Online Bingo
y33stu
Posts: 376
Anyone play it? Doing some research into it at the minute. Want to know who the typical player is... age... employment etc.. And experiences with playing online vs in a bingo hall, better or worse.
Any help useful. Cheers!
Any help useful. Cheers!
Cycling prints
Band of Climbers
Band of Climbers
0
Comments
-
I remember reading somewhere that the market for online bingo exploded in 2007, the precise time the smoking ban came into force in England. This is of probably no help to your study but is an interesting point. Might be interesting to ask what proportion of players do smoke?0
-
Thanks for that, very relevant and worth chasing us I'm sure that's definitely helped the growth of the online game.Cycling prints
Band of Climbers0 -
What research are you doing?
I worked in a Bingo hall for a couple of weeks. I can still see the empty eyes of the unemployed piling coins into the slot machines, over and over until they had no more coins to pile.0 -
I work for a golf company, we've created a game played in a driving range with a smart phone, with various online elements to it. There is a bit of a similarity between online bingo and the style of our games... not in action. Just wanted to better understand the user experience of online Bingo Players - i.e playing the same game over and over... does it get boring? What keeps it interesting? Why/Why not play? Etc..Cycling prints
Band of Climbers0 -
y33stu wrote:I work for a golf company, we've created a game played in a driving range with a smart phone, with various online elements to it. There is a bit of a similarity between online bingo and the style of our games... not in action. Just wanted to better understand the user experience of online Bingo Players - i.e playing the same game over and over... does it get boring? What keeps it interesting? Why/Why not play? Etc..
There was an article recently in the tech press about game design using World of Warcraft (or one of the MORPG) - it's do with generating brain activity in the same area as is affected in Chimps when they're given the 'press red button receive banana/peanut' experiments.
In essence, almost all 'app' games, fruit machines, and so on, stimulate us in this way; it's why people find them so addictive, and lose all sense of proportionality when playing them. The primitive need to get the reward for the task overrides it.
Warcraft, or whatever it was, has a phase in the later 2/3rds of the game where players must complete extremely repetitive tasks to get small pieces of armour/weapons in order to be powerful enough to level up, repeatedly, for 60 levels or so.
The time invested is totally disproportionate to any reward (actual or virtual), but people continue to sit there and play it. Same with fruit machines, unless you truly understand them, the time and money invested is invariably wasted - and the Jackpot isn't what keeps people playing, it's the small interim rewards which keep people shoveling the money in.
If I can find the article, I'll put the link up0 -
UK gaming law states that a fruit machine must return (in the region of) 84% of the stake to the customer. Therefore, if you play for long enough, you will lose everything. Yet, people still play.0
-
GiantMike wrote:UK gaming law states that a fruit machine must return (in the region of) 84% of the stake to the customer. Therefore, if you play for long enough, you will lose everything. Yet, people still play.
:?:
The pub I used to work at between 1997 and 2000 had a small sticker on it saying 70% payout0 -
following a quick google from the UK government gambling commission website
Gaming machine (fruit machine, slot machine) minimum percentage payout
There is no statutory minimum percentage payout for a gaming machine. The technical standards for legacy gaming machines however, do put a lower limit of 70% as a % RTP.
(1) Compensated machines vary the chance of winning a prize as a result of the outcome from previous play. Where such a machine is below its target %RTP it may become more generous dependent upon design and vice versa, though the prize distribution is still determined by chance.
(2) Random machines rely purely on statistical probabilities to achieve their target percentage return to player. The odds of achieving a win remain constant, and are not affected by previous wins or losses.
Gaming machines must make information available about their category; % RTP; and whether they are compensated or random.0 -
y33stu wrote:I work for a golf company, we've created a game played in a driving range with a smart phone, with various online elements to it. There is a bit of a similarity between online bingo and the style of our games... not in action. Just wanted to better understand the user experience of online Bingo Players - i.e playing the same game over and over... does it get boring? What keeps it interesting? Why/Why not play? Etc..
I think there are a two hooks that make bingo do popular. The stake you need to play is minimal and doesn't escalate or vary like other games of chance. Second, the game is extended and you never know how close you are to winning/losing. However I'm basing this on my experiences as a teenager on campsites....0 -
Going back to my student days and working in a pub, there was a guy that used to play the machine almost daily during the week. From what I understood he was a successful businessman and not the unemployed loser gambling away dole/benefit money seriously believing that they were the one that could beat the machine stereotype!
I pointed out the 70% payout sticker one day and asked him if he knew he would never win. He told me that of course he knew that he couldn't win but that in an hour he would typically put £10-15 in the machine. He could reasonably expect £7-£10.50 of that to be paid back on average so that an hours entertainment would cost £3-£4.50. He then asked me how many other hobbies/interests/form or entertainment were that cheap. I struggled to give him an answer!
