Basketball Bingo

How to play

The game is played on a 4x4 grid with objectives like franchises or awards. A player appears above the grid, and you must place them in the correct cell. Each cell can only contain one player, and once a cell is filled, no changes can be made.

There are 30 players available. If you make a mistake, you lose both the current player and the next one in the list.

You have the option to skip a player if you're unsure where to place them. This can help you strategize and avoid unnecessary mistakes. Some players may not fit into any cell.

The more cells you fill correctly, the higher your score. You can play one game per day and build a streak of consecutive games.

What the cells mean

Each day, the 16 cells are drawn from about forty categories. There are three kinds:

• Franchises: the player has played for that franchise at some point in their career, and it does not have to be their current one. Each franchise is shown by its logo and its short code such as LAL, BOS or GSW. All 30 NBA franchises can come up.
• NBA title: NBA Champion means the player has won the NBA title at least once.
• Awards: MVP, Finals MVP, All-Star, All-NBA, Rookie of the Year (ROY), Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY), Most Improved Player (MIP) and Sixth Man of the Year (6MOY).

One player often matches several cells. Kevin Durant, for instance, fits Oklahoma City, Golden State, Brooklyn, Phoenix, Houston, NBA Champion, Finals MVP, MVP, All-Star and All-NBA.

How your score is calculated

Your score is the share of the grid you filled. Each of the 16 cells is worth 6.25%, so 8 cells give 50%, 12 cells give 75% and a full grid gives 100%. The result is rounded down.

The game ends as soon as the grid is full or all 30 players have been used. Your score also earns points towards your level: 2 points per percent, so up to 200 points for a perfect grid.

When the game is over, the Share button copies your result as a grid of green and black squares that does not give the answers away.

How the streak works

There is one grid per day, the same for everyone. A new one is released at midnight UK time, and once you have finished, a countdown shows how long you have to wait for it.

Your streak is the number of days in a row on which you have played the daily grid to the end. The score does not matter: a day at 25% keeps your streak alive just like a day at 100%. Miss a day and it goes back to zero.

You can play without an account: your results are then stored in this browser. With an account, they are saved to your profile instead, so your streak follows you from one device to another.

Strategy: when to skip and when to take a risk

• Read the whole grid first. You only see one player at a time, so know your 16 cells before placing the first one.
• Count your spare players. 30 players for 16 cells leaves 14 to spare. A skip costs one player and a mistake costs two, so a full grid is still possible after 14 skips or after 7 mistakes, but no more.
• Skip when in doubt. A wrong answer costs twice as much as a skip, so only place a player when you are fairly sure. Some players match none of the day's cells: skipping them is the right move, not a wasted turn.
• Keep versatile players for the rare cells. Award cells such as All-Star match many players, while a franchise may match only two of the 30. If a former Celtic who is also an All-Star comes up while Boston and All-Star are both open, give him Boston: another All-Star is likely to follow.
• Don't write a cell off too early. Every cell is matched by at least two of the day's 30 players, so one missed chance rarely closes it for good.
• Take the risk on the last player. A wrong answer then costs no more than a skip, so always try a cell.

Good luck !