When I was a young kid, I went down to South Florida every December to visit my grandparents. They spent winters down there to avoid the three straight months of extremely cold weather, and I certainly didn’t mind getting a momentary reprieve as well. The two of them lived in what could best be described as an efficiency motel, where their room had a kitchen and acted like a pied-a-terre of sorts.
All of their friends were there, and there were nightly events and activities for the residents. One of my favourite activities (and I must preface this with the fact that I was six), was Bingo night. They had one of the old school metal cages that housed the balls, and cards that must have been in circulation for decades. Every time I think of Bingo it reminds me of that time long ago.
Bingo Review Nintendo Switch
Jump to today, and developer Starsign has released their version of BINGO for the Nintendo Switch with a little twist. It doesn’t have the same appeal as playing in that Florida Motel, but the game certainly has its charms.
There are four different modes to choose from, each accommodating up to four players. If you don’t have any friends around, you’re forced to play with the computer, which is not nearly as fun. Players can choose from Classic BINGO, Buzzer BINGO, Slide BINGO, and BINGO Poker, with each mode having its own set of rules and play mechanics.
Classic BINGO is just as it sounds. The numbers come up as usual, and when you can complete a row, you win. Buzzer BINGO pits players against each other, where everyone must scramble to grab the numbers as they pop up on screen. You must be quick on the draw, or you’ll be left in the dust. Slide BINGO is a game in which you move the rows around to align the red tiles on your card to make a winning row. Finally, there’s BINGO Poker, a game in which you try to get a BINGO using both the pre-existing red tiles and the new numbers you get. However, when you acquire a new number, you must throw away one your existing numbers in return.
There really isn’t much else to say about this one. It’s definitely designed to be a party game for when you have a group of people together. Playing it solo with just the computer as my opponent quickly became boring and tedious. Without the comradery of a group of friends, I simply didn’t have any interest in playing for any length of time. With basic designs and a no-frills soundtrack, there was only so long I could tolerate playing by myself.
There is a niche market of consumers who will pick up this title, most notable being the board game types if I had to guess. There is nothing inherently wrong with it, but the game will most likely come and go with a whisper of remembrance.