# Tambola prize ideas: what to give for each win, in money or in gifts

Source: https://spolvero.design/articles/tambola-prize-ideas/
Updated: 2026-10-06
Tool: https://spolvero.design/tools/play/tambola-tickets/

> Give the smallest Tambola prize to early five and the largest to full house, with the three lines in between. For a cash pool, a common split is 10% for early five, 15% for each line and 45% for full house. For gifts, match the size of the gift to how hard the win is: a small treat for early five, something useful for each line, and one gift everybody wants for full house.

The tickets are printed, the guests are invited, and then the real question arrives: what do the winners get? Good Tambola prizes have little to do with how much you spend. They depend on giving each win a prize that matches how hard it was to get, and on everyone knowing the list before the first number is called.

## Start with the wins, not the gifts

Decide which wins you are playing before you buy anything. Each win is one prize. The standard five are:

1. **Early five** (jaldi five): the first ticket to mark any five numbers.
2. **Top line**: all five numbers in the top row.
3. **Middle line**: all five in the middle row.
4. **Bottom line**: all five in the bottom row.
5. **Full house**: all fifteen numbers.

Five to seven prizes suit one game. With ten or more, the last prizes need almost every number called and the room loses interest. For patterns beyond these five, see the [Tambola games list](/articles/tambola-games-list/).

## The order of size

Prizes should grow as the game goes on. A win that comes early and easily gets a small prize; the one that takes the whole game gets the biggest.

| Win | When it usually comes | Size of prize |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Early five | First, within about 15 calls | Smallest |
| Temperature (if played) | Soon after | Small |
| Four corners (if played) | Early to middle | Small to medium |
| Top, middle, bottom line | Middle of the game | Medium, all three equal |
| Full house | Last | Biggest |
| Second full house (if played) | After the first | Medium |

Keep the three lines equal. No line is harder than another, and unequal line prizes start arguments.

## If you are playing for money

When each player pays for a ticket, the pool is split by share. A common split:

| Prize | Share of the pool |
| --- | --- |
| Early five | 10% |
| Top line | 15% |
| Middle line | 15% |
| Bottom line | 15% |
| Full house | 45% |

On a pool of ₹1,000 that is ₹100 for early five, ₹150 for each line and ₹450 for full house. On ₹500 it is ₹50, ₹75 each and ₹225.

To add an extra such as four corners, take 5 to 10% for it from the lines and full house. For example, with four corners at 10%: early five 10%, four corners 10%, each line 12%, full house 44%.

Write the split where everyone can see it. Read it out before the first call. The [Tambola prize calculator](/tools/play/tambola-prize-calculator/) works out the rupees for any collection and any set of wins, rounds them to ₹10 or ₹50 so they add up exactly, and copies the list for WhatsApp. For the method behind it, see [how to divide Tambola prize money](/articles/how-to-divide-tambola-prize-money/).

## If you are giving gifts

Gifts suit family nights, office parties and games with children, where money on the table feels wrong. The same order applies: small, medium, big.

**For early five and other quick wins (small):**
- A bar of chocolate or a box of sweets
- Scented candles or diyas
- A pen, a keyring or a pack of playing cards
- A small plant

**For each line (medium, three alike):**
- A mug or a steel bottle
- A set of storage jars or serving bowls
- A notebook and pen set
- A box of dry fruit
- A photo frame

**For full house (the one everybody wants):**
- A gift hamper
- A voucher for a shop or a meal
- A kitchen or home item the group will recognise as a proper prize
- For an office: a half day off, signed by the manager

Buying the three line prizes as an identical set saves both money and argument.

## Prizes by kind of party

**Kitty party.** Members have usually paid in, so cash by the split above is normal. Add four corners and a second full house, so more members win across the afternoon. Some kitties make a wrong claim cost something: the claimant brings the sweets next month.

**Family night at a festival.** Mix the two. Small gifts for early five and the lines, and one cash envelope for full house. Wrap everything; unwrapping is half the fun.

**Office party.** Skip cash. Vouchers, hampers and time off work better, and the full house prize should be something people will talk about on Monday.

**Children.** Gifts only, and one for everybody by the end. Add a bumper prize: a consolation for the ticket with the fewest numbers marked when full house is called.

## Hand the prize over properly

A prize given at once feels better than one promised for later. Keep the prizes on a table in the order they will be won, and hand each over as soon as the claim is checked.

If you play for money and do not want cash moving about during the game, use prize slips: a slip of paper naming the win and the amount, given at the moment of the win and exchanged at the end. The Diwali Tambola Party Kit, described in the [Diwali Tambola party guide](/articles/diwali-tambola-party-ideas/), has six such slips ready to cut out.

## Three rules to agree before the first call

1. **Claims.** A claim must come before the next number is called.
2. **Two winners at once.** Split the prize, or first to call takes it.
3. **Wrong claims.** Common rules: the ticket is out for that prize, or for the rest of the game.

## Print the tickets and call the game

The [Tambola ticket maker](/tools/play/tambola-tickets/) prints proper tickets, fifteen numbers with five in each row, and the same page calls the numbers on a phone or TV. When someone claims, type the number printed on their ticket and the caller shows which of the standard prizes that ticket has completed, so nobody has to collect tickets to confirm a win.

For how many tickets to print and how fast to call, see [how to organise Tambola at home](/articles/how-to-organise-tambola/). For what breakfast, lunch and dinner mean as prizes, see [breakfast, lunch and dinner in Tambola](/articles/breakfast-lunch-dinner-in-tambola/).

## Questions

### What are good prizes for Tambola?

For a cash game, split the pool: 10% for early five, 15% for each of the three lines and 45% for full house. For a gift game, give small treats for early five, useful household or desk items for the lines, and one bigger gift for full house.

### Which Tambola prize should be the biggest?

Full house. It needs all fifteen numbers and is always the last prize won, so it carries the biggest share: 45% of the pool in the common split.

### How many prizes should a Tambola game have?

Five to seven. The standard five are early five, top line, middle line, bottom line and full house. Add four corners or one or two other extras for a bigger group.

### How do I split the prize if two players win together?

Either split that prize equally, or give it to whoever called first. Both are fair. Decide which one before the first number is called.

### Should children's Tambola have cash prizes?

Gifts work better. Use patterns children can check themselves, such as early five, lines and four corners, and add a bumper prize for the ticket with the fewest numbers marked, so nobody leaves empty-handed.