Diwali Card Games 2026: 9 Games Beyond Just Teen Patti

Diwali, the night of Lakshmi Puja, falls on Sunday, 8 November 2026. Card evenings often start a few days earlier, around Dhanteras, and run through the festival weekend. Our Teen Patti Diwali guide covers the tradition and how to set up a Teen Patti table; this guide is about the other games worth having ready.

Three cards each, a boot in the middle, and rounds of blind and seen betting until a show. It's quick to learn and every hand is a small drama. Keep the hand rankings chart on the table so nobody argues over a sequence, and agree the house rules first. New to it? The Teen Patti rules hub covers everything.

13-card Indian rummy rewards patience: arrange your hand into sequences and sets, with at least one pure sequence. For a long evening, play pool rummy to 101 so players drop out one by one.

A four-player team game from Maharashtra and Gujarat, played in two partnerships. You follow suit and win tricks, but what matters is capturing the tens: the team that takes three or four of the four tens wins the round. Taking all four tens is a mendicot, and winning all 13 tricks is a whitewash. Full rules: how to play Mendicot.

Four players in two teams. One player chooses trumps after seeing their first five cards, then all 52 cards are dealt and teams aim to win at least seven of the 13 tricks. Winning seven tricks in a row (or all 13, depending on the table) is a kot or court, the big prize of the game. Full rules: Court Piece (Rang) rules.

A bidding game for four players in two teams, using 32 cards (J, 9, A, 10, K, Q, 8 and 7 of each suit). Jacks are worth 3 points, nines 2, and Aces and tens 1 each, 28 in total. Players bid how many points their team will take, usually starting at 16, and the bidder picks a hidden trump. It's the most strategic game on this list. Full rules: 29 card game rules.

Each round, every player predicts exactly how many tricks they'll win, and you only score if you hit your number. The hand size changes each round and trumps rotate in the order spades, diamonds, clubs, hearts, which is where the name comes from (Kali, Chokat, Fuli, Lal). It works with up to seven players, so it suits big family gatherings. Full rules: Kachuful (Judgement) rules.

A shedding game where everyone tries to get rid of their cards. You must follow the suit led; if you can't, you play any other card and the player who played the highest card of the suit led has to pick up the whole pile. The last player still holding cards is the Bhabhi. Kids love it.

Players take turns placing cards face down and announcing what they are, which can be a lie. Anyone can call bluff: if the cards were false, the bluffer picks up the pile; if they were true, the caller does. First to empty their hand wins. It's loud, simple and good for mixed ages.

One card is turned face up, then the dealer deals alternately to two piles, andar (inside) and bahar (outside), until a card of the same rank appears. Players guess which side it lands on. There are no decisions after the guess, so anyone can join in. Full rules are in our Andar Bahar guide.

Four players, each on their own. Every hand you call how many of the 13 tricks you think you'll win, then try to hit that number exactly: falling short loses you the call, and overshooting only adds a little. Spades are always trump. It rewards counting cards over several hands, so it suits a group that wants something with more strategy than a pure luck game. Full rules: Callbreak rules.

• Play for sweets, tokens or matchsticks, not money, and set a stop time.
• Agree house rules before the first deal: in Teen Patti, whether A-K-Q or A-2-3 is the top sequence, and whether sideshows are allowed.
• Mix games so everyone gets a turn: a team game like Mendicot, then something quick like Bhabhi for the kids.
• Skip real-money apps. Online money games are prohibited in India, and our responsible gaming page explains why.