Gameplay
The basic game screen is a 5 x 5 bingo board of numbers from 1 to 100. Players get twenty "spins" of a slot machine which draw five numbers (or other bonuses). Given a generous time limit, players must click the board when it corresponds with the numbers drawn in the shuffle spin. Bonuses can include free spaces, bonus points, extra spins, or the Slingo equivalent of a lose-your-turn Whammy in the form a devil.
During the last four spins of the game, players can either pay a fixed cost or use their free spins to gamble and draw additional cards in hopes of stamping out more bingo tiles. The goal is to earn points by completing lines across, up and down, and diagonally.
History
Slingo was actually designed by Sal Falciglia to be a physical slot machine game. However, while pitching his casino machine he realized that heavy hardware was going to be a tough sell and worked with Bob Bielecki and John Driscoll of Shadow Interactive Inc. to produce a digital prototype in 1995. The game was pitched to America Online who bought it in 1996 and launched it as a multiplayer game in which players scores were compared on a leaderboard.
Different versions of Slingo were released later, including the poker-style Slingo Xpress, CD-ROM versions, a handheld from Tiger Electronics, and even a lottery scratcher card.
Slingo continues to run a website with different variations of the game.
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