How to split a group into fair teams

5 ways to make teams, compared

Random draws give everyone equal luck, balanced splits give teams equal strength, and rules prevent known problems. Counting off and captains picking need no device, but each has a weakness.

Counting off

Counting off is the fastest method without a device, but it is only as random as the line people stand in. To make 4 teams, people count 1, 2, 3, 4, then start again at 1, and every "1" joins team 1.

Friends who stand side by side end up on different teams, which mixes groups well. People who want to stay together can space themselves out in the line, though. Lining up by birthday month or by first name before counting makes that harder.

Captains picking

Captains picking gives each team a leader and a say in its lineup, at the cost of a public order of who gets picked last.

3 changes keep the benefits and cut the sting:

• Choose the captains at random, not by popularity or skill.
• Let captains pick in private, then announce the full teams at once.
• Let captains pick only 2 or 3 players each, then assign everyone else at random.

The random team generator covers the first and last ideas. It picks 1 captain per team at random, or spreads the captains you name 1 per team. To lock in the players each captain chose, add them to a keep-together rule with their captain.

How to make random teams

To make random teams, paste the names into the team generator, choose a number of teams or a team size, and generate.

1. Paste the group list, one name per line, or press Import file to load a CSV, Excel (.xlsx) or text file.
2. Choose how to split: a number of teams, such as 4, or a team size, such as 5 people per team.
3. Generate the teams. Sizes never differ by more than 1 person, unless keep-together rules force it.
4. Copy the teams as text, or export them for a spreadsheet.

For a reveal, use the spin view instead. Each spin of the wheel sends the next person to the next team in turn, so the group watches the teams fill up one name at a time.

How to balance teams by skill or group

To balance teams, give each person a label, such as a skill tier or a year group, and turn on balancing. The generator then spreads each label as evenly as the numbers allow.

With 16 players in 4 skill tiers of 4, balancing gives every team 1 player from each tier. When a label doesn't divide evenly, such as 5 strong players across 4 teams, one team gets 2. The generator warns you only when a label ends up more than 1 apart between teams.

Use neutral labels such as letters, never words like "weak". Labels can appear in the exported teams, so keep the export private when the labels describe skill.

Keep-apart and keep-together rules

Rules handle what chance can't: 2 people who clash, siblings who should play together, or a new student who needs a buddy.

• Keep apart: list 2 or more names on one line, separated by commas. Those people go to different teams.
• Keep together: list the names on one line in the same way. Those people always share a team.

Rules can conflict, for example when a keep-together group is bigger than a team. The generator then keeps the best split it finds and explains in plain words which rule it had to break. Keep-together groups can also make team sizes uneven, and the generator says so.

Use as few rules as you can. Each rule removes some chance from the split, and a long list of rules can make the teams look hand-picked.

How to handle uneven numbers

To handle uneven numbers, spread the extra people across different teams, so no team is more than 1 person larger.

A team size is a target, not a promise. With 23 people in teams of 4, the generator makes 6 teams, because 5 teams of 4 would leave 3 people out. The 23 people then spread across those 6 teams.

For games that need equal sides, 4 fixes work:

• Rotate a substitute: the larger team rotates 1 player out each round or period.
• Add a floater: 1 person plays for whichever team is short, switching each game.
• Change the split: try a different number of teams; 24 people fit 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 equal teams.
• Give a role: the extra person keeps score, referees or keeps time, then swaps in.

Examples for sports, class and work

The right method depends on the setting, and most settings combine 2 methods.

To pick one person at a time instead of whole teams, such as who serves first, the name picker wheel draws single names without repeats.

Are random teams really random?

Yes. The team generator shuffles with the browser's crypto.getRandomValues, the same generator that draws every wheel result. Balancing and rules limit which splits are allowed, but the choice among the allowed splits stays random. The explanation of how the wheel stays random covers the method and includes a 10,000-spin test.

Questions about making teams