Blackout Bingo Review [2024]: The Most Challenging Bingo App?

Is Blackout Bingo legit?

Yes, Blackout Bingo is a legit gaming app that you can download from the iOS App Store or Samsung Galaxy Store, and it really does pay real money (if you win cash tournaments and withdraw the funds). The game runs through the Skillz platform, which supports many different game apps and is used by millions of players.

The iOS App Store shows a 4.5 score for Blackout Bingo, with over 92,000 ratings. And the game gets 4.5 stars on the Samsung Galaxy Store with over 10,000 ratings.

Blackout Bingo also has a replay feature that lets you watch your past games, including your competitor’s board. That makes it easier than with many gaming apps for players to verify that their competitor had the same game board and won (or lost) legitimately. It also makes it easier to improve your skills.

What is Blackout Bingo?

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Gaming platform	Skillz
Compatible systems	iOS, Samsung
Minimum entry fee (for cash tournaments)	$0.60
Minimum cash deposit	$5
Minimum withdrawal amount	$0
Withdrawal processing fee	$1.50 for withdrawals under $10
Withdrawal methods	Mailed paper check for U.S. players (or as a refund to your original payment method)
States that prohibit cash tournaments	Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, South Dakota
Tournament types	Practice (free) Head-to-head Brackets Special mode Leagues
	Download Blackout Bingo

Blackout Bingo is a game app on the Skillz platform, and it looks like a typical bingo board. That is, if you gave a typical bingo game some cute decorations to represent different cities around the world, including Paris and Mexico City.

Just like the traditional bingo game, you have five columns on the board with numbered squares, and the goal is to score as many bingos as possible before the timer runs out. You can score a bingo by tapping (“daubing”) five squares in a straight or diagonal line, or by getting the squares in each of the four corners (plus the free square in the middle).

If you daub all of the squares on a board (known as a “blackout” or sometimes called a “full house”), then you finish the game early.

If you’ve ever played other cash bingo apps, such as Bingo Cash and Bingo Clash, then Blackout Bingo will feel pretty similar. It offers cash tournaments you can play to win real money (if you pay an entry fee), or free tournaments you can play using in-game currency. The main in-game currency on the Skillz platform is called Z.

My gameplay experience with Blackout Bingo

I played 14 cash tournaments and several free “Practice” tournaments in Blackout Bingo, as well as a special mode tournament. Overall, I thought Blackout Bingo was really fun to play, and it had some features that stood out to me compared to other bingo apps out there.

I’ve played quite a few bingo gaming apps, and most of them are extremely similar to one another. These games are all fast-paced, require multitasking, and are best for attentive players who like to think on their feet. All of that is true for Blackout Bingo, but it also has more extensive versions of basically everything I’ve seen in other bingo apps, including more kinds of tournaments, more forms of in-game currency, and more reward options.

Blackout Bingo also offers more kinds of boosters than other bingo apps I’ve played, and you only get access to some of them in specific games (like special mode tournaments), or after you’ve been playing for a while and have tried out a cash tournament.

All this to say, Blackout Bingo is entertaining, but it might not be a great choice for newbies. If you’re not already familiar with cash gaming apps, and with bingo games in particular, then you might find it easier to start with something like Bingo Tour.

How to use boosters in Blackout Bingo

I encountered four types of boosters in regular Blackout Bingo games:

1. Free Daub: Lets you daub any square you want.
2. Golden Ball: Lets you choose from four balls with numbers that are on your board.
3. Time Boost: Adds 10 seconds to the game clock.
4. Double Points: Lets you score twice the usual number of points on daubs and bingos for the next 10 seconds.

If you daub squares quickly enough, then you can get access to one booster every two turns. But you can only hold three booster buttons at a time, so you have to keep using them if you want to get more. Otherwise

Three at once is more boosters than some other bingo game apps let you hold, but Blackout Bingo makes them a little trickier to use. While games like Bingo Cash give you two booster buttons side by side so you can choose which one to use, Blackout Bingo stacks boosters so that you have to use the one on top first.

This made it harder for me to strategize because I had to think about which booster to use, and whether it was better to use the top booster immediately or to let boosters stack up and risk burying a good option.

Special boosters

Beyond the four typical boosters, Blackout Bingo offers boosters you can only access during some games. For example, during a special mode game, I could use a Free Column booster that let me daub an entire column of squares at once. Some special games also offer a Double Golden Ball booster, that lets you choose two out of our balls instead of just one.

You find additional Blackout Bingo boosters as you continue playing the game and leveling up your status, so you won’t even know about all of the potential booster options upfront. You have to either hear about them from other players or discover them as you go along.

