BINGO!

Don’t let the title of this post mislead you, because although we went to play bingo with a couple of our friends recently, we didn’t actually say “BINGO!” the entire night…

For a while Micah has been itching to play bingo (itching? I don’t know how I feel about that verb, but I’m just going to go with it…). The annoying thing about bingo is that since it is a game that appeals to the elderly, it starts at ridiculously early times. This night bingo started at 6:30pm. On a Saturday! And they told us to get there 45 minutes early. We didn’t even get to eat dinner! And if we had known in advance how long this bingo game would last, we definitely would have nourished ourselves properly beforehand, even if it meant a 4pm dinner.

This is what I went to Bingo imagining: We are going to hang out with our friends, Alexis and Shane. We are each going to pay for some Bingo cards (like $1-2 per card). We will probably each play five or six games (aka spend $10-12). We will try to get five numbers in a row across our boards. At least one of us will win. It will be awesome. When we get tired of playing, we’ll go grab something to eat together.

Wrong. On all accounts.

Has anyone ever explained to you how complicated bingo is? I mean, it’s not complicated in and of itself – you just cover numbers with a stamp – but going to a full-fledged bingo hall is complex. This bingo place, Reflections, is voted Best Bingo in Phoenix every year, so thinking it might be really busy, Micah and I arrived at the bingo hall 45 minutes early like we were advised. It turns out there was no need for this. While there was a good showing that night, it did not get anywhere close to full. So we sat for quite awhile before we even got to start playing. However, this was a good thing, because I had to figure out how to play the game during this time. So much for five squares in a row. Bingo does not work that way. We were forced to buy a big book of games for $15 each. Already over our spending quota for the night. (This spending was increased when Micah visited the snack bar not once but twice to sustain hismself during this very long, dinner-stealing game). Then we had to figure out how to play each game. On some games you are trying to make a block of six squares, on some you are trying to get a row on any of the edges, and on others you are trying to match a pattern so complicated that I had to keep looking at the key throughout to the game to make sure I was doing it right. I seriously held up the line to buy the books for at least ten minutes, because I had so many questions to ask the attendent about how to play all the various games. He was super helpful, although the lady behind me said loudly about five minutes into our conversaation “I always pick the wrong line.” Sorry lady. Bingo is more complicated than getting your PhD if you ask me.

So we eventually started playing and we were pumped. There was so much adrenaline at first. Probably because we thought one of us was going to win. We are such suckers. The last game before the intermission was the big $1,000 blackout jackpot where you try to fill every square on your board. When none of us won that one things went downhill from there. We had to sit through this long intermission, while they did raffle giveaways (which we also didn’t win) and then we had to sit through some bonus bingo games that we didn’t pay the extra money to play. We resorted to doing dauber art on blank papers and Alexis taught me how to play Angry Birds. Yes, I did not know how to play Angry Birds until two weeks ago. And I still don’t have an i-phone. My friend, Stacey, just got an i-phone this weekend, so I am officially the LAST of all my best friends not to have one. I feel slightly alone in the world, but I’ll have to recover, because Micah has informed me that we are not getting them anytime soon.

Anyway, after this much too long break in playing, the regular games finally started again, but our hopes diminished slowly as we tore off sheet after sheet of games not won. By the third to last game, I started praying fervently (not exaggerating) that one of us would win to increase the morale of our group. God said no. I honestly thought when you go with a group to play bingo someone in your group always wins. Apparently this is not true. We each walked away $16 poorer and a little exhausted. The entire process took three hours! Not including the 45 minutes we waited before the games started. During the intermission, we decided we would go out for Mexican food after we finished, but when we walked out to the parking lot at 9:30pm we decided to skip dinner and head for home.

However, don’t think this night was terrible. It was not. It was just one of those awkward, funny experiences that you would do differently next time. We all decided we liked playing Bingo, but would rather play at a casino where it is faster paced and there is more flexibility to come and go as you please. However, let me share some highlights of my night, because I never knew Bingo was such an intense pastime. I was fascinated by the devotion some of these people were showing…

Here is my spread with the key for each game on the right. Complicated… right?

Dauber purse #1. This is real!

Dauber purse #2. Amazing. No, these do not belong to Alexis and me, unfortunately…

One person’s spread. Apparently they don’t take the “no outside food or drink” rule too seriously. If only we had known! There was a Dairy Queen right down the sreet that was calling my name…

This set-up would not be complete without the lucky troll right in the middle…

This was painted on the wall. The money bag was very misleading…

Also, we left feeling thankful for our new friends Alexis and Shane. They are the kind of couple who is up for anything. In a world of planners, calendars, and agendas (on your i-phone or on paper for those of us who are old-fashioned), it’s often so hard to coordinate get togethers with other couples. But Alexis and Shane are the kind of people who just show up. Of course, sometimes they do have prior commitments like everyone else, but if they have the time or they don’t have anything else planned, they don’t hesitate, they just come hang out. We love that about them and hope to develop that same characteristic as a couple.

Alexis and Shane. Shane was doing a trial run for Moustache May. Very successful trial if you ask me.

So even though I learned a significant lesson about bingo that night – you don’t always win – I had a great time with friends trying a new, funny, suprisingly complicated and frustrating game and it was worth every minute and all sixteen dollars!