Holi Games: 30 Ideas for Kids, Adults, Office and Kitty Parties, Indoor, Outdoor and Online

By The Rondovo team · Published September 13, 2026 · Updated October 11, 2026 · 10 min read

Good Holi games mix colour, water and a bit of competition: a colour treasure hunt and pichkari target practice for kids outside, gulal tag and a Bollywood dance-off for adults, a Holi quiz and tambola indoors, and drawing or charades games on a video call for an office that is spread across cities. Below are 30 Holi games sorted by who and where, a Holi quiz with answers, tips for safe colours (including homemade ones), and the date: Holi 2027 is on Monday, 22 March, with Holika Dahan on the evening of Sunday, 21 March.

In short

• Holi 2027: Holika Dahan on Sunday 21 March, the colour day (Dhulandi, Rangwali Holi) on Monday 22 March. Check a local panchang for exact muhurat times.
• Outdoor kids' games: colour treasure hunt, pichkari targets, water balloon catch, musical statues with gulal.
• Indoor games: Holi quiz, colour charades, Holi Pictionary, gujiya tasting, tambola.
• Office Holi games: a team rangoli contest, colour dress code, Holi tambola, and online drawing or charades games for remote teams.
• Safe colours: oil your skin and hair first, protect your eyes, use dry herbal gulal, and only colour people who want it.

When is Holi 2027?

Holi 2027 falls on Monday, 22 March 2027. Holika Dahan, the bonfire the night before (also called Chhoti Holi), is on Sunday, 21 March 2027. Holi follows the Phalguna full moon, so the date changes every year. Calendar sites such as Bhakti Bharat list the same dates as of October 2026; timings for the Holika Dahan muhurat vary by city.

Holi is not the same everywhere. Barsana and Nandgaon near Mathura play Lathmar Holi in the days before. Punjab holds Hola Mohalla at Anandpur Sahib the day after. Shantiniketan celebrates Basanta Utsav, Manipur has Yaosang, Goa has Shigmo, and parts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh play again on Rang Panchami, five days later. In the Caribbean, families of Indian descent celebrate Phagwah. Our quiz below uses all of these.

Holi games for kids (outdoor)

Kids want to run, splash and win something. Set a play area away from the road, keep the colours dry or mild, and have one adult per eight children.

1. Colour treasure hunt

Hide small things around the garden or society compound: a red bangle, a yellow marble, a green leaf in a box, a blue bottle cap. Give each child a colour list. First to find one of every colour wins. For toddlers, use big objects in plain sight.

2. Pichkari target practice

Line up paper cups (or empty plastic bottles) on a wall. Kids stand behind a line and knock them down with a pichkari. Most cups down in one tank wins. It uses less water than a free for all and still gets everyone wet.

3. Water balloon catch

Pairs stand a step apart and toss a water balloon back and forth. After every catch, both step back. The pair that keeps it unbroken the longest wins. Fill balloons only a third full so they are soft.

4. Musical statues with gulal

The music plays, everyone dances; the music stops, everyone freezes. Anyone who wobbles gets a tilak of gulal on the forehead. The child with the cleanest forehead at the end wins.

5. Handprint banner

Lay a long white cloth or chart paper on the grass. Kids dip their hands in washable paint and make a banner together, with their names under their prints. Not a race, but every Holi party needs one thing kids can take home.

6. Gujiya hunt

Hide wrapped sweets (gujiya, laddoos, toffees) around the garden. Each child finds five and stops, so the youngest get a fair share.

7. Colour tug of war

Two teams, a thick rope, a line of gulal on the ground. Pull the other team over the line. Their feet go pink and they know it.

Holi activities for toddlers

For children under four, skip the powder (it gets in eyes and noses) and set up a sensory table instead: finger painting with edible food colour mixed into curd or flour paste, ice cubes made from coloured water to slide across paper, and cotton balls dipped in watery paint to dab on a big sheet. Supervise all of it, and keep them out of water play crowds.

Indoor Holi games

When the colour play is over, or when it is too hot or too wet to stay out, bring the party inside.

8. Holi quiz with answers

Two teams, a scorer, one point per answer. The questions are ours; the answers are below each one.

