Random Team Generator

What this tool does

This splits a list of names into randomized, evenly-sized teams — for sports, classroom groups, office activities, board game nights, or anything else that needs fair random grouping instead of the same three people always ending up together. Unlike just drawing random winners from a list, every single name gets placed on a team, and team sizes stay as balanced as possible even when the total doesn't divide evenly.

How to use it

• Paste your list of names, one per line.
• Choose whether to split by a fixed number of teams or by a target players per team — the tool works out the rest.
• Optionally name your teams (e.g. "Red, Blue, Green") instead of the default "Team 1, Team 2...".
• Add Keep Together rules for pairs who must land on the same team (like siblings or a duo who signed up jointly), or Keep Apart rules for pairs who shouldn't (like two people who dominate the same position, or rivals who need separating).
• Click Generate Teams to shuffle and reveal the results, or copy the finished list with one click.

Real-world use cases

• Splitting a gym class or intramural sports league into fair random teams each session.
• Randomizing office icebreaker or trivia teams so the same cliques don't always group together.
• Assigning students to random project groups while keeping two feuding classmates apart.
• Setting up board game or party teams on the fly without manually counting people out.

Frequently asked questions

How are team sizes kept balanced?

Names are shuffled first, then distributed so the currently-smallest team always gets the next person (or group). With an uneven total, some teams will have one more member than others, but the difference is never more than one.

What happens if a "keep apart" rule can't be satisfied?

If splitting into very few teams makes a rule impossible to honor (for example, keeping two people apart when there are only 2 teams and 3 mutually-apart people), the tool does its best and clearly flags which pairs it couldn't separate, rather than silently ignoring the rule.

Can I use this for more than two people per "keep together" group?

Yes — add multiple "keep together" lines connecting different people (e.g. A–B and B–C) and they'll all be merged onto the same team, since the rule chains together automatically.

Is the shuffle actually random each time?

Yes, every click of "Generate Teams" re-shuffles from scratch, so you'll get a different grouping (subject to your rules) every time you run it.