Printable Diwali bingo cards

Playing Diwali bingo in class or at a party

The page opens with the classroom list loaded: 25 cards, 4x4, no free space, 4 to a page, which is 7 sheets of paper. Change the number of cards to the number of children. Use Start from above the word box to switch to the family party list. Both lists are plain text you can edit before printing: if your family calls the lamps something else, or makes different sweets, change the words, and the edited list stays in this browser for next time.

How long a game lasts

Each list has 52 words, and a 4x4 card shows 16 of them, so no two cards match and nobody can copy a neighbour. In 4,000 simulated games with this page's classroom list on 4x4 cards, the first completed row, column or diagonal came after a median of 14 calls with 25 players (9 to 18 calls in most games). With 10 players at a family party, it came after a median of 17 calls. On 5x5 cards with a free space and 30 children, the median was 15 calls. Calling one word every 15 to 20 seconds, a first line takes about four to five minutes, so one lesson has room for a line game, a four-corners game and a full-card game. A full card on 4x4 takes much longer, often most of the 52 words, which suits a party better than a lesson.

For the classroom

The classroom and kids list keeps to things a child can see, hold or eat: clay lamp, lantern, string of lights, coloured powder, flower petals, marigold, sparkler, box of sweets, new clothes, greeting card. Reading the word and holding up a picture or the real object (a clay lamp, a marigold, a sweet) helps younger children and children learning English. For 3x3 cards, which suit children aged about four to six, choose 3x3 and 4 per page; the squares print large. Before playing, ask the class to make their own rangoli pattern on scrap paper with dots and lines: two squares on the list ("Draw a pattern", "Dots and lines") can be called when they show it. If some children in the class celebrate Diwali at home, invite them to add words of their own; the list is a starting point, not a description of how every family marks the festival.

For a family party

The family party list mixes things that are called out and things that happen during the evening: "Someone wears a sari", "Chai refill", "Video call home", "Second helping", "Fireworks next door". Give every guest a card when they arrive and a pen, and let people mark a square when they see it happen, as well as when the caller reads it. It also has squares for days that sit next to Diwali in India's 2026 central government holiday list (Naraka Chaturdasi, Govardhan Puja, Bhai Duj) and for names from the Wikipedia article quoted below, such as Lakshmi Puja, Bandi Chhor Divas and "Rama returns to Ayodhya", so whoever knows the story behind a square can tell it when it is called. For a mixed-age group, 4x4 with 2 per page keeps the longer squares readable.

Printing

Print with margins set to Default and scale at 100%, or press Download PDF to print elsewhere. Every press of Generate makes a new set, so print all the cards at once. Press Caller sheet for every word in a shuffled order with a tick box, and check a winning card against the ticks. The PDF uses the Helvetica font, and every word on both lists is plain Latin letters, so nothing prints as a question mark; if you add words in Devanagari or another script, use Print cards instead of Download PDF.

About Diwali, in the sources' own words

This page is a party game, not a guide to the festival. Each line below is quoted from a page we opened, with its source and the date we checked it. Customs differ between regions, communities and families.

"Dipavali (IAST: Dīpāvalī), commonly known as Diwali, is the Hindu festival of lights, with variations celebrated in other Indian religions such as Jainism and Sikhism." — Wikipedia, "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali). Checked 2026-10-15.

"It is associated with the spiritual victory or triumph of Dharma over Adharma, light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance." — Wikipedia, "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali). Checked 2026-10-15.

"The celebrations generally last five or six days." — Wikipedia, "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali). Checked 2026-10-15.

"During the festival, celebrants illuminate their homes, temples and workspaces with diyas (oil lamps), candles, and lanterns." — Wikipedia, "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali). Checked 2026-10-15.

"Diwali is also marked with fireworks as well as the decoration of floors with rangoli designs and other parts of the house with jhalars. Food is a major focus, with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai." — Wikipedia, "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali). Checked 2026-10-15.

"During 2026, Diwali (Deepavali) falls on Sunday, November 08, 2026 (Kartika 17). In certain States, the practice is to celebrate the occasion a day in advance, i.e., on 'Naraka Chaturdasi Day'." — Government of India, Department of Personnel and Training, Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA, "Holidays to be observed in Central Government Offices during the year 2026", as reproduced in full on gconnect.in. Checked 2026-10-15.

What it cannot do

The page ships no pictures, and the word lists are not a complete or authoritative account of Diwali. The 2026 date above is the Indian central government holiday date; the day observed where you live, and by your community, may differ, so check locally before you plan a class event around it. Treat fireworks and sparklers on the cards as words to call, not as an activity for the classroom.

Sources

The quoted lines above are from the Wikipedia article "Diwali" (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali), checked 2026-10-15, and from the Department of Personnel and Training Office Memorandum F.No. 12/2/2023-JCA on 2026 central government holidays, read as reproduced on gconnect.in, checked 2026-10-15. The simulated game figures were computed for this page. Both word lists were written for this page.