Housie Number Calls 1 to 90: The Complete Rhyming List

Housie number calls are the rhyming nicknames a caller uses for each number from 1 to 90, such as “Kelly’s eye” for 1, “legs eleven” for 11 and “top of the house” for 90. Below is the complete list, with the classic British bingo call and the Indian tambola call side by side wherever they differ, plus a note on why each one works.

The calls grew up in the British forces, where the game was known as tombola in the Royal Navy and as “house” or “housey-housey” in the Army, according to Britannica’s entry on bingo. The Army name is the likely root of the Indian word housie. In India it picked up Hindi wordplay, national dates and cricket.

How housie number calls are used

A good caller says the call first, then the digits, then the full number: “Legs eleven, one and one, eleven.” The rhyme catches attention, the digits stop mistakes, and the number tells players exactly what to strike. One purpose of the calls has always been to be heard clearly in a noisy hall.

Some calls have a reply that the whole room shouts back. Players say “quack quack” after 22, “Evening, all” after 49, and cheer when 90 arrives. That is what turns a number game into a party.

This guide is only about the calls. For tickets, prizes, claims and bogeys, see our full guide on how to play tambola.

The complete list of housie number calls: housie calls 1 to 90

“Same” means Indian hosts usually use the British call; “Rhyme” means the call simply rhymes with the number. A star (*) marks a family-friendly call we suggest in place of an old one that has been dropped.

Numbers 1 to 10

Numbers 11 to 20

Numbers 21 to 30

Numbers 31 to 40

Numbers 41 to 50

Numbers 51 to 60

Numbers 61 to 70

Numbers 71 to 80

Numbers 81 to 90

Bingo calls list compared: how many Indian calls differ from the UK ones?

The nine tables above show a UK call and an Indian call for each number. To see how far the two traditions really differ, we counted the numbers where the Indian call is not simply the same as the UK call, for each block of ten. Here is the result of the count:

In this bingo calls list, 30 of the 90 numbers have a different Indian call, which is about 33%, so most of the list is shared. The differences cluster where Indian callers have added dates, jubilees and cricket, which is why the block from 51 to 60, where half of the calls differ, and the blocks from 21 to 30 and 71 to 80, where 4 in 10 differ, stand out.

If your group mixes both traditions, you only need to learn about a third of the calls twice. Keep both calls on the caller sheet for those numbers, and let players choose.

How UK bingo and Indian calls differ

Most housie number calls in India are the British ones, but Indian callers have added their own in four ways.

• National dates. 15 is Independence Day (15 August), 26 is Republic Day (26 January), 42 is Quit India (1942), 47 is the year of Independence and 57 is the revolt of 1857.
• Hindi wordplay. “Murgi chor” for 4, “Hum paanch” for 5, “Chhattis ka aankda” for 36 and “Ulta pulta” for 69 all play on the Hindi number or an idiom.
• Cricket. “Chakke pe chakka” for 66 and “World Cup year” for 83 need no explanation at an Indian party.
• Family milestones. Voting age at 18, silver, golden and diamond jubilees at 25, 50 and 75, and the lucky shagun amount of 51.

At the top of the card, British callers say “top of the shop” for 90 while Indian callers almost always say “top of the house”, a nod to the old winning shout of “house!”

Old calls that were dropped, and why

Bingo lingo has always changed. In 2003 Butlins asked a professor of popular culture to refresh its list, and BBC News reported that some 1950s calls were being retired while “legs eleven” and others stayed. For family and school use we have also left out calls that are offensive or rely on dated references.

“Two fat ladies” for 88 is still the best known of all the calls, so older players may shout it anyway. As host, you can still use a kinder call.

Tambola rhymes: how many will one game need?

