Kitty party games: fun ideas for your next kitty, with and without an app

Updated 2026-09-28 · Mandli

Every kitty has a hostess who spent two days on the menu and the theme, and then realises at 4 pm that she still needs games. If that's you this month, relax. This list of kitty party games covers everything from the classic Tambola to quick one-minute games that need nothing but a bowl and some chits.

We've split it into two kinds. The first half needs only paper, a few household things and a loud voice. The second half works best with a phone each, using Mandli, our free desi party-games app, which takes care of tickets, scores and secret votes so the hostess can actually play too.

A good kitty usually needs three or four games: one to break the ice, one big game like Tambola, one loud team game, and a quick one to end on a laugh while the chai is served.

Games that need no app at all

Keep a few of these ready. They cost nothing and work even when the Wi-Fi doesn't.

• Passing the parcel with chits: wrap a small box in many layers, with a dare or a question between each layer. Play music, pass it around, and whoever holds it when the music stops opens one layer and does what the chit says.
• One-minute challenges: stack ten plastic cups into a pyramid, move chana from one bowl to another with a straw, or put on as many bangles as you can with one hand. Use a phone timer.
• Blindfold bindi: blindfold each player and ask them to stick a bindi on a face drawn on paper on the wall. Closest to the middle wins.
• Guess the item in the bag: fill a cloth bag with ten kitchen things. Each player feels it for 30 seconds and writes down what they think is inside.
• Know-your-kitty quiz on paper: ten questions about the group itself. Who has the most sarees, whose kid is the naughtiest, who always comes late. Everyone writes answers, the hostess reads them out.

None of these need a winner in money. A small tally on paper is enough.

1. Tambola (Housie), the kitty classic

There's hardly a kitty in India that hasn't played Tambola. Everyone gets a ticket with 15 numbers in 3 rows. The numbers from 1 to 90 are called in random order, and players race to claim Early 5, Top line, Middle line, Bottom line, Corners and Full house.

On paper, you'll need printed tickets and a caller who knows the rhymes. With Mandli, each player gets their own ticket on the phone, the app calls the numbers with the old lines ('Kelly's eye, number ek'), and checks every claim for you. Claim too early and that claim is blocked for you for the rest of the game. The hostess, as the host, can change the calling speed or pause when the samosas arrive. Up to 50 people can play in one room.

2. Housie Theme Nights for a theme kitty

If your kitty has a theme, match the Tambola to it. Housie Theme Nights keeps the same rules and points but changes the calls and claim names.

• Bollywood night: calls use film-and-year lines, and Full house becomes Housefull.
• Cricket night: calls use cricket facts, and Full house becomes World Cup.
• Shaadi night: calls use shaadi rituals, and the claims become Haldi Line, Mehendi Line, Sangeet Line and Vidaai.

A Bollywood or retro-theme kitty with Housefull as the final claim always gets a cheer.

3. Antakshari, because someone will start singing anyway

Split the group into two teams and let Antakshari run. The rule is simple: the next song starts with the last letter of the previous one. It gets competitive fast, especially when one team has the lady who knows every song from the 70s.

If arguments start about the score, use the app. It shows the letter and the singer's turn, gives 30 seconds, and the others judge Sahi gaaya or Galat. Every 5th turn is special: sing any song of a named star, or hum a tune for the others to guess. Nobody has to keep score on a napkin.

4. Kaun Zyada Likely, the gossip game

This is the kitty game that gets the loudest laughs. A question comes up, like 'Kaun sabse zyada shopping karegi?' or 'Kaun party mein sabse late aayegi?', and everyone secretly votes for someone in the group. Then the chart shows who got the most votes.

Votes are secret by default, so nobody knows who pointed at whom, which is exactly why people vote honestly. Pick Family or Dosti questions for a kitty crowd. Each question takes about a minute, and 3 to 15 people can play.

Without an app, write the questions on chits, and have everyone write a name on a slip and drop it in a bowl.

5. Dumb Charades in two teams

Dumb Charades is the one game every kitty knows. One person acts out a movie with no words, and their team guesses. Hands on the head for 'purani film', fingers for the number of words, the whole drill.

The app version picks the films, runs a 90-second timer and keeps score for both teams, so no one has to write chits. The other team sees the movie while the actor struggles, which is its own entertainment. It fits 4 to 20 players, and you can choose old films, new ones or both.

6. Quiz rounds: Bollywood, khana and songs

A quick quiz is a great way to settle down after the loud games.

• Sawaal Jawaab: ten questions, four options each, 15 seconds per question, on Bollywood, cricket, India GK or khana. Faster right answers score more.
• Gaana Pehchano: guess the song from a clue about the film, the year and the scene.
• Emoji Picture: guess the film or song from a line of emoji.

Everyone answers on their own phone at the same time, so even a group of 20 finishes a round in about four minutes.

7. Getting-to-know-you games for new members

When there's a new member in the kitty, these help everyone learn about each other without an awkward round of introductions.

• Kitna Jaanta Hai: each round, one person is the star. Everyone guesses how they'd answer a question like their favourite food or their worst habit.
• Jhooth ya Sach: each person writes two truths and one lie about themselves. The group tries to spot the lie.
• Ye ya Woh: two options, pick a side, and guess where the group goes. Chai ya coffee is a surprisingly heated debate.

How to run the games as a hostess

• Make the room before guests arrive, and put the link in the kitty WhatsApp group. There's no login, just a name and a colour, and members who don't have the app open the link in their phone browser.
• For guests sitting together in one hall, use Saath mode and talk out loud. If a member is joining from another city, Door mode with the built-in voice chat lets her play along.
• Scores carry across games in the room, so you can announce one overall winner at the end.
• Keep a no-app game ready as backup for when a phone battery dies.

Sawaal jawaab