Tips for scoring more points

To score the most possible points in Blackout Bingo, you have to daub numbers quickly, use boosters effectively, and strategize to get as many bingos (and multi-bingos) as possible.

Every player in a Blackout Bingo tournament is working with the same board, so if you’re already daubing quickly, then the next step to scoring more points is better booster strategy.

Here are my tips for getting more points in Blackout Bingo:

• Never let more than two boosters stack up. As soon as you get a third booster, you can’t get any more until you’ve used one.
• Use Time Boost boosters immediately. These boosters add 10 seconds to the clock no matter when you deploy them, so use them right away rather than let one of them fill up a booster spot.
• Try to save Double Points boosters. If you can save a Double Points booster until right before you score at least one bingo (ideally multiple), it will be much more effective.
• Use boosters to daub the four corners. Golden Ball and Free Daub boosters can both be used to cover the four corners of your board. That gives you one easy bingo, plus a better setup to try for more bingos.

Blackout Bingo also offers extra points if you can get a blackout on your board (where you’ve daubed every single square), and for finishing early. The only way to finish early is to get a blackout.

How much money can you make?

Blackout Bingo has cash tournaments with a wide range of prize pools, so you can potentially win anywhere from $1 to over $150. The highest prize pool I saw during my time playing was $200 for a head-to-head game (winner take all).

Personally, I stick to tournaments with low entry fees (and low prize pools). The entry fees for higher cash prizes can be intimidating. For example, the entry fee on the $200 cash tournament I saw was $120. It’s easier to lose money that way.

I mostly stuck to Basic - 1 Card tournaments, where the entry fee is $0.60 and the winner’s prize is $1. For comparison, a lot of other bingo apps have tournaments with $1 entry fees and $3 prizes for the first-place winner. So Blackout Bingo has lower entry fees, but also lower winnings for its most accessible cash tournaments.

After only an hour of playing Blackout Bingo, I had a final balance of $14. But that’s not accounting for my initial deposit, the money I spent on entry fees, and how much of that total is bonus cash.

My initial deposit was $8, and I got $3 in bonus cash as part of a promotional deal. That means my net winnings after one hour were $3.

Cash withdrawal process

Blackout Bingo has a lackluster cashout method: For U.S. players, they’ll send you a paper check. I know, it feels like 1999.

Fortunately, you might get part of your winnings through a faster method. If you’ve made deposits into the game, then you can get up to that amount of money back as a refund. The refund will go to your original payment method.

Blackout Bingo lets you deposit money with a credit card, through Apple Pay, or through PayPal, so refunds can come back through those methods — and it will almost certainly be faster than a paper check will arrive in the mail.

For my winnings, I chose not to cash out via check since it would’ve been a paper check for a little more than $3. Not worth the hassle. Instead, I cashed out only the amount that I’d paid in deposits, which was $8. Plus, I had to pay a $1.50 withdrawal fee for withdrawing less than $10.

What are other users saying?

Blackout Bingo gets generally positive reviews on app stores, and my experience with the app was positive as well. I didn’t notice any glitches, and gameplay was smooth. App Store user Sms591234 agrees. They called the game, “Fun, addictive, challenging.”

Some users have complained about app glitches or issues contacting customer support. App Store user 1sttimehome said, “Recently I won a $50 tournament … However, I only received $10 of that win and have been contacting support for weeks. … It’s been 6 weeks.”

Six weeks is within Blackout Bingo’s estimated four to six week withdrawal period, but that is quite a long time to have to wait for your winnings.

Alternatives to Blackout Bingo

If Blackout Bingo’s fast pacing and intense strategy aren’t a fit for you, then there are other game apps and side hustle options you can use to have fun and try to make money on the side.

For a different kind of game with a slower pace, consider Solitaire Cash. Based on Solitaire's popularity, this app offers users the opportunity to play a classic game while competing against other gamers for real cash prizes. If you like Solitaire (and are skilled), you could pass your free time clearing decks and potentially winning some money.

Read our Solitaire Cash review to learn more.

For a more reliable option to make extra money, try out InboxDollars. InboxDollars is easy to join, and you can earn rewards for doing tasks like competing surveys and testing apps. Rather than gaming apps where you can easily lose money playing for cash prizes, InboxDollars lets you earn more consistently. And it offers games you can play as well.

Read our InboxDollars review to learn more.

Blackout Bingo FAQ

Bottom line

Blackout Bingo is best for people who have already played some bingo games, or who want a fast-paced, challenging version of a cash gaming app. If cash tournaments are available in your state, then it’s possible to win real money playing Blackout Bingo and cash it out. But you should be prepared to wait a long time for a paper check to arrive.

If you want gaming apps with faster cashout methods or more relaxed gameplay, check out other legit gaming apps you can use to try and win money.