Random Team Generator

How the split stays fair

Fair teams need two things: every arrangement equally likely, and sizes as even as the numbers allow. The generator shuffles the whole list with the browser's cryptographic random numbers and deals it into teams whose sizes differ by at most one, so nobody's place in the list, first or last, makes any difference.

Rules to keep people apart are checked against the whole split. A split that breaks one is thrown away and a fresh shuffle drawn, rather than swapping two people afterwards, which would make some arrangements more likely than others. When the rules leave very few possible splits, the generator searches them directly and says so if none exists, for example when three people must all be apart but there are only two teams.

Teams of a size, or a number of teams

Choose the number of teams when that is fixed, such as two sides of a pitch or four tables in a classroom. Choose people per team when the activity sets the size, such as pairs or groups of five; the generator makes as many teams as needed, never larger than the size you gave, and as even as possible, so 22 people in teams of 5 become two teams of 5 and three of 4.

To pick just one person from the list, the wheel or the random list picker is quicker; for a gift exchange, the Secret Santa generator sends each person their own draw.

How to use it

1. Add the names, one at a time or by pasting a list.
2. Choose the number of teams, or the number of people per team, and add anyone who must not share a team.
3. Make the teams, then copy them, show them full screen, or shuffle again.

Privacy & limitations

Everything runs in your browser. The list is remembered in this browser so you can reuse it, and is never sent anywhere.