1. Which demon king was Prahlad's father? Hiranyakashipu
2. Which god did Prahlad pray to? Vishnu
3. Who was Holika? Hiranyakashipu's sister, Prahlad's aunt
4. Holi falls on the full moon of which Hindu month? Phalguna
5. In which town do women playfully beat men with sticks at Lathmar Holi? Barsana (with Nandgaon)
6. Which Sikh festival, held the day after Holi at Anandpur Sahib, shows martial skills? Hola Mohalla
7. Who started Basanta Utsav at Shantiniketan? Rabindranath Tagore
8. What is Holi called in Manipur? Yaosang
9. What is the spring festival around Holi called in Goa? Shigmo
10. What is Holi called in Guyana and Trinidad? Phagwah
11. On which day after Holi is Rang Panchami played? The fifth
12. Which flower gives the traditional orange Holi colour? Tesu (palash, flame of the forest)
13. What is the cold Holi drink made with milk, nuts, fennel and saffron? Thandai
14. What is the fried sweet dumpling filled with khoya and nuts? Gujiya
15. What is the bonfire night before Holi called? Holika Dahan (Chhoti Holi)

9. Colour charades

Write colour words and Holi things on chits: pichkari, gujiya, balloon, bonfire, rainbow, thandai, gulal, mithai. Two teams act them out without speaking. For film titles to act, see our dumb charades movie names.

10. Holi Pictionary

Same chits, but drawn on paper or a whiteboard in 60 seconds. Easy words for kids, harder ones (Lathmar Holi, Holika Dahan) for adults.

11. Colour scavenger race

The host calls a colour; everyone has 30 seconds to bring back something of that colour from around the house. Last one back, or wrong colour, is out.

12. Blindfold gujiya tasting

Set out five sweets (gujiya, malpua, besan laddoo, barfi, shakarpara). Blindfolded players taste and name each. Most right wins.

13. Holi tambola

Tambola (housie) with Holi prizes: a gulal pack for Early Five, a pichkari for a line, a box of gujiya for the full house. The rules and prize list are in our tambola guide.

14. Holi antakshari

Antakshari where every song has to be about colours, spring or Holi itself. Families who know their Bollywood will last ten rounds. Rules and variants are in our antakshari rules.

Holi games for adults

Adults enjoy the same chaos as kids, with a few more rules. Agree at the start that anyone who wants to stay clean can sit at the "no colour" table and nobody crosses that line.

15. Gulal tag

One person is "it" with a fistful of dry gulal. Tag someone with a cheek of colour and they become "it". Anyone with three colours on their face is out. Dry colour only, never near the eyes.

16. Bollywood Holi dance-off

Two teams, the DJ plays a Holi song, each team performs a 30 second routine. The elders judge by applause.

17. Coin hunt in a colour tub

Drop coins in a tub of coloured water. Players have 20 seconds to fish out as many as they can with their hands. One tub, many turns, so water stays low.

18. Face painting pairs

Pairs paint each other's faces with gulal in 2 minutes, theme set by the host (a tiger, a flag, a Bollywood villain). The group votes on the best face.

19. Matka relay

Teams pass a small clay matka of coloured water down a line over their heads, then back between their legs. Spill and you start again.

20. Holi games for a big group

For 30 or more people, split into colour teams (red, yellow, green, blue) and run three rounds: tug of war, the pichkari target, the dance-off. Each team wears its colour and gets a point per win. The winning team gets the first plates of food.

Holi games for the office

Office Holi needs to work for people who love colour and people who do not, and for teams that are not all in one place.

In the office

21. Team rangoli contest: 45 minutes, a square of floor per team, judged by someone senior and honest.
22. Colour dress code: each team is given a colour to wear; best turned out team wins.
23. Holi tambola at lunch: 20 minutes, small prizes. Our office party games guide has more ideas for running games at work.
24. Colour potluck: every team brings a dish of its colour (green chutney, yellow dhokla, red beetroot halwa).
25. Opt in dry gulal: ten minutes in an open area, dry herbal gulal only, wipes at hand. Anyone who does not want colour wears a badge, and that badge is respected.

Holi games online for the office

Remote teams can still play together for half an hour on a video call.

