Step-by-Step Guide to Playing DINGO (Deaf Bingo)

⭐️ DINGO uses a deck of 52 playing cards for each table of 4 players.

⭐️ Do not use the Joker card.

GAME SETUP

• DINGO is played using one deck of cards per four (4) people.

  • There can be multiple groups of four. The only thing you need to worry about is making sure that there’s a deck of cards per 4 people.

  • If a table has less than four people, you can have an empty chair and you still "deal" to that chair, with the cards face-down and leave them alone the rest of the round.

• The table’s deck of cards is shuffled, and a card is given to each player until no cards are left.

  • There should be 13 cards between each person in the group.

• Have the DINGO! application ready and running.

  • TV, projector, laptop, iPad, AirPlay/ScreenCast, etc.

HOW TO PLAY

• The DINGO software will randomly “draw” a card every X seconds.

  • You choose how many seconds to wait between each automatic drawing.

• After the app randomly picks a card and presents it to the crowd, the players check and see if they have the same card in their hand.

• If a player has the matching card in hand, they discard it.

• A player can win the game by “running out of cards”.

  • This concept is similar to “UNO”, where you try to run out of cards before anybody else — that is how you win this game.

OPTIONAL "JOKER MODE"

Depending on the host’s preference, a DINGO game may use the joker mode.

The rules vary by host, but here's a local example, our Deaf club uses the Joker card as an opportunity to pause the current game’s round, split the money “pot” winnings in half (from that current round’s pot only), and then put the other half of the pot towards the next round.

This gives the winner of the next round a bigger pot while decreasing the current round’s winnings, which is how the mischievous Joker comes into play.

USING JOKER MODE IN A GAME:

• Since the joker mode is optional, it can be turned on from the SETTINGS menu. Doing this will add a joker card into the pool of cards in the software.

  • Note: We do NOT use the real joker cards - this is for the software.

• If the joker card is drawn before any player wins the round, the game is paused.

• When the game pauses, the host of the DINGO game will split the current round’s “pot” (money, rewards, etc.) in half — and put the other half of the prize towards the next round.

  • The final round typically excludes the Joker card (because there are obviously no more rounds after the last one…), so the Joker mode should be toggled off (manually) at this point. This can be done from the settings menu, or just ignore the joker if it pops up, it’s up to you!

So if a Joker is drawn, the current round’s players get shorted on the reward but the next round gets a bigger pot… unless the joker card is drawn again! Only the final round will have a guaranteed reward at the full amount.