What Can Bingo Teach Us About Politics?

Politics has been described as many things. It's been described as the art of looking for trouble by Groucho Marx, a serious business by Winston Churchill, and the art of the next best and the art of the possible by Otto von Bismarck. One thing politics isn't often compared to is bingo. Yet, some similarities can be found in the debate between parties having power and the popular game that involves crossing off numbers as they are randomly called. But what can we learn about politics from the game of bingo?

On election day 1876 he lost BOTH the popular vote AND electoral college - but Rutherford Hayes became President anyway - after a five-month dispute with Democratic rival Samuel Tilden that wasn't solved until 48 hours before inauguration day. Hayes died On This Day in 1893 pic.twitter.com/rZu3UCvDk0

— West Wing Reports (@WestWingReport) January 18, 2018

It's Not Over Until It's Over

One of the major lessons that politics and bingo both teach us is not to count your chickens before they hatch. The 1876 Presidential Election is the best example of this. The vote was so close between Rutherford B Hayes and Samuel J Tilden that a deal had to be struck. Indeed, the Democrats began to gloat about their victory until the recount and concession led to Rutherford Hayes victory with 185 votes to Tilden's 184 in the electoral college vote. Despite it appearing that Tilden had won initially, Hayes took the top spot. The same applies to bingo. You could be leading for most of the game, but the final calls could all be numbers you don't have, allowing a surprise opponent to slide into the top spot.

Change is Necessary

The politics of 2020 are different than the politics of 2010. Both are even more different than the politics of 1910. In order to keep society moving forwards, change needs to happen. There need to be shifts in ideology on both the left and the right to keep up with the zeitgeist and the needs of the present day. As online bingo shows, moving the traditionally analog game onto an online platform allows developers to give it a new edge, such as combining the game with popular gameshow Deal or No Deal, or adding themes that make the game even more exciting.

It's Not Always About Experience

Politics doesn't always come down to the person being elected or chosen to govern being the most suitable for the job. The 2016 Presidential Election proves this. Rather than elect Hillary Clinton, previous Secretary of State (2009-2013), and her capable squad, the country chose Donald Trump. Evidence from staffers showed that the Trump administration had little knowledge of what to actually do day-to-day to keep the country ticking over. In a way, the same could apply to bingo: playing for years doesn't necessarily guarantee victory. Extensive playing may result in an ability to notice you've won sooner - training the reflexes - but the game is designed to ensure everyone has an equal chance when they first start the game.

Politics and bingo share a lot of similarities and can learn from one another in an interesting way. Much like bingo, politics isn't set in stone and can change at the eleventh hour. Moreover, both need to continue to change and evolve as their audiences do. And experience isn't necessarily more important than simply having passion.