Half the fun of tambola is the calls. Every number from 1 to 90 has a traditional rhyme or nickname that the caller reads out before the number itself. Here is the full list used by Team Housie’s computer caller.

Numbers without a nickname are read digit by digit, so 47 becomes “4 and 7, forty-seven”. New to the game? Start with how to play tambola.

Tambola calls 1 to 9

1
1: Kelly’s eye
2
2: One little duck
3
3: Cup of tea
4
4: Knock at the door
5
5: Man alive
6
6: Half a dozen
7
7: Lucky seven
8
8: Garden gate
9
9: Doctor’s orders

Tambola calls 10 to 19

10
10: Big fat hen
11
11: Legs eleven
12
12: One dozen
13
13: Unlucky for some
14
14: Valentine’s day
15
15: Young and keen
16
16: Sweet sixteen
17
17: Dancing queen
18
18: Coming of age
19
19: Goodbye teens

Tambola calls 20 to 29

20
20: One score
21
21: Key of the door
22
22: Two little ducks
23
23: Thee and me
24
24: Two dozen
25
25: Duck and dive
26
26: Pick and mix
27
27: Gateway to heaven
28
28: In a state
29
29: Rise and shine

Tambola calls 30 to 39

30
30: Dirty Gertie
31
31: Get up and run
32
32: Buckle my shoe
33
33: All the threes
34
34: Ask for more
35
35: Jump and jive
36
36: Three dozen
37
37: 3 and 7
38
38: 3 and 8
39
39: Steps

Tambola calls 40 to 49

40
40: Naughty forty
41
41: 4 and 1
42
42: 4 and 2
43
43: 4 and 3
44
44: All the fours
45
45: Halfway there
46
46: 4 and 6
47
47: 4 and 7
48
48: Four dozen
49
49: 4 and 9

Tambola calls 50 to 59

50
50: Half a century
51
51: 5 and 1
52
52: Deck of cards
53
53: 5 and 3
54
54: 5 and 4
55
55: All the fives
56
56: 5 and 6
57
57: Heinz varieties
58
58: 5 and 8
59
59: 5 and 9

Tambola calls 60 to 69

60
60: Five dozen
61
61: 6 and 1
62
62: Tickety-boo
63
63: 6 and 3
64
64: Red raw
65
65: 6 and 5
66
66: Clickety click
67
67: 6 and 7
68
68: 6 and 8
69
69: Either way up

Tambola calls 70 to 79

70
70: 7 and 0
71
71: 7 and 1
72
72: Six dozen
73
73: Queen bee
74
74: 7 and 4
75
75: 7 and 5
76
76: Trombones
77
77: Sunset strip
78
78: 7 and 8
79
79: 7 and 9

Tambola calls 80 to 90

80
80: Eight and blank
81
81: Stop and run
82
82: 8 and 2
83
83: 8 and 3
84
84: Seven dozen
85
85: 8 and 5
86
86: Between the sticks
87
87: 8 and 7
88
88: Two fat ladies
89
89: Nearly there
90
90: Top of the shop

Where do housie calls come from?

Most calls come from British 90-ball bingo halls and travelled to India with the game, where housie became a fixture of kitty parties, club nights and office celebrations. Some calls rhyme with the number (“cup of tea, 3”), some describe its shape (“two fat ladies, 88”, because the eights look like two round figures), and some are references (“legs eleven”, “key of the door, 21”).

Want to hear them? Team Housie’s caller reads every number out loud in a male or female voice, so nobody has to play caller.

Tambola number calls from 1 to 90