, especially since the original poster referred to tablets and didn't mention balls in the cage electronic.   Please understand that I get the point you are trying to make.  I'm simply trying to straighten out some confusing statements and provide my own perspective, which is the point of these boards, even if they don't agree with your point of view

 

Also pointed out that if the introduction of the tablets is problematic, you do NOT have to buy the package with a  tablet.  You can buy a less expensive card only package.  On the Symphony in March there were two lower priced card only options.  On the Navigator last week there was also a package as low as $17 that was card only, which is a relatively low overall cost option but also cost more per card.  I agree it was not the ball in the cage version.

 

Another point is that you do not have to play if you don't like it.  Plenty of other activities on the ship.  But if you do, find the package that's best for you with the understanding that there can only be one winner per game.  The point is to make the choice for you in order to have fun, and winning is the cherry on top because you should not expect to win.

 

Finally, all of the above is just my opinion.  Please let me know if I typed something that was factually incorrect.

 

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On our first ever cruise, we played Bingo by accident.  We even didn’t know how to use the machine on Royal Caribbean cruise.  The couple in front of us had to teach us the rules and let us to get the machines first.    

 

Then my boyfriend won the first round and I won the second round on our first ever cruise Bingo.  Ouch….

 

 

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We miss the old days as well.  On our last cruise the bingo caller said he wasn't going to do any dumb "bingo jokes" saying, "we're over those right?"  Everyone yelled "No", but he didn't do any anyway.  Instead, he mostly advertised other stuff he was doing on the ship. 

 

We've heard the jokes a million times, but still have a little chuckle each cruise.  I think there is something comforting about familiarity and when it all starts to change we miss it.  I used to laugh every time the person said, "I need someone to check my balls..." and every one climbed over themselves to do it since there was a free fruity drink involved.

There were people on our cruise who purchased the  max number of machines and were trying to win for a charity.  I applaud the attention to charity, but these people (they enlisted about 10 people each time to play their machines) won almost every game as you'd guess which made it a lot less fun for everyone else.

 

There's also nothing to playing the  machines.  You just sit there and hope yours makes the little noise.

 

We've noticed also that there are fewer cards. When we first started playing there were 5, then 4, last cruise only 3 colors.  I think that's why it gets over so quickly.

 

Back in the day, bingo was one of the things we really looked forward to. We could get a drink, sit back, hear some really cheesy humor and a bunch of people groaning, and, maybe, win a game every once in a while to give us something to brag about. Yeah, it wasn't a money making thing like it is now, but it was one of the things we always anticipated.

 

Tom

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3 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

Honestly in 2019 there's no excuse to not be "savvy" enough to use a tablet

Not only that, but think of all the trees RC is saving.  I usually stop in the last day for the "free" cruise drawing.  Enjoy watching half the room leave, along with me, after said drawing.

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On 6/23/2019 at 1:25 AM, PhoenixCruiser said:

We stopped playing when the machines started and when they started taking a huge cut. Same with slots and cards tournaments.

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk
 

So you begrudge the cruise line for making a handsome profit off bingo games?  Making a profit is the reason Royal Caribbean is (and remains) in business.  There is a lot of agreement about the dislike of Bingo machines on this thread, but I must tell you that the games are still popular when my wife and I play.

 

I beg to differ with many of these posts.  I like the high-tech bingo units.  I can afford the machines, so I purchase them.  I play Bingo every cruise and I can tell you that lots of folks win with cards.  If you like the cards then purchase more of them.  Don't see the issue here.  And I am not sympathetic with the complaint that those with machines have better odds.  The computer cards cost more... why shouldn't they afford the purchaser better odds?

 

We recently played on the Celebrity Summit and on that ship they use the slide method (6 cards on a sheet of heavy cardboard), no computers and no paper.  Photo attached.IMG_0475.JPG.f1ce92633764a1fb059f4bf9255922cc.JPG

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1 hour ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

 

Beancounter is correct, but so what?  In a casino, the house always has the advantage and almost always wins.  His (or her) explanation could just as easily apply to blackjack, craps, or slots, not to mention state lotteries... against unbelievable odds people still purchase tickets.  Of course, you will lose most of the time at all of those games.  This is not news to anybody.  Also, I had to chuckle at Beancounter's complaint that "It takes almost no skill to use the tablet."  Please describe for me the skill level required to punch out numbers on a paper card.

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32 minutes ago, st5310 said:

Please describe for me the skill level required to punch out numbers on a paper card.