26. Show me something...: the host calls "something pink", everyone has 20 seconds to hold it up to the camera.
27. Holi quiz in the chat: the host reads the quiz above, people type answers privately; first right answer scores.
28. Online Pictionary: one person draws, the rest guess. Our online drawing games guide compares the options, including skribbl.io and Gartic Phone.
29. Charades on camera: two teams, one actor at a time with the title sent privately.

Rondovo works for this too, as one of several options, and it is free. The host opens a room and pastes the four letter code into the meeting chat. Everyone joins at rondovo.com on their own device and picks "Just this screen", so each person sees the board themselves and nobody has to share their screen. Guests need no download or account. Scrawl (draw, the others guess), Tambola and Act It Out (charades where the other team picks the first word of each turn) take up to 16 players, and Fill-In up to 12. For a bigger team, run two rooms.

Holi games for a kitty party

30. Holi kitty party

A Holi kitty is usually in white with gulal on arrival. Run the Holi quiz, a gujiya tasting, a colour scavenger race, and Holi tambola to close. For one minute games and monthly themes, see our kitty party games.

Safe Holi colours: how to play without rashes

The colour is the point, so do it safely.

Before you play

• Oil up: coconut or mustard oil on skin, hair and behind the ears makes colour wash off far more easily.
• Cover up: full sleeves, old cotton clothes, sunglasses, a cap or scarf for hair.
• Nail paint stops colour staining your nails.

Choosing colours

• Buy dry gulal labelled herbal or natural from a shop you trust, and patch test a pinch on the inside of the wrist.
• Avoid shiny, metallic or strongly scented colours and pastes. Those are the ones most likely to irritate skin and eyes.
• Make your own at home:
  • Yellow: haldi mixed with besan (it stains, so keep it off white walls).
  • Pink: beetroot juice, or grated beetroot soaked in water.
  • Orange: tesu (palash) flowers soaked overnight, the traditional colour.
  • Green: dried neem or spinach leaves ground with flour.
  • Red: dried hibiscus petals ground to powder, or red sandalwood powder.

While playing

• Ask first. Holi is fun when everyone is in. A guest who says no means no.
• Keep colour away from eyes, nose and mouth, and away from pets.
• Never throw water balloons from a height, at moving vehicles or at strangers.
• If colour gets in the eyes, rinse with plenty of clean water and see a doctor if it still hurts.
• Anyone with asthma should avoid powder clouds.

After playing

• Wash with lukewarm water and a mild soap; do not scrub hard.
• A paste of besan and curd lifts colour from skin gently.
• Moisturise afterwards.

For water, many cities face shortages in March. A dry Holi with gulal, or games like the pichkari targets that use a single tank, keeps the fun and saves water.

For more festival games, see our Diwali party games and the full list of party games.

Questions people ask

When is Holi in 2027?

Holi (the colour day) is on Monday, 22 March 2027. Holika Dahan is on the evening of Sunday, 21 March 2027. Exact ritual timings vary by city, so check a local panchang.

What games can we play on Holi?

Outdoors: colour treasure hunt, pichkari target practice, water balloon catch, gulal tag, tug of war. Indoors: a Holi quiz, colour charades, Holi Pictionary, blindfold gujiya tasting, tambola and Holi antakshari.

What are good Holi games for the office?

A team rangoli contest, a colour dress code, Holi tambola at lunch, a colour potluck, and an opt in dry gulal session. For remote teams: a Holi quiz in the chat, online Pictionary, charades on camera and browser party games.

What are indoor Holi games for kids?

Colour scavenger race, Holi Pictionary with easy words, colour charades, a gujiya hunt indoors, and finger painting with food colour for toddlers.

How can a remote team play Holi games online?

Book half an hour on your usual video call. Run the Holi quiz with answers typed in private, a "show me something pink" round on camera, charades with the title sent by direct message, and a browser drawing or tambola game that everyone opens on their own device.

How do I make safe Holi colours at home?

Haldi and besan for yellow, beetroot for pink, soaked tesu flowers for orange, dried neem or spinach with flour for green, and dried hibiscus or red sandalwood for red. Patch test any colour first.

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