How to make random teams
- Add the people. Paste one name per line into People (one per line), up to 500 people. A repeated name becomes “Alex (2)” so you can tell them apart.
- Choose how to split. Pick Number of teams (2 to 50) or People per team (2 to 100). The line below previews the result, such as “12 people → 3 teams of 4”.
- Add options if you need them. Skill balance, keep-together and keep-apart rules, captains and team names are under Options.
- Press Make teams (or Space). The random group generator splits everyone and shows one card per team.
- Fine-tune. Lock a team you like and Reroll another, or drag a person to another card. With the keyboard, use the person’s Move to… menu.
When random groups help
Use it as a random team generator for sports and game nights, or as a group randomizer for workshops.
- Training sessions and workshops. Mix departments in breakout groups so people meet colleagues they don’t usually work with.
- Five-a-side, volleyball or office sports. Balance by skill so the games stay close.
- Game nights and quiz nights. Make teams of four in seconds, with fun team names to write on the score sheet.
- Hackathons, retros and planning days. Spread experience across groups and split the usual pairs for once.
- Clubs and volunteer events. Split helpers into shifts or stations without anyone choosing their friends first.
Options explained
- Number of teams or People per team. Set the teams and the sizes follow, or set the largest size and the number of teams follows. Sizes stay as even as possible.
- Balance by skill. Add a skill from 1 to 5 after a name: “Alex, 4”, “Alex | 4” or a tab.
- Random groups with conditions: Keep together or apart holds up to 50 rules between two people, and every rule is kept when the teams are made.
- Captains. Off, Random or Marked with a * before the name.
- Team names. Numbered, Letters, Colors, Fun names in six themes, or your own Custom list.
- Reveal teams one by one. Cards stay covered until you press Space, which builds suspense on a big screen.
How the random team generator stays fair
When you press Make teams, your browser’s secure random generator (crypto.getRandomValues) shuffles the whole list and cuts it into teams of the sizes shown. Without rules, captains or skill balance, every possible split is equally likely, and which teams get one extra person is random too. With rules, the team randomizer tries teams in random order until every rule holds. With skill balance, it starts from evenly matched teams and keeps swapping people between random teams while the totals get closer. Locked teams never change when you shuffle again. Everything runs on your device: no names are sent anywhere.
Team name generator
Need names for the score sheet? Set Team names to Fun names and pick a theme (Office, Sports, Space, Nature, Food or Mixed), and every team gets a different name, such as Caffeinated Owls, Spreadsheet Wizards, Orbit Otters or Spicy Noodles. Below the teams, Give me 10 ideas suggests ten more, Copy puts them on your clipboard and Use these names your teams in order.
Share, print or present your teams
Copy gives you one line per team (“Team 1: Ava, Hiro, Kira, Liam”), and Copy for spreadsheet pastes into columns for team, name, skill and captain. Download CSV saves the same table. Print prints just the cards, two per row, with the date. Share makes a link with your list, rules and the current teams; anyone with the link can read the names. Present (or F) fills the screen with the cards, keeps Shuffle again at hand and hides skills unless you choose to show them. Previous teams keeps your last 20 results on this device.
With the teams set, you can now schedule your teams in a round robin or run a knockout bracket. Need one person rather than whole teams? The random name picker draws one name, the list randomizer sets the team order, and the wheel spinner settles anything else.
FAQ
How do I split a list into random groups?
Paste the names into People (one per line), leave the split on Number of teams and set how many teams you want. Press Make teams or the Space bar and the groups appear as cards. Press Shuffle again (or S) for a new mix, or Copy to paste the groups into a chat or an email.
Can I make teams of a set size, like 4 people each?
Yes. Switch to People per team and enter the size; no team will be bigger. With 10 people and 3 per team you get 4 teams (3, 3, 2, 2), and a link offers 3 teams (4, 3, 3) if you prefer fewer, larger teams. For pairs, set People per team to 2.
How does skill balancing work?
Turn on Balance by skill under Options and add a skill from 1 to 5 after each name, like “Alex, 4” (no skill counts as 3). The teams stay random, but the generator swaps people between teams until the skill totals are as even as possible. Each card shows its total and average, and the summary shows the skill spread.
Can I keep two people together or apart?
Yes. Under Options, choose two people in Keep together or apart, pick Together or Apart and press Add rule. You can add up to 50 rules. If two rules contradict each other, or a group that must stay together is bigger than any team, you see a clear message before any teams are made.
Can it pick team captains?
Yes. Set Captains to Random and every team gets one captain, chosen after the teams are made. Set it to Marked and put a * before your captains' names, like “*Sam”: each marked person leads a different team, and teams without a marked captain get a random one. Captains are listed first with a star.
Can it suggest good team names?
Yes. Choose Team names: Numbered, Letters, Colors, Fun names or your own Custom list. Fun names come in six themes, such as Office or Space. Under the teams, Give me 10 ideas lists ten fresh names and Use these puts them on your teams. You can also select any team name to type a new one.
Is this a random group generator for teachers and trainers?
Yes. Paste the course list, choose a group size and make project groups, breakout rooms or lab pairs in front of the room. Keep apart rules split pairs who always work together, and Present shows the groups in large type on the projector. The names stay in your browser and are never uploaded.
What happens if the numbers don't divide evenly?
Team sizes never differ by more than one person. With 14 people in 3 teams you get two teams of 5 and one of 4, and which teams get the extra person is decided at random. In People per team mode, no team is ever bigger than the size you set.
Updated November 6, 2026