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National Bingo Night

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 5, age appropriate for kids over 8; suggested age 8.

  • Is it any good?

    3.0
  • Common Sense says

    A full card of oversized family fun and games.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 8 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Contestants react strongly (grimaces, groans, laughter, high fives) to the high-stakes game's emotional ups and downs. Typical game show greed, but it's not egregious. Contestants and audience members are presented as adversaries, since one's win means the other's loss.

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    Not an issue.
  • Sexy stuff:

    Beautiful female assistants wear cleavage-revealing clothes.
  • Language:

    Not an issue.
  • Consumerism:

    Ads appear on the series' Web site, which is heavily promoted during the show as a way for home viewers to play along.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Not an issue.

What Parents Need to Know

This review of National Bingo Night was written by Emily Ashby

Parents need to know that this high-energy primetime game show features typical amounts of contestant greed, as well as a pretty female assistant in cleavage-baring clothes. And the contestants' extreme high and low emotions are played for entertainment as they're held in suspense before learning whether they've won or not. But overall this addictive game of chance -- which includes a component that offers viewers a chance to play and win prizes online -- is fine for tweens and up.

Families Can Talk About

Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
  • Families can talk about the appeal of game shows. Why do people enjoy watching them? Can you learn anything from them, or is it just undemanding fun? Is it more entertaining to see contestants win or lose? Why? How do game show producers use suspense to capture viewers' attention? What effect does it have on the contestants? Families can also discuss how people win games like this one. Are some people naturally luckier than others, or do the contestants ever have to use logic or intelligence? If so, when and how?
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More on National Bingo Night

What’s the Story?

NATIONAL BINGO NIGHT is a high-stakes game show in which contestants compete against audience members for cash, vacations, and prizes. In each episode, contestants try their luck in three different Bingo games, hoping to rack up a $50,000 win before a studio audience member ends their hopes by filling in a winning card. The numbers are selected randomly from a two-and-a-half story Bingo-ball mixing sphere; the balls roll down a track to a lovely female assistant (what game show would be complete without one?), who then calls out the number. As the game progresses for the contestant, audience members also mark off their own cards; if one of them gets a 5-across Bingo (five spaces in a row, horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) before the contestant does, the contestant heads home empty-handed and glum-faced, while the audience winner pockets the house prize of $1,000. In an interactive twist, viewers are also able to play along from home by logging on to the show's Web site and printing their own cards; winners can submit their game pieces online for a chance to win cash and prizes.

Is It Any Good?

Hosted by Ed Sanders, National Bingo Night is entertaining family fun (and the interactive play-from-home angle is an added bonus). There's something oddly addictive about watching the massively oversized Bingo sphere filled with brightly hued tumbling balls, as well as the contestants' continual changes in fortune.

Full of energy, suspense, and thrilling victories (plus some agonizing defeats, of course), Bingo Night might just have you clamoring for your own ink dabber come show time. But if you're tempted to let your younger kids join in the fun, it's worth noting that the contestants and audience members are presented as adversaries -- one's success means the other's failure. Though the contestants mostly take it in stride, kids might need some explanation about the competitive nature of game shows like this one.

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Our Members Say

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. Adult Reviewer
    I rate this title on for age 8 and give it 4.0
    • My concerns are:
    • Excessive consumerism
    • My highlights are:
    • Good role models

    e.g. Perfect for older kids, veryone can see as ABJr is hosting the biggest point

    Nice, clean no headache no BP pressure ups and down while watching the show

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in California
    I rate this title on and give it 4.0

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in New York
    I rate this title on and give it 4.0

    Are you serious?

    First of all greed is part of gameshows. You need to have the commitment to go for the big prize. Sometimes greed can be a bad thing and yes it can lead to loosing but there is not way for kids to pick up on this by watching this show. Second of all its fun. You get to play bingo. You can print out acctual cards and play along with the show. Its a fun gameshow that can be used to make a friday night fun for the whole family. And yes there is a lady with a scantily clad dress on. Can we grow up? The lady was attractive. But she wasn't going around like a stripper. There is a difference.

  4. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Pennsylvania
    I rate this title off and give it .0

    dumb

    Watched some once while I was in a hotel with nothing else on and one word came to mind about this show. STUPID

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