Tambola games list: 15 prize patterns for kitty parties and family nights

A Tambola game draws numbers from 1 to 90, and each ticket holds fifteen of them — five in each of three rows. Every prize is a pattern of marked numbers. The first player to complete a pattern shouts, and the caller checks the claim.

Most games run the same five prizes. Kitty parties and family nights add a few more to keep more players in the running. Here are fifteen, grouped by how quickly they are usually won.

The standard five

1. Early five (Jaldi five). The first ticket to mark any five numbers. Usually won within the first ten to fifteen calls.
2. Top line. All five numbers in the first row.
3. Middle line. All five numbers in the second row.
4. Bottom line. All five numbers in the third row.
5. Full house. All fifteen numbers on the ticket. Always the last prize and usually the biggest.

The Tambola caller checks all five of these, and four corners, from the ticket number printed on each ticket. You never need to collect the ticket to confirm a win.

Quick extras

6. Four corners. The first and last numbers of the top row, and the first and last of the bottom row. Tambola rows have gaps, so “corner” means the outermost number in the row, not the corner square.
7. Temperature. The lowest and the highest number on the ticket. Only two numbers, so it goes early.
8. Early seven. Like early five, with seven numbers. Useful when a large group needs more early prizes.
9. Bull’s eye. The middle number of the middle row — the third of its five.

Middle-game extras

10. Star. Four corners plus the bull’s eye.
11. Pyramid. One number in the top row, two in the middle row and three in the bottom row. Agree beforehand whether the exact positions matter.
12. Breakfast, lunch and dinner. Split the ticket’s nine columns into three: breakfast is all the numbers in columns 1–3 (1 to 29), lunch in columns 4–6 (30 to 59) and dinner in columns 7–9 (60 to 90). A ticket may have anywhere from three to nine numbers in each part, which makes these fun to watch. The full rule, with when each is usually won, is in breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tambola.
13. Odd and even. All the odd numbers on the ticket, or all the even ones. Tickets with few odd numbers suddenly become favourites.

Late-game extras

14. Second full house. The next ticket to complete all fifteen numbers after the first. Keeps everyone playing to the end.
15. Unlucky or bumper. A consolation for the ticket with the fewest numbers marked when the full house is called. Good for children’s games, where everyone should go home with something.

House rules to agree first

Patterns vary between families and clubs, so settle these before the first number is called:

• Late claims. Most games require a claim before the next number is called. If a player notices later, the prize has gone.
• Two winners at once. Split the prize, or award it to whoever called first. Decide before, not during.
• Bogus claims. Common rules: a wrong claim loses that ticket for the prize, or for the rest of the game.
• Exact pattern. For pyramid and star, say whether the numbers must be in specific positions or any number in each row counts.

Which extras to pick

For ten or fewer players, the standard five plus four corners is enough.

For a kitty party of fifteen to thirty, add temperature near the start and second full house at the end. More people then win something across the evening without the game running long.

For children, pick patterns they can check themselves — early five, lines and four corners — and add the bumper prize so nobody leaves empty-handed.

Only four corners and the standard five are checked on the caller screen automatically. For the other patterns, the caller confirms by hand against the “Called so far” board on the caller screen.