As a kid, I used to love playing Housie (or Bingo, as it is known elsewhere). It was a game of sheer luck, and in most cases lunk would be in my favor and I’d end up winning cash prizes like crazy. Even today, it’s still a very enjoyable game played at our society’s annual function or group outings.
Bingo Machine is a neat little iOS app that eliminates the need of a “caller” when playing the game. All you need is a Bingo card sheet/book and the app will do the rest for you. The app randomly picks numbers one by one and even calls them out — including unique styles for each number. You can manually tap every time you want to call out a new number or automate this process at a certain frequency. Recently called our numbers are displayed at the bottom, so it’s very easy to answer the slow-Sams in the crowd. Additionally, there’s also the entire grid view available, so you can check which numbers have been already called out and how many remain.
Bingo Machine even supports AirPlay or TV-Out mode, wherein it displays a giant number that was called out on the external screen. You can even use the audio externally. In the settings, you can toggle between 90 numbers mode (UK, India) or 75 numbers mode (US).
The app has a very clean and intuitive UI and makes this a fun activity with your friends. Tiny animations throughout the app are nice touches to the overall experience of the app. At just $0.99 on the App Store and available as a Universal app, Bingo Machine is a great app that you may not frequently use, but it’s well worth it when you do.