Tambola, housie and 90-ball bingo are three names for one game — the ticket, the calls and the prizes are identical, and only the name changes with where you’re playing. Here’s the complete ruleset, plus a free tambola ticket generator that prints correct 3x9 tickets and strips of six.
What a tambola ticket actually looks like
A ticket is 3 rows by 9 columns — 27 cells — with exactly 5 numbers per row and the other 10 cells left blank. Column 1 holds numbers 1–9, columns 2 through 8 each hold a run of ten (10–19, 20–29, and so on up to 70–79), and column 9 holds 80–90. No column is ever completely empty, and the numbers in every column ascend from top to bottom.
That last rule catches people out more than any other: if column 3 (the 20s) holds both 24 and 28 on your ticket, 24 has to sit above 28, never below it, however the rows are otherwise filled. A ticket that gets this wrong isn’t a valid tambola ticket, whatever else is right about it — which is also why a hand-drawn or improvised ticket is riskier than it looks, and why most hosts print from a generator rather than ruling lines on paper themselves.
A strip of six
A strip is six tickets that between them use every number from 1 to 90 exactly once — no repeats, no gaps. That’s why kitty parties and club nights buy strips rather than single tickets: a strip guarantees somebody in that group of six marks a number on every single call, which keeps the game moving. The generator prints printable housie tickets as singles or full strips, so you’re never stuck cutting one ticket at a time.
How to play, step by step
- The caller draws numbers from 1 to 90 without replacement — usually from a shuffled set of numbered tickets or tokens, sometimes from an app — and reads each one aloud, ideally twice, from a printed call sheet so nobody has to ask for a repeat.
- Players cross off any number they have on their ticket the moment it’s called. There’s no catching up: a number called three rounds ago and missed is simply gone for that game.
- The moment a player completes a prize pattern, they shout the claim immediately — waiting even one more call to “make sure” is a common mistake, since a later winner can claim the same prize first if you hesitate.
- The caller stops the game, reads back every number that led to the claim, and checks it against their own sheet before awarding the prize. A claim that doesn’t hold up — a “bogey” — forfeits only that prize, not the game; play continues from where it stopped.
Common disputes and how to avoid them
Most tambola arguments come from the same handful of causes, and all of them are avoidable:
- A number was misheard. Calling each number twice, and writing it on a visible board or screen as you go, settles almost every “I didn’t hear that” dispute before it starts.
- Two people claim the same prize on the same call. Whoever shouts first wins it — agree this rule out loud before play starts, especially in a room with more than 20 players.
- A ticket turns out to be invalid (the wrong count of numbers in a row, or a column out of order). This is why printing tickets from a generator matters more than it sounds: a hand-drawn ticket is the single most common source of an unwinnable claim.
- The caller’s sheet and a player’s ticket disagree. The printed call sheet is the record of truth — settle any dispute against it, not against memory.
Every standard prize and what it means
| Prize | Also called | What you must cross off | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Five | Jaldi Five, First Five | Any 5 numbers | Whoever gets there first, in any pattern |
| Top Line | — | All 5 numbers in the top row | |
| Middle Line | — | All 5 numbers in the middle row | |
| Bottom Line | — | All 5 numbers in the bottom row | |
| Four Corners | — | The first and last number of the top row, and the first and last number of the bottom row | |
| Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner | — | The first 5 numbers called that fall in one specific row | A house variant, not universal — confirm before playing |
| Pyramid | — | A house-specific shape, usually a triangle of numbers | Agree the exact shape before play |
| Lucky Seven | — | Any 7 numbers, first to complete | House variant |
| Unlucky One | — | The last number left unmarked on an otherwise complete ticket | House variant |
| Full House | Housie | All 15 numbers on the ticket | The main prize |
| Second Full House | — | The second ticket to complete all 15 | Runner-up prize |
How hosts split the pot
Not a rule — just a common split some hosts use. For 20 players at ₹100 each (₹2,000 total): early five 10%, each line 12.5%, four corners 10%, full house 30%. That leaves the three lines and four corners accounting for 60% of the pot between them, with early five as a small, fast-won consolation and full house as the headline prize everyone’s really playing for. Adjust the percentages freely to suit your group — some hosts skip four corners entirely and fold it into a bigger full-house share, others add a second full house as a smaller runner-up prize. There’s no standard that every group follows, and this page takes no position on gambling legality in any jurisdiction; check your own local rules before running a game with real money at stake.
The traditional number calls
Many tambola hosts use a set of traditional rhyming calls for each number (like “two little ducks” for 22) instead of reading the plain digits. The full list runs all the way to 90 and is long enough to deserve its own page rather than repeating it here — a plain numeric call sheet works perfectly well in the meantime, and prints straight from the generator alongside your tickets.
Housie in the UK, Australia and South Africa
Same game, same ticket, same prizes — just A4 paper and a church-fete or club-night setting instead of a kitty party, with “colour” and “programme” spelled the local way. In the UK it’s most often called housie or “eyes down” at a bingo hall or social club; in Australia and South Africa the same church-fete and club-night context applies, sometimes run as a fundraiser with a modest entry fee going to the cause rather than a prize pot. One genuinely common mix-up worth clearing up: a tombola is a raffle where you draw a ticket from a drum for a prize — a completely different game from tambola/housie, despite the near-identical name and the shared fundraiser setting.
Running tambola at a kitty party or Diwali night
Diwali 2026 falls on Sunday, 8 November, with the wider festival running from 6 to 10 November (timeanddate.com) — one of the two biggest spikes for this game, alongside UK/AU/ZA Christmas fete season in November and December. Print one strip of six per player, a caller sheet, and budget roughly 10–12 minutes to reach a full house.
Print your tickets
Print your strips of six the night before so nothing holds up the start — correct 3x9 tickets or full strips, in A4 or US Letter, free with no signup. Dedicated tambola tickets and housie tickets pages, matching whichever name you search for, are on the way.
FAQ
Is tambola the same as housie?
Yes — tambola, housie and 90-ball bingo are three names for the same game, used mostly in India, the UK, Australia and South Africa respectively. The ticket, the calls and the prizes are identical; only the name changes with the region.
How many numbers are on a tambola ticket?
- A ticket is 3 rows by 9 columns (27 cells), with exactly 5 numbers in each row and the other 10 cells left blank.
What is a strip of six?
Six tickets that between them use every number from 1 to 90 exactly once. Kitty parties and club nights buy strips rather than single tickets because a strip guarantees every player marks something on every call.
What is jaldi five?
Jaldi five, also called early five or first five, is a prize for the first player to mark any five numbers on their ticket, in any pattern — the fastest prize in the game.
Can I print tambola tickets for free?
Yes. The 90 ball bingo ticket generator prints correct 3x9 tickets and strips of six, free, in A4 or US Letter, with no signup.
More reading: bingo card generator for the standard 5x5 format, bingo winning patterns for how lines and shapes are called, and the FAQ for everything else.