tambola aka bingo

What is Tambola & How Tambola is played? Uncover Everything

The game of Tambola is very popular in many countries and is played by many people at special events, parties, and other occasions. It is the best time pass and loving game that can be played by any age people anytime anywhere.

This game is usually played indoors with the help of a Tambola Board and Tambola Tickets. One person (caller) shouts a couple of numbers one by one and notes them down on the board while another bunch of people listen and mark the numbers on tickets. Upon completing a specific pattern or marking all numbers on the Tambola ticket, the particular person informs them about the pattern to the caller and declares the winning.

This game is quite interesting and is played at many events to choose a lucky winner or several winners. Even this game is played to distribute prize money among the top 5 winners – where 60% is given to the one who first crosses out all numbers of the ticket and the remaining 40% (10% each) is distributed among those 4 winners who confirm that we crossed all number of block 1, block 2, block 3, or the corners.

You can even increase or decrease the winner numbers based on the Tambola game variations and make it more interesting. Instead of 5, you can go for 6 winners and change the winning amount percentage from 60% to 50%, and the rest of the 50% you can distribute smartly among the other 5 tombola winners.

Let’s know more about what is Tambola game. What equipment is used to play it and how it is played? There are certain rules to play this fun-loving game, so be with us and get all the information in detail below.

What is Tambola?

Tambola is a board and ticket-based game that is played by several people at social gatherings, parties, and in homes for entertainment. It is also played by women in their kitty parties to announce lucky winners and in the same way, it is played in some special events when there is a huge jackpot and it needs to be distributed among 5-6 lucky winners.

In other cases, in modern times it has been seen that this game is also played to choose who lucky 5 will pay today’s bill!

Even this game is played at many big tables to choose who will host this tournament next year. It is a fair practice game, and when choices are many, you can filter out the rest of the options by playing the Tambola game.

The Tambola games involve a Tambola board and Tambola Tickets. Numbers from 1 to 90 are printed on the Tambola board, whereas the ticket has only 15 numbers printed on it having 3 rows and 9 columns.

So here, the caller picks a random number from the bucket, notes it down on the board, and shouts in public that this is the number. The Tambola players check this number on the ticket and if it is printed, they strike it off.

The crux of the game is to cross out all the numbers first before others. The one who crosses out all the numbers first tells the caller by saying Bingo or Housie and after checking, if everything is correct, he is declared the winner of the game and rewarded with the top prize or maximum points.

Tambola Game Variations

The very simple variation of this game is to strike off all numbers first before others. If you strike all numbers first, then you will be the winner. So here caller calls a random number, if you find it in your ticket then you can strike it off and in this, if you first strike all numbers before other players then you can inform to caller by saying Housie or Bingo!

This is the Tambola game concept that many people still play and is quite popular among kids who play at home in their free time.

But there are other variations too which makes this tambola game more interesting. Instead of striking off all numbers in one shot, certain categories were invented which makes the overall playing experience better and thrilling.

Based on these variations, the prizes can be claimed and these variations are:

  • Early Five: The game begins with a strike off the first 5 numbers on the ticket. As the caller calls, the player strikes off the particular number on the ticket and claims the win.
  • Line: In this, the player has to strike off all 5 numbers printed in a ticket line to become a winner. This line can be the top line, middle line, and bottom line which the caller will announce before starting the next level.
  • Corners: Next caller says go with corners, and strike all numbers of corners. And here, if a player strikes off all 4 corner numbers of the ticket, then he/she can inform and become a winner.
  • Block 1 (Breakfast): In this variation, the player has to cross all numbers of Block 1. So, for the numbers that are present in the first 3 columns, the player has to strike all of them before other players.
  • Block 2 (Lunch): In this variation, the player has to cross all numbers of Block 2. So, for the numbers that are present in the next 3 columns (4-5-6), the player has to strike all of them before other players.
  • Block 3 (Dinner): In this variation, the player has to cross all numbers of Block 3. So, for the numbers that are present in the last 3 columns, the player has to strike all of them before other players.
  • Full House: In this variation, as usual, we do, the players need to strike off all 15 numbers of a Tambola ticket. If he/she does it first, then he/she will become the top winner of the Tambola game.

Full house situation can be achieved anytime while playing the game and if it happens the particular player ticket wins the top prize. In short, a Full house ticket is awarded with top prizes while others like Early 5, Line, Block 1, Block 2, and Block 3 get common prizes.

Tambola Game Prize or Winning Points

In different areas, the Prize money or winning points can be decided based on the game variations. If you would like to select a single lucky winner then it’s not a big deal as you can easily select one winner based on the Full House variation where the winner has to mark off all the numbers on their ticket. Whoever does it quickly is declared the winner!

But in case of multiple winners, you first have to announce to all players that in this game there would be 5-6 winners and whoever strikes off all numbers on the tombola ticket, will get a top prize or maximum points while others get the common prize.

