Bingo America
| Bingo America | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Created by | Andrew Glassman |
| Presented by |
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| Starring |
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| Country of origin | United States |
| No. of seasons | 2 |
| No. of episodes | 105 |
| Production | |
| Running time | 21–22 minutes |
| Release | |
| Original network | Game Show Network |
| Original release | March 31, 2008 – January 2, 2009 |
| Chronology | |
| Preceded by | National Bingo Night |
| External links | |
| Website | |
Bingo America is an American game show broadcast by Game Show Network. The series follows two contestants as they try to compete to win up to $100,000. Additionally, the series lets at-home viewers print bingo cards online that allow them to play along with the show to win small amounts of money for themselves.
Created and produced by Andrew Glassman, the show was originally hosted by Patrick Duffy and Crystal Wallasch. When its second season premiered on October 6, 2008, they were replaced by Richard Karn and Diane Mizota, respectively.
Two contestants compete on each episode. On each turn, a Bingo ball comes out of the hopper and a question is asked. Each ball has a number from 1 to 75 and a letter in the word "BINGO" printed on it. If the question is answered correctly, the player earns the letter from that ball and the number on the ball is added in dollars to the bank, which starts at $500 (e.g., if G-50 comes out, the bank increases by $50). If the letter is a duplicate already earned by the player, no extra letters are earned. The first player that spells out BINGO from the earned letters wins the game. A Free-Space Ball with a sponsor's logo acts as a wild card in the game. The player who answers a question correctly when that ball is rolled out can choose any letter, and $100 is added to the bank. Two regular games are played. Contestants who win both games win the match and receive all the money in the bank. If each contestant wins one game, a five-question tie-breaker game is played. The first question's answer begins with a B, the second question's answer starts with I, and so on. The first to answer three questions correctly wins the money in the bank and goes on to play the Bingo Bonus Board for a chance at $100,000.
If time runs short during a game, the show goes to a 50/50 round. In the 50/50 round the remaining questions of that game are asked in a multiple-choice fashion, with two possible answers given. Contestants who answer incorrectly at this point have credit for the question (and the given letter, if applicable) automatically given to their opponent; however, no money is added to the bank for that question.
The winner of the main game plays the Bingo Bonus Board, which used two different formats. In the first season of the show, each number on the Bingo Bonus Board represented a cash amount or another prize, up to a grand prize of $100,000 cash. Every prize was repeated at least twice on the board. The contestant chose one number at a time, and won the first prize to be revealed twice.
In the second season, 55 of the 75 spaces concealed cash values, while 20 hid "wrecking balls." Contestants started with the "B" row (the only row without wrecking balls) and selected a number in that row. After each selection, the contestants could leave the game with the money already won or risk their winnings and continue with a selection in the next row. Contestants who chose wrecking balls lost the money they had accumulated in the bonus round. Contestants who made five successful picks kept all of their accumulated bonus money and activated the Bingo Sphere one more time for the Superball. If any of the contestants' five chosen bonus numbers matched the one on the Superball, their bonus round winnings were augmented to $100,000.
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