Chris approached Allen Software Development with the idea of having a on air game of bingo live on the radio.

For those know don't know, bingo is normally a gambling game where players are given a set of 15 numbers numbered from 1 to 90. The numbers are then marked off as they are called out by the bingo caller. When a players' card is complete they shout 'House!'.

In a database, the software stores players' names along with their email address which can be edited or deleted as the user chooses. When a new bingo game is created, each player is emailed a virtual 'ticket' of 15 randomly generated numbers. On air, the presenter can draw a random number and this number is then checked off the list. A list of the three last drawn numbers along with the number of 'balls' that have been drawn are clearly displayed. The software stores all the virtual tickets for that game and can determine who should be winning. This prevents any cheating from the players. The software sends email via SMTP and has recently be updated to include SMTP authentication.

Chris hosts his own bingo night at various clubs around London. He required a clock which was personalised with a logo and counted down until the next game of bingo so that it could be projected onto a screen. He wanted a tune to play as the countdown was coming to a close so that the tune ended when the clock hit zero. We were also asked to create the logo and implement it into the software.

The clock design is similar to that of the old 1970s BBC clock designs as Chris loves retro-style! The clock is in full screen when it is launched. To access the options, the user can right click to choose from setting up the countdown, minimising the program or exiting. A textual representation of the amount of time left until the next bingo game also appears at the bottom.