Random team generator

Mode	What it does	Example
Pick names	Draws one or more names at random	Choose 3 volunteers
By number of teams	Splits everyone into N teams	24 students into 6 groups
By team size	Makes as many teams as needed with at most N people each	Pairs for a lab, groups of 4
Random order	Shuffles the whole list	Presentation order, turn order

The list is shuffled with your browser's cryptographic random generator, so every arrangement is equally likely.

If you only need to pick one or a few names from the list, without teams, the random name picker does it in one click, full screen if you like.

Teams never differ by more than one person. If 22 people are split into 4 teams, you get two teams of 6 and two teams of 5. In team-size mode, the tool works out how many teams are needed and spreads people evenly: 10 people with a maximum of 3 per team gives 4 teams (3, 3, 2, 2), not three teams of 3 and one person left alone.

Who ends up on which team is completely random: the whole list is shuffled first and then dealt out one person at a time to each team in turn, like dealing cards. Run it again for a completely new split. Team numbers and sizes are shown above each group, so it's easy to read the result out loud or put it on a projector.

In Pick names mode, choose how many names to draw at once. They'll all be different. Tick Remove picked names from the list to take the winners off the list, so the next draw only includes people who haven't been picked yet. That's handy for calling on students fairly over a whole class period, or for drawing prizes one at a time.

Random order mode is the no-repeat version for a whole list at once: it shuffles everyone into a numbered list, ideal for presentation slots or a speaking order.

• Teachers: random lab partners, discussion groups, project teams or a presentation order.
• Sports and PE: pick-up game teams without the awkwardness of captains choosing.
• Work: breakout rooms, hackathon teams, a random order for stand-up updates.
• Parties: trivia night teams, gift exchange order, game turn order.
• Clubs: pair up mentors and members.

For a visual draw everyone can watch, use spin the wheel. For a Secret Santa where nobody draws themselves, use the Secret Santa generator.

Purely random teams can end up lopsided when a few people are much stronger. Balanced teams mode fixes that: add a skill rating from 1 to 10 after each name, like Emma 8, and the generator splits players so the team totals are as close as possible, with team sizes that differ by at most one.

Players with the same rating are shuffled, so the same list can produce several different but equally fair lineups. Anyone without a number counts as a 5. Each team shows its total, so everyone can see the split is fair. It works well for pick-up basketball, soccer, volleyball, trivia nights and PE class.