The 52-Ball format of online bingo is one of the newest variants to pop up on the scene and possibly one of the most interesting that I have seen to date. Suit Up by Dragonfish was one of the first games to utilise this new bingo idea, and that is evident when playing the game – it’s a very barebones example of the 52-Ball format, featuring nothing but the bare essentials. Nevertheless, this game is still a lot of fun and offers an 85%+ RTP – not too bad in the world of online bingo. The prize pot for each round is directly tied to the number of participating players but typically seems to hover in the region of 100x – 150x the cost of a single ticket,
Check out our screenshots below, and you’ll soon notice that this isn’t a typical bingo game – there are no traditional tickets anywhere in sight, as the game utilises playing cards for this purpose instead. Unfortunately, there aren’t any other special features to discuss–this one is about as simple and straightforward as a 52-Ball game can get.
No Deposit Needed
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*10 Free Spins No Deposit: First 10 spins: Players who have successfully verified their mobile phone number and completed age verification will be credited 10 free spins on Squealin’ Riches 20p per spin, no maximum win. Subsequent 30 spins: First deposit only. Min deposit & spend £10. Max 30 spins on Fishin Frenzy Megaways at 10p per spin. Spins credited upon spend of £10. Full T&Cs apply. 18+ Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org.
£5 Deposit
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*Up to £120 Bonus: New customers only. Deposit and stake £10 on bingo to qualify within 7 days of initial deposit. Some prizes have wagering requirements and expiry dates. Country restrictions apply. See full t&cs for more detail. 18+ Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware.org. #AD
£10 Deposit
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First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 2,500 Free Bingo Tickets (on 250 on Street Party valid for 21 days & 2,250 For Kaching valid for 24 days) & 25 Pending Free Spins (on a game of our choice). Promo code: BINGO25. Free Spins are valid for 7 days & will be available once £5 of deposit funds have been wagered. FS winnings are capped at £2.50. All winnings are credited to your real money balance. We reserve the right to deny promotional offers based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions & full T&Cs apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
200% Bonus
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First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 200% Bingo Bonus up to £20 & 50 Free Spins (on Starburst). 10 Free Spins will be credited per day, across 5 days. Promo code: BONUS200. Any Bingo Bonus winnings, if applicable, must be wagered 4x before withdrawal. Any Free Spins winnings, if applicable, will be credited as bonus funds. FS winnings must be wagered 99x before withdrawal. Free Spins are valid for 7 days. Games Bonus win cap: £100 + original bonus amount. Wagering contribution varies by game. We reserve the right to deny bonuses based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions apply. Valid until 31.12.2023 View Full T&Cs.
£10 Deposit
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First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 100% Bingo Bonus up to £10 & 50 Free Spins (on Starburst). 10 Free Spins will be credited per day, across 5 days. Promo code: FREE50. Any Bingo Bonus winnings, if applicable, must be wagered 4x before withdrawal. Any Free Spins winnings, if applicable, will be credited as bonus funds. FS winnings must be wagered 99x before withdrawal. Free Spins are valid for 7 days. Games Bonus win cap: £100 + original bonus amount. Wagering contribution varies by game. We reserve the right to deny bonuses based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
£10 Deposit
Our Score
First-time depositors only (18+ country restrictions apply). Min deposit: £10. Max offer: 2,500 Free Bingo Tickets (on 250 on Street Party valid for 21 days & 2,250 For Kaching valid for 24 days) & 25 Pending Free Spins (on a game of our choice). Promo code: BINGO25. Free Spins are valid for 7 days & will be available once £5 of deposit funds have been wagered. FS winnings are capped at £2.50. All winnings are credited to your real money balance. We reserve the right to deny promotional offers based on abusive bonus activity across sites operated by the Company. Deposit balance is available for withdrawal at any time (UK only). General withdrawal restrictions & full T&Cs apply. Valid until further notice. View Full T&Cs.
You would imagine that 52-Ball Bingo would be largely identical to 50-Ball bingo games such as Brit 50 and Mystic Meg, but interestingly enough, that is not the case. One similarity between the two formats is that both are fast-paced forms of bingo that require just a minute or two per round to complete. You could also argue that a second similarity is that the unique playing card tickets used in 52-Ball bingo could be seen as just another alternative ticket style similar to what you find in the 50-Ball games mentioned previously.
A ’ticket’ for Suit Up bingo consists of five randomly drawn playing cards. My first thought upon hearing this was, “Surely there won’t be enough cards?” but of course, there is nothing to stop two players from holding the same card in this case! In fact, you’ll notice in the screenshots on this page that I often had the same card several times, just amongst the handful of tickets I purchased myself. The names of cards will be announced in place of the traditional numbers used in other bingo formats, and any that match the cards displayed on your tickets will automatically have a poker chip placed on top of them. These chips will eventually spell out the word ‘bingo’, should you be fortunate enough to hit all five of them!
At the time that I played Suit Up bingo, tickets to play each round were priced at just 5p each. As far as I can tell, this is a fixed price that stays in effect throughout the day, regardless of the number of participating players.
Before beginning to play Suit Up, I’d recommend checking out our guide to the 52-Ball bingo format. This is a perfect introduction to Suit Up bingo, as the game follows the template described in that guide to the letter. Next, you’ll need to purchase your tickets – the game requires you to buy at least 24 tickets to play, which cost £1.20 at the time when I was writing this review. If you wish, you may choose to purchase a few more tickets on top – the maximum is limited to 72 cards per player.
When the countdown timer hits ten seconds, no more tickets can be purchased, and the game will soon begin. Playing cards will then be called out one after another at a brisk pace – it’s a good job that the computer marks your cards for you, as even with just five cards per ticket, there is no way I could have kept up with marking off all 24 tickets! There’s only a single prize available during each round, paid to the first player to hit all five of the cards on one of their tickets. If two players happen to catch their final card on the same call, the prize will be divided equally amongst them. I never saw this happen while I was testing the game, though, and it’s unlikely you will unless the room is extremely busy.
Unfortunately, Dragonfish has not bolted on any special features to their Suit Up bingo game. The novelty of the playing card tickets should be enough to hold your interest initially, but it’s hard to say how long that will last for most of us.
As a dedicated poker player, the look and feel of Suit Up really appealed to me when I first began looking at the game. The 52-Ball format definitely has potential for a smash-hit bingo variant, but it will need to be a little more fleshed out than Suit Up to take off with the bingo-playing public.
Article by Chris Howlett
Chris has over 11 years of experience playing and writing about bingo and online slots.