The mood is particularly tense in Abyei, an area the south thinks it can win over in elections due in 2009.

ECONOMIST: South Sudan

During a particularly tense round in which players were vying to create an "X" on their bingo cards, one man yelled out, "I only have one number left on my whole card!"

WSJ: Bingo Finds Fans Among New, Hipster Crowd

The initiative comes at a particularly tense time.

ECONOMIST: Keeping an eye on the security forces