Team picker

Random Team Generator and Group Maker

Paste names, choose how many teams or how many people per team, and shuffle. Fair, random groups in one tap.

Commas work too. Add a * after a name, like Ava*, to make them a team leader.

How many teams

Your teams land here

Add at least two names, choose how many teams, then shuffle. Every team gets a colour and a captain.

Quick answer

How do you make random teams?

Paste everyone's name into a random team generator, choose how many teams you want (or how many people per team), and press shuffle. The tool mixes the list and deals names out one by one, so team sizes never differ by more than one. Re-shuffle if you need to, then copy, share or print the teams.

Updated · By Playroomy Games Team How to playListsQuestions

How to play

How to make random teams

  1. 1

    Add names

    Type or paste names, one per line. Commas work too. Put a * after a name to make them a team leader.

  2. 2

    Pick teams or team size

    Choose the number of teams, or switch to people per team in settings. Sizes never differ by more than one.

  3. 3

    Shuffle

    Names fly into coloured teams, with a captain at the top of each.

  4. 4

    Reshuffle if needed

    Every shuffle is fresh. Keep two people apart in settings if they should not share a team.

  5. 5

    Share it

    Copy the teams into the group chat, send the link, print them or show them on the TV.

Team names

24 fun team names

Tap a name to give it to the first team. Turn on Fun team names in settings to name every team at random.

Fun team names24 names

Is this team generator fair?

Yes. Every shuffle uses your browser's cryptographic random numbers (crypto.getRandomValues) and a Fisher-Yates shuffle, so every order of names is equally likely. Names are then dealt round the teams one at a time, so leftover people are spread one per team and sizes never differ by more than one.

Leaders marked with a * are dealt first, one per team. Keep-apart pairs are honoured by reshuffling until no pair shares a team. Nothing is weighted, and nothing about you is stored anywhere but this device.

What is a random group generator?

A random group generator is a tool that splits a list of names into groups by chance instead of by choice. Teachers use it for classroom groups, hosts for game night teams and managers for breakout rooms. A good one spreads leftover people evenly and can keep certain people apart.

How do you split 23 people into 4 teams?

Deal the 23 names out one at a time across 4 teams after shuffling. You get three teams of 6 and one team of 5. The same rule works for any number: divide the people by the teams, and the remainder adds one extra person to that many teams.

Quick reference

How a list splits into groups

Shuffle first, then deal names round the teams. Leftover people go one per team.

People2 teams3 teams4 teams5 teams6 teams8 teams
10 5, 54, 3, 33, 3, 2, 22, 2, 2, 2, 22, 2, 2, 2, 1, 12, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1
12 6, 64, 4, 43, 3, 3, 33, 3, 2, 2, 22, 2, 2, 2, 2, 22, 2, 2, 2, 1, 1, 1, 1
16 8, 86, 5, 54, 4, 4, 44, 3, 3, 3, 33, 3, 3, 3, 2, 22, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2
20 10, 107, 7, 65, 5, 5, 54, 4, 4, 4, 44, 4, 3, 3, 3, 33, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2
23 12, 118, 8, 76, 6, 6, 55, 5, 5, 4, 44, 4, 4, 4, 4, 33, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 2
24 12, 128, 8, 86, 6, 6, 65, 5, 5, 5, 44, 4, 4, 4, 4, 43, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
30 15, 1510, 10, 108, 8, 7, 76, 6, 6, 6, 65, 5, 5, 5, 5, 54, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4, 3, 3
40 20, 2014, 13, 1310, 10, 10, 108, 8, 8, 8, 87, 7, 7, 7, 6, 65, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5

Variations

Ways to use it

Classroom groups

Paste the class list once. It stays on this device for next lesson, and keep-apart pairs stay saved too.

Game night teams

Shuffle, then hand the phone to the first team's captain and open the charades generator.

Charades generator

Sports teams

Soccer, basketball or dodgeball: mark the two best players as leaders with a * so they land on different sides.

Work breakout rooms

Split a call into groups of three or four with people per team, then run icebreaker questions in each room.

Icebreaker questions

Pairs and partners

Set people per team to 2 for instant pairs. An odd number makes one group of three.

Rules and sources

Where the rules come from

The algorithm produces an unbiased permutation: every permutation is equally likely.

This ensures that each participant or subject has an equal chance of being placed in any group.

Questions

Team generator questions

How do you randomly generate teams?

Shuffle the full list of names, then deal them one at a time to each team in turn, like cards. This page does both in one tap with a Fisher-Yates shuffle, so every split is equally likely.

Is there an app to randomly pick teams?

This page works like one without the install. Save it to your home screen and your names stay on the phone for next time.

Is there a name generator for teams?

Yes. Switch on Fun team names in settings, or tap any name in the list above to give it to the first team.

Can I keep two people on different teams?

Yes. Add them as a pair under Keep apart in settings. The generator reshuffles until every pair is split, and tells you if it cannot.

Can I pick team leaders?

Yes. Put a * after a name, like Ava*, and that person leads a team. Leaders are spread one per team before everyone else is dealt.

Can I keep the same names for next time?

Yes. Your list stays in this browser on this device, so you can reshuffle next week without retyping. The share link carries names in the part of the address that never reaches a server.

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