Here’s an example:

Suppose there is a winning amount on the table of around Rs 30000 and you want to distribute it amount to 6 Lucky winners. So there the prize money will be like:

  1. Eary Five Prize Money – Rs 3000
  2. Line (Top, Middle, Bottom) Prize Money – Rs 3000
  3. Block 1 Prize Money – Rs 3000
  4. Block 2 Prize Money – Rs 3000
  5. Block 3 Prize Money – Rs 3000
  6. Corners Prize Money – Rs 3000
  7. Full House Prize Money – Rs 12000 (Top Prize)

Apart from that, in Tambola, even if a person wins the Early Five prize, they can continue playing for the other prizes like the Full House, Top Line, Middle Line, Bottom Line, or any other prizes available in the game.

Winning one category, such as Early Five, does not disqualify a player from competing for other prizes in the game. So, after claiming the Early Five, the player can continue marking off the remaining numbers on their ticket and still aim for the Full House or other prizes and this way same player can win more money or earn winning points.

How Tambola is Played?

The concept of the Tambola game was to choose a lucky winner. But instead of announcing a winner directly by shouting a number in public, a ticket-based concept (having some numbers) is used. These unique tickets are distributed among the public or audience and here the game begins. The players play the Tambola game and in the end, a lucky one who strikes off all numbers before other players is declared as winner.

When teens or kids play… they play the game at home or in the playing hall for fun and they use winning points. Those who get more points are considered as the winner while others are the losers. The same is played by family members during picnic hours to overcome boredom.

But in actuality, the game is mostly played at big events, at parties, during social gatherings in society, and at festival times to select lucky winners. Instead of points, the prize money concept is used and the lucky ones get their prize money.

So before starting the Tambola game, some Tambola tickets are sold to some players at a minimum price. The price of a Tambola ticket is around Rs 50 to Rs 100 and thus if you sell around 300 tickets, you can easily collect a prize money of around Rs 30,000.

Now this prize money will be distributed among 5-6 winners and the top winner will get around Rs 12,000, which means the top winner will get 40% while the other 5 winners will get 10% each which is around Rs 3000.

This is simple math, but if you are a broker and you are running this game on a large scale, then you can tell the players about your commission so that there is no dispute later. Means the game should be fair!

As the players have the Tambola tickets, it’s time to see how the game is played…

a player has purchased 6 tambola tickets

But before to continue, let me guide you there are 3 to 4 very important things, and you must be aware of all of them. These things are:

  1. Tambola Tickets: A Tambola ticket is just a paper that players buy at a certain price from an organizer. This ticket has 3 rows and 9 columns and each row has 5 numbers. In total, there are 15 numbers on a Tambola ticket, which players mark as the caller calls out during the game.
  2. Caller (The Host): The caller is a person who shouts numbers so others can mark it in their ticket. A caller takes out one token or ball from the bucket and announces that number to players, also shows that number to players, and then places it on the Tambola table. The numbers that are present in the buckets are from 1 to 90 and each time the caller draws a random number and continues this until a winner is found.
  3. Tambola Table: It is a board where a tally is printed from 1 to 90. So, when the caller takes out a random number from the bucket, he/she adds that to the Tambola table. This way during ticket verification a caller can easily verify the claim too.
  4. Tambola Rules: The rules of playing Tambola are very simple, listen to the number on the ticket and cross it out immediately. While crossing out, do not darken the number too much, make sure the number is visible to the caller. And finally, as soon as you complete or cross out a variation… inform the caller as soon as possible to get your claim.

So now you are aware of all the rules, what is the ticket, what the is table, and the callers. It’s time to know how you can play it….

So, guys when a caller draws a random number from the bucket and announces it in public, check your ticket and if you find that number in your ticket, then strike it off with a pencil or sketch pen. If the announced number is not printed on your ticket, then wait for the next draw.

While playing make sure what variation of Tambola game going on. This will help you to get your claim, if you ignore the game variation, then you can lose the game and also lose the prize money.

While playing Tambola, it is advisable to be proactive and inform the host as soon as you complete a variation. If you delay for even 1 second and in the meantime another player informs the host, he will be declared the winner, even if you completed the game before him.

Final Words

So that’s about the Tambola game. You can play it anytime at home, or outside in the park. This is quite an interesting game and very popular among kids, adults, and aged people. You can get Tambola-related items like Tambola boards and Tambola ticket pads online or offline from the book store or gaming stores.

If you are throwing a party or organizing an event then this game is quite engaging and interesting to play. Just strike off all numbers of your tombola ticket and win the prize.

Similar games like Tambola are Housie and Bingo and the game is simple, easy to play, and offers fun prizes for the winners. You can explore more about these games on the internet and know better how they are played.

What else you would like to know about Tambola? Please let us know in the comments and don’t forget to share it with others!

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