Hearing the number, Finding the number called and correctly punching it out on each of your cards before the next number is called out.  Kind of a hand-eye-ear coordination thing. If you have 24 cards, it can be seen to require a skill to do it accurately every time.   I can't tell you how difficult this must have been for some considering the number of times a Bingo was claimed and found to be incorrect because someone didn't do it right the old way.  With the tablet you don't have to anything except shout Bingo when the tablet tells you to.

 

As far as your comment about the odds to win in Bingo vs the casino, I hope you understand I was defending the decision to play Bingo.  And I actually wouldn't compare the odds in Bingo (100 people play, 1 winner and 99 losers) to those in the casino (Blackjack with basic strategy has a little over 1% casino advantage unless you play a 6/5 game with no double after split, Craps has some bets that are true odds bets).  That said, I have frequently lost more in the casino overall than I did playing Bingo.  I've also almost always won more in the casino than at Bingo.

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I don't think anyone is saying they can't figure out how to use the tablet. I think we just don't think it is as much fun. You basically just sit there and hope it makes a noise. You don't have to play at all.  They may as well just sell them and call you later if you happen to win.


Tom

 

3 hours ago, queenfrostine22 said:

You would think! unfortunately that is not the case. Many people have no one to show them "how"

 

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1 hour ago, BeancounterUSA said:

Hearing the number, Finding the number called and correctly punching it out on each of your cards before the next number is called out.  Kind of a hand-eye-ear coordination thing. If you have 24 cards, it can be seen to require a skill to do it accurately every time.   I can't tell you how difficult this must have been for some considering the number of times a Bingo was claimed and found to be incorrect because someone didn't do it right the old way.  With the tablet you don't have to anything except shout Bingo when the tablet tells you to.

 

As far as your comment about the odds to win in Bingo vs the casino, I hope you understand I was defending the decision to play Bingo.  And I actually wouldn't compare the odds in Bingo (100 people play, 1 winner and 99 losers) to those in the casino (Blackjack with basic strategy has a little over 1% casino advantage unless you play a 6/5 game with no double after split, Craps has some bets that are true odds bets).  That said, I have frequently lost more in the casino overall than I did playing Bingo.  I've also almost always won more in the casino than at Bingo.

You make a good case, but my point still stands.  The house always has the advantage.  Play with the numbers as much as you like, but Bingo is no different in that sense than any other casino game.  There isn't always one winner; by the way; in fact there are often multiple winners, especially in cover-all games.

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6 hours ago, hotsauce126 said:

Honestly in 2019 there's no excuse to not be "savvy" enough to use a tablet

Savvy? You don't even need a brain. The tablet does it for you. Not much fun in that. I would rather play a slot machine at that point. This was the first time in 30yrs of cruising that we played bingo on a cruise ship. Given it was a 9 day cruise it gave us the opportunity to do things that we wouldn't normally do on a 7 day cruise. It wasn't much fun so that will be the last time for us.

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56 minutes ago, suesnake2002 said:

St5310, love the fact you brought your royal dabbers to celebrities bingo

Thank you, Suesnake... never leave home without them!  They do make it easier when dealing with multiple paper cards... better and faster than punching out the numbers.

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18 hours ago, BeancounterUSA said:

Hearing the number, Finding the number called and correctly punching it out on each of your cards before the next number is called out.  Kind of a hand-eye-ear coordination thing. If you have 24 cards, it can be seen to require a skill to do it accurately every time.   I can't tell you how difficult this must have been for some considering the number of times a Bingo was claimed and found to be incorrect because someone didn't do it right the old way.  With the tablet you don't have to anything except shout Bingo when the tablet tells you to.

 

As far as your comment about the odds to win in Bingo vs the casino, I hope you understand I was defending the decision to play Bingo.  And I actually wouldn't compare the odds in Bingo (100 people play, 1 winner and 99 losers) to those in the casino (Blackjack with basic strategy has a little over 1% casino advantage unless you play a 6/5 game with no double after split, Craps has some bets that are true odds bets).  That said, I have frequently lost more in the casino overall than I did playing Bingo.  I've also almost always won more in the casino than at Bingo.

Yes, my hand-eye-ear coordination isn't the best under pressure which is why I am one of those Bongo people :classic_laugh:.  The machines work better for me!  But because of the cost and the crowds (we were packed like sardines in one of the smaller bars) the last time we played on Allure, I don't know that we'll be doing it again when we sail on Harmony in September. . .

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