You have to give the people that play these machines or bingo some kind of gameplay that keeps them interested in the short term but pays out (not necessarily the jackpot or house) at regular enough intervals to keep that interest going. If the time gap between wins is too long then the player will lose interest!0 -
schweiz wrote:GiantMike wrote:UK gaming law states that a fruit machine must return (in the region of) 84% of the stake to the customer. Therefore, if you play for long enough, you will lose everything. Yet, people still play.
:?:
The pub I used to work at between 1997 and 2000 had a small sticker on it saying 70% payout
70% is 'in the region of' 84%. It's within 15 % points, or 20 actual %.0 -
GiantMike wrote:schweiz wrote:GiantMike wrote:UK gaming law states that a fruit machine must return (in the region of) 84% of the stake to the customer. Therefore, if you play for long enough, you will lose everything. Yet, people still play.
:?:
The pub I used to work at between 1997 and 2000 had a small sticker on it saying 70% payout
70% is 'in the region of' 84%. It's within 15 % points, or 20 actual %.
I suppose it depends on what you define as accuracy. As an Engineer I'm used to seeing accuracies of < 0.001% but anywy, as I posted 5 mins later, there is no minimum payout, it just has to be declared what the % pay out is.0 -
schweiz wrote:I suppose it depends on what you define as accuracy. As an Engineer I'm used to seeing accuracies of < 0.001% but anywy, as I posted 5 mins later, there is no minimum payout, it just has to be declared what the % pay out is.
Interesting. What do you work with that requires this level of accuracy?0 -
GiantMike wrote:schweiz wrote:I suppose it depends on what you define as accuracy. As an Engineer I'm used to seeing accuracies of < 0.001% but anywy, as I posted 5 mins later, there is no minimum payout, it just has to be declared what the % pay out is.
Interesting. What do you work with that requires this level of accuracy?
Aeroplanes. Some parts are specified with tolerances of micrometres and nanometres. I was in a design review for an installation yesterday where a piece of 30 mm thick glass could only deflect due to cabin pressure by no more than 600 nm (0.002%)0 -
simona75 wrote:y33stu wrote:I work for a golf company, we've created a game played in a driving range with a smart phone, with various online elements to it. There is a bit of a similarity between online bingo and the style of our games... not in action. Just wanted to better understand the user experience of online Bingo Players - i.e playing the same game over and over... does it get boring? What keeps it interesting? Why/Why not play? Etc..
I think there are a two hooks that make bingo do popular. The stake you need to play is minimal and doesn't escalate or vary like other games of chance. Second, the game is extended and you never know how close you are to winning/losing. However I'm basing this on my experiences as a teenager on campsites....
You're right acording to some other stuff I've read. Low cost and low losses / big winnings are enough to keep people interested it seems.
Also, DynamicBrick, you're spot on along those lines. Gamification its called. Unlocking levels, winning badges etc.. for continuous gameplay.. its psychological apparently. Some people get "hooked" and simply have to finish something. Others dont get this but lots of people feel the need to complete every level, win every badge.Cycling prints
Band of Climbers0 -
schweiz wrote:I pointed out the 70% payout sticker one day and asked him if he knew he would never win. He told me that of course he knew that he couldn't win but that in an hour he would typically put £10-15 in the machine. He could reasonably expect £7-£10.50 of that to be paid back on average so that an hours entertainment would cost £3-£4.50. He then asked me how many other hobbies/interests/form or entertainment were that cheap. I struggled to give him an answer!
Interesting point.
Since I've gave up drinking this month I compare the cost of entrainment, sport or hobbies to the cost of drinking one pint in just under an hour.
£70 for a months gym membership sounded a lot. But then I know guys who spend that amount on one average night out, drinking poop beer, in a poop bar, in a poop town. Having nothing to show for it and feeling ill the next day."The Prince of Wales is now the King of France" - Calton Kirby0 -
After I lost the house, I slipped into a deep, dark depression and attempted suicide on several occasions.
My wife said I take bingo far too seriously.0 -
schweiz wrote:Aeroplanes. Some parts are specified with tolerances of micrometres and nanometres. I was in a design review for an installation yesterday where a piece of 30 mm thick glass could only deflect due to cabin pressure by no more than 600 nm (0.002%)
Sounds a bit gash to me. I thought you said you worked to <0.001%.0 -
GiantMike wrote:schweiz wrote:Aeroplanes. Some parts are specified with tolerances of micrometres and nanometres. I was in a design review for an installation yesterday where a piece of 30 mm thick glass could only deflect due to cabin pressure by no more than 600 nm (0.002%)
Sounds a bit gash to me. I thought you said you worked to <0.001%.
:roll:0
