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Diwali tambola: how to host it for your kitty party, family or society

Tambola is the Diwali game. Here is how to run it so the aunties are happy, the kids stay, and nobody argues about a bogey.

The dividends, and the order to call them

Every Diwali game runs the same six prizes, and the fun is in what you name them. Call them out at the start, in this order:

• Jaldi Five (Early Five) — the first five numbers struck anywhere on the ticket. Falls within the first fifteen calls; gets the room going.
• Top Line, Middle Line, Bottom Line — all five numbers of one row. Kitty groups often rename them Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.
• Four Corners — the first and last numbers of the top and bottom rows.
• Full House — all fifteen. The game ends here, unless you announce a Second Full House for a smaller prize, which keeps the near-misses playing.

The Tambola Night app checks all six for you the moment a player claims. For house specials — a “Bamboo”, a “Pyramid”, an “Odd numbers only” — say the rule aloud, and check those claims by eye.

Tickets and the pool

Sell tickets in strips of six: across one strip every number from 1 to 90 appears exactly once, so the six friends who bought it never share a number and nobody feels cheated. Print strips with the free tambola ticket generator, or let the app deal digital tickets to every phone as people scan the QR. A common society pricing is ₹50 a ticket with a strip at ₹250; a kitty party often makes tickets free and funds prizes from the kitty. Whatever the price, write the prize amounts on a whiteboard before the first number — a typical split of the pool is 10% Jaldi Five, 15% each line, 10% corners, 35% full house, and the rest for a second full house or the host's snacks.

Prize ideas that go down well

• Diyas and a box of dry fruits for the lines; a silver coin for the full house.
• A “bring your own dabba” prize: the winner takes home a box of the host's sweets.
• For a society game, vouchers from the local sweet shop or grocer — they will often sponsor a prize for the mention.
• For kids, a separate junior game with one ticket each and a chocolate for every line.
• A booby prize for the first bogey of the night. It takes the sting out of a wrong claim.

Step by step

1. The week before: fix the date and time (after the puja, before dinner), and send the WhatsApp invite with the ticket price and prize list.
2. On the day, one hour before: print tickets or set up the app. Put the board on the TV with Send to TV so the whole room sees each number.
3. Sell or deal tickets as people arrive; in the app, players pick how many tickets they want as they join.
4. Read the rules once, including the tie rule — share the prize, or first valid claim wins. Decide it before the first ball, not during a dispute.
5. Call at a steady pace. Manual calling lets you add the lingo — “two little ducks, 22”, “top of the house, 90” — the app shows the classic calls on screen as each number drops.
6. Pause on every claim. The app shows the claimant's ticket against the numbers called and awards or rejects it in front of the room. On paper, read the ticket ID and check it against your master copy.
7. Announce the winner, hand over the prize immediately, and carry on. Prizes at the end of the night get forgotten.
8. Second game? New tickets, smaller prizes, faster pace. Two games is plenty in an evening that also has dinner.

Tips

• Number the paper tickets and keep the counterfoil; it is the only way to settle a claim on paper.
• Play in the language of the room. The app's voices are English (an Indian-English voice is included); you can mute the voice and call in Hindi, Tamil or Telugu yourself with the board on the TV.
• Keep phones on charge if you play digital: a 40-minute game at full brightness is fine, a 2-hour evening is not.
• Kids get bored between numbers — give the eldest the job of repeating each number loudly.

Host checklist

• Tickets printed in strips (or the app room created), counterfoils kept
• Prize list and split written up where everyone can see it
• TV showing the board; phone on charge
• Tie rule decided: share, or first valid claim
• Prizes wrapped and on the table; a booby prize for the first bogey
• Snacks and a break planned between game one and game two