Tambola rules and winning patterns

The ticket

A Tambola ticket is a grid of 3 rows and 9 columns. That makes 27 boxes, but only 15 of them hold numbers. Each row has exactly 5 numbers and 4 blank boxes.

The numbers are not scattered anywhere. Each column has its own range, and the numbers get bigger as you read down a column.

On a standard ticket every column has at least one number and never more than three, and no number appears twice. Here is the ticket used for the pictures on this page.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

How calling works

One person is the caller, also called the host. The caller draws numbers from 1 to 90, one at a time, and no number comes up twice in a game. After each number, players look for it on their tickets and mark it.

In Tambola Pro the host taps CALL NUMBER. The number appears on every phone and is read aloud. You tap the number on your own ticket to mark it. If you tap a number that has not come up, the app shows a "Not called yet" warning and leaves the box unmarked.

The game carries on until the last prize has been won. In most groups that is the Full House.

The main prizes

In the pictures below, the numbers on a gold disc are the ones that must be marked to win that prize.

Early Five (Jaldi Five)

The first player to mark any five numbers on one ticket. They can be anywhere on the ticket. This is the quickest prize and it usually goes within the first few minutes.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

Four Corners

The first and last number of the top row and the first and last number of the bottom row. Notice that a corner number does not have to sit in a corner box. On this ticket the top row ends at 70, because the box after it is blank.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

Top Line, Middle Line and Bottom Line

All five numbers in one row. Each row is a separate prize, so a game has three line prizes. Some groups call them First, Second and Third Line.

Full House

All fifteen numbers on the ticket. This is the main prize and normally the last one of the game.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

Second Full House

Some groups keep calling after the first Full House. The next ticket to fill up wins the Second Full House. A ticket that has already won the first Full House cannot win the second.

5		23		42		63		81
	16		35	45	54		74
8		28		49		67		89

Other patterns some groups play

These are house favourites, not fixed rules. Names and details differ between groups, so agree on them before the first number is called.

Star

Usually the four corners plus the centre number of the middle row, which is the third of its five numbers.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner

Many groups split the ticket into three blocks of three columns. Breakfast is every number in the first three columns, Lunch is the middle three, and Dinner is the last three.

Temperature

The smallest and the largest number on the ticket. Only two numbers are needed, so it can go very early or surprisingly late.

4		21	33		52		70
	17	26		48		65		84
9			38		57		79	90

How claims work

1. Call out straight away. When your pattern is complete, say so before the next number is called. In most groups a claim made after the next number is too late.
2. The host checks. The host opens History, which shows all 90 numbers with the called ones marked, and compares it with your ticket.
3. The prize is given once. After a prize has been claimed and confirmed, it is closed. Nobody else can win it later in the same game.

The app does not decide winners. Your group does, the same way it would at a table.

Wrong claims

A wrong claim is often called a bogey. Many groups treat a bogey as disqualifying that ticket for the rest of the game. Other groups, especially with new players, simply say "not yet" and carry on. Neither way is more correct. Decide before the game starts and tell everyone.

Ties

If two players complete the same prize on the same number, they usually share it. With gifts, that can mean splitting a box of sweets or giving each winner a smaller gift.

Common questions

Read next

• How to play: starting and joining a game on your phone.
• Number calls: the nicknames callers use.
• Host a game: a checklist for the caller.

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