10 Ways to Use a Number Caller: Kitty Parties, Festivals & Office Games
A good number caller isn't just for Tambola. Once you have a tool that draws fair, unpredictable numbers and calls them out loud, a lot of group activities get easier to run. Here are ten practical ways to use one.
1. Classic Tambola / Housie
The obvious one — set the range to 1–90, switch on no-repeat mode, and you have a fair caller for the traditional game. See our full Tambola rules guide if you're new to hosting.
2. Bingo (1–75)
American-style Bingo uses a 1–75 range instead of 1–90. Most number callers let you set this as a preset, so you can switch between Tambola and Bingo rules for different groups without changing anything else.
3. Lucky draws and raffles
If your event has numbered tickets, set the range to match your total ticket count (say 1–100 for 100 attendees) and use no-repeat mode. Each draw picks a genuinely random winner, and once drawn, that number is out of the running for the next prize.
4. Deciding presentation or performance order
At office events, talent shows, or family functions where multiple people need to go in some order, draw numbers 1 through however many participants there are (no-repeat mode) and assign order based on the sequence drawn. It removes any perception of favoritism in who goes first or last.
5. Quiz night question selection
If you've numbered your quiz questions, use the caller to pick which question comes up next — keeps quiz night from feeling scripted or predictable, even if you (the host) already know all the answers.
6. Team or group assignment
Assign people to teams by numbering them and drawing which team each number belongs to, or simply draw numbers to decide play order between existing teams.
7. Festival games at home
Diwali, Sankranti, and other festival gatherings often mix Tambola with other quick games. Numbers can double as a way to select who does the next task, forfeit, or mini-game — a fun filler activity between rounds of a bigger game.
8. Dice-based games (Snake and Ladder, Ludo-style play)
For anything that needs a die roll instead of a drawn number — Snake and Ladder being the obvious one — you want repeat mode, not no-repeat, since a real die can land on the same face twice in a row. See our guide on choosing between no-repeat and repeat modes for the full reasoning.
9. Kitty party mini-games
Beyond Tambola itself, kitty parties often run quick number-based games — "the number I call wins a small prize," musical-chair-style eliminations by number, or splitting the group into random pairs/teams via drawn numbers.
10. Classroom or workshop activities
Teachers and workshop facilitators use random number draws to pick which student answers next, or to randomly form discussion groups — a no-repeat draw across the class roster number ensures everyone gets called on exactly once per round.
Ankelu handles all of these with a simple range + no-repeat toggle, plus a built-in Snake and Ladder game for when you want a change of pace.
Open Ankelu →Tips for hosting any of these well
- Turn on voice announcements if you're managing a room — you don't want to be reading a screen out loud while also hosting.
- Use the fullscreen/maximize option if you're projecting onto a TV or screen for a larger group.
- Reset between rounds — no-repeat mode only guarantees fairness within one pool; starting a new round means resetting so the full range is available again.