Patakhas be Damned, Live it up With These 5 Kickass Diwali Games!

This Diwali, do away with the diyas – celebrate with some fun, awesome games.

This Diwali, celebrate with friends, family and frolic – and not patakhas! (Photo Courtesy: YouTube screengrab)

The most awaited festival of the year, Diwali, is here. The air is rife with lights, lamps, fireworks, cheer and of course – the infamous card games!

Sure, Diwali and indulgence go hand in hand – encompassing a whole range of items like food, sweets, clothes and crackers. However, no celebration is complete without fun and games – and that applies to Diwali as well.

To pack in as much fun as possible, we bring you a list of activities that will make your Diwali memorable!

Teen Patti

As Diwali approaches, card games begin in earnest. (Photo: iStock)

The pre-Diwali card parties are already on a roll. The traditional ‘teen patti’ rules the roost when it comes to card games.

Classic ‘teen patti’ or flash involves three playing cards. Each person puts in a fixed amount of money for the first chance. The person with a trail, pure sequence, impure sequence, colour, pair or highest card, walks away with the moolah.

However, instead of going in for the usual game, we recommend a few unconventional variations like Muflis (the person with the lowest cards wins), AK-47 (the ace, king, 4 and 7 become the jokers), 1942 Love story (1, 9, 4, 2 are all jokers and you have to do all your dealings in Hindi) and Lallan Kallan (the odd colour out will be the joker – for example, if you have two red cards and one black card, the ‘kallan’ (black card) will be considered the joker).

The stakes may vary from game-to-game and people-to-people – or you could just play for the fun of it by eliminating the betting angle.

The card games are sure to be a hit amongst your friends and family.

Diya Lighting Contest

Have a contest to see who can light the most number of diyas! (Photo: iStock)

Seeing as Diwali is the festival of lights, can you think of a better way to honour it than to play a game that will illuminate your surroundings? Divide your family members in two teams and depending on the number of participants, set a time limit for lighting diyas. The team that lights the most diyas wins!

Easy to play, this game will guarantee incredible cheer.

Tambola

Tambola or “housie” makes for an awesome entertainer on Diwali night. (Photo: iStock)

Also known as ‘housie’, this game is played with great fervour in most army clubs. If you’ve been to one, in fact, you’ll know that no Saturday is complete without the ritualistic Tambola party. Replete with fun and anxiety, this game makes for a perfect entertainer on the night of Diwali.

How do you play this? The host or the caller needs to pick a number without looking at the box containing the numbers. The caller generally shakes the box containing numbers before calling out the next number. If a number called by the caller exists on a player’s ticket, then the player has to strike it. The player who finishes all numbers on his ticket first, wins.

Bollywood Dance

There’s nothing quite like Bollywood when it comes to burning the dance floor! (Poster of the movie ABCD2)

Make a list of popular Bollywood tracks, get a DJ console (if possible) and throw in some disco lighting to make your drawing room look like a dance floor. The Bollywood tracks will have your guests grooving, twisting, head banging and whipping out some sassy thumkas on the dance floor!

If you were looking for the best way to make sure your guests had absolute, unadulterated fun, throw in generous amounts of Bollywood! Filmi songs win hands down when it comes to letting yourself go.

Diwali Drawing Contest

Get your kids involved by having them draw diyas to their heart’s content. (Photo: iStock)

Kids are not to be left out! The Diwali drawing contest is for the tiny tots in the house. Hand over a large blank paper sheet to every little participant and ask them to draw pictures of anything related to Diwali – like diyas, the Swastik, Ganesha, the Om symbol – and write “Happy Diwali” underneath in fancy writing.

The one with the best picture walks away with the prize!

So pack in a twist and a turn, some anxiety and loads of laughter to sign off this festive season on a fun note. Let your Diwali be not just about food but also about the games you hosted and the laughs that followed.

Here’s wishing each one of you a fun-tastic Diwali!

(A freelance food blogger, Pranjali Bhonde Pethe aims at getting people and their favourite food closer through her blog moipalate. Email her at [e-mail] or follow her on @moipalate.)