You do not need all 90 tambola rhymes in one evening. We simulated 1,500 tambola games for each group size, with one random ticket per player, and noted the call on which the full house is won. The table shows the median call, how many rhymes that means if you rhyme a third or half of the numbers, and how long the game lasts:

In a game with 12 players the full house arrives at about call 76, so you will call about 25 numbers with a rhyme if you use the one-third approach, and about 38 if you rhyme every second number. Adding 4 seconds for each rhyme lengthens a 10-second-a-call game by about 1.7 minutes, a small price for the fun.

So the tambola number calls you choose to learn matter less than having 25 to 35 favorites ready. Use the tables above to pick the calls that suit your crowd, and write them in the margin of the caller sheet.

Choosing calls to suit your crowd

You do not need all 90 rhymes. Pick a style for the room and use calls for about a third of the numbers.

Teaching math with the calls

Many housie number calls hide a times-table fact: a dozen is 12 and a score is 20, so “three dozen” is 36 and “four score” is 80. Let students shout the number first. Our printable hundreds chart makes a handy caller board.

How to make up your own housie calls

Home-made calls are often the funniest of the night. Try one of these methods:

1. Rhyme it. Say the number and find a short phrase that rhymes: fifty-one, “race to run”; seventy-two, “tie your shoe”.
2. Draw it. Look at the shape: 7 is a hockey stick, 8 a snowman, 0 a doughnut.
3. Date it. Use a wedding year, a birthday age or a house number.
4. Theme it. At a Diwali game, 5 could be “five days of Diwali”.

Common mistakes callers make

• Saying only the rhyme. New players and children may not know that “Kelly’s eye” means 1. Always follow the call with the number.
• Calling too fast. If players keep asking for repeats, drop the rhymes for a while.
• Using a call that embarrasses a guest. Skip jokes about age, weight or marriage when those guests are in the room.
• Mixing up similar numbers. Digit swaps such as 16 and 61 are easy to mishear, so say “one and six, sixteen” and “six and one, sixty-one” clearly.

Play housie with free PrintSheetLab tools

Use these housie number calls with our free tools:

• The online tambola host screen draws and displays numbers for the whole room.
• Print ticket strips and a caller sheet with the tambola ticket generator.
• Playing the British way? Print 90-ball bingo cards too.
• Try themed games such as kitty party tambola or Diwali tambola.
• Our kitty party games guide has quick games for between rounds.

Sources

Traditional British calls and their origins follow the Wikipedia list of British bingo nicknames and the books it cites. The history of the names tombola and housey-housey is from Britannica. The 2003 changes to calls are from BBC News. Indian calls are those found on several independent Indian tambola lists, in our own wording; calls marked with a star are PrintSheetLab suggestions.

Frequently asked questions

8 quick answers

What is the housie call for 90?

In India it is “top of the house”. In British bingo halls it is “top of the shop”. Both mean the highest number in the game.

Why do housie number calls use rhymes?

Rhymes make each number easy to hear and hard to confuse in a noisy room, and the familiar phrases add fun. The caller should still say the number after the rhyme.

What is the housie call for 22?

“Two little ducks”, because two 2s look like a pair of ducks. The players usually answer “quack quack”.

Are housie number calls the same as bingo calls?

Mostly, yes. Indian housie uses the British 90-ball calls, but adds its own for national dates, Hindi wordplay and cricket, such as Republic Day for 26 and Quit India for 42.

Do you have to use housie number calls when hosting tambola?

No. The calls are optional. Many hosts use them for about a third of the numbers and call the rest plainly, so the game keeps a good pace.

Which housie number calls are best for kids?

Picture calls work best: one little duck (2), two little ducks (22), two hockey sticks (77), any way up (69) and top of the house (90).

How many housie number calls does a game use?

A game rarely reaches call 90: the full house is usually won around call 73 to 78, so a caller who rhymes a third of the numbers needs only about 25 calls.

How different are Indian and British housie number calls?

About 33% of the 90 numbers have a different Indian call, mostly for national dates, jubilees, Hindi wordplay and cricket; the rest are the classic British calls.