Desi Showdown
The classic trivia game, like Family Feud, populated entirely with desi references. A question goes up, and your team must uncover the five hidden answers before hitting three strikes or running out the clock.
How to Play:One team names the five answers on the board before the clock stops them. Three strikes or time up, and the other team gets one guess to take the whole board.
Game Setup
Team Names
Loading question packs...
Masala Mix pulls from every theme.
Want a version you can print?
Printable versions of these games are on Etsy, as instant downloads.
How to play Desi Showdown
One person hosts and holds the phone. Everyone else splits into two teams.
The board. Each round shows a question and five hidden answers. The host can see them. The points stay hidden until an answer is called. The top answer is worth the most, and the gap between first and fifth is wider than a team expects.
The turn. One team calls answers against the clock. Each time they name one on the board, the host taps it and the points appear. Three wrong answers is three strikes and the turn ends. So does running out of time.
The steal. When a team strikes out, the other team gets exactly one guess. Get it right and they take every point on the board, including everything the first team just earned. Get it wrong and the first team keeps the lot. This is the whole game. A team can be forty points down and take a round back in one sentence.
Double points rounds come up without warning and are usually where the match is decided.
Winning. First team to 250.
Hosting it
Give the host job to somebody happy not to be on a team, because they are ruling on near-misses all night.
Agree the near-miss rule up front. If the board says gulab jamun and a team says gulab, the host decides. That is much easier to settle before anyone has points at stake.
Say the strike count out loud each time. Teams that can hear how close they are to striking out play faster, and they steal better.
Desi Showdown Rules and Questions
How do you play?
One person plays host with the phone while two teams compete. A question drops with five hidden answers. Your team calls out guesses, and the host taps the correct ones to reveal points. Three strikes or a dead timer ends the turn, passing a steal attempt to the other team.
How does the steal work?
If the active team strikes out or runs out of time, the opposing team gets one single guess. If they name an answer on the board, they steal every point revealed that round. If they miss, the first team keeps their earnings. It is the one mechanic that can instantly flip a match.
How many points to win?
First team to 250 wins. Random double-point rounds pop up, meaning a game can swing and end much faster than the score implies.
How many people do you need?
Five is the minimum, two teams of two plus one host. It runs best with six to twenty people, since the format handles large teams without anyone sitting idle. This is also your safest bet for a room that spans three generations.
Is it just Family Feud?
The mechanics are identical, but the questions are built for this specific room. The board is based entirely on food, festivals, weddings, and family life, so nobody gets locked out of a round just because they didn't grow up with the same cultural references.
Do you need to print anything?
No. The host holds one phone and everyone else talks. If you want a printed game for the same room, the store has the printable packs.