Occasion
Diwali party games to play with family
Tambola, Antakshari and the games that actually get played at Diwali.
Updated for Diwali 2026
Diwali is a Tambola evening in most houses and an Antakshari evening in the rest. The logistics are what go wrong: someone has to print the tickets, someone has to be the caller, and the caller never gets to play.
Run it here instead. Tambola seats fifty people in one room, deals everybody a ticket and calls the numbers itself — so the person who usually runs the evening gets one off. Antakshari keeps the letters and the score, which settles the other argument that happens every year.
New below for Diwali 2026: Think Alike and Forehead. Think Alike is the one for a house that is half in the room and half on a video call — everyone answers the same prompt and the most common answer scores, so the cousin who joined ten minutes ago is not behind. Forehead wants the opposite: everybody in one room, shouting clues at whoever is holding the phone to their forehead.
9 games in diwali party games
Tambola
Housie with auto-called numbers and instant claim checks.
3–50 players
Antakshari
Sing on the call — the app keeps the letter, the turn and the score.
2–10 players
Think Alike
Write what everyone else is writing — being obvious is the whole skill.
3–12 players
Ludo
Roll, race and knock your friends back to the yard.
2–4 players
Dumb Charades
Act out the movie. No words allowed!
2–10 players
Forehead
Everyone can see your word except you. Guess it before the clock.
3–12 players
Raja Wazir Chor Sipahi
Guess who the thief is and score big.
4 players
Snakes & Ladders
Climb the ladders, dodge the snakes, race to 100.
2–8 players
Trivia
Race to answer questions across all topics.
2–10 players