1. Start with one complete list
Put each person on a separate line. Before you make teams, remove accidental duplicates and leave out anyone who is absent or not participating. The randomizer can only divide the list you give it, because software has not yet developed useful telepathy.
2. Choose the number of teams
Think about the activity first. If you have 20 people and want groups of about five, make four teams. If you need two sides for a game, choose two. Ready Set Pick's Team Maker distributes the names across the number of teams you choose.
That is normal. If 17 people are split into four teams, some teams will have four people and one team will have five. A balanced generator keeps that difference as small as possible.
3. Randomize before people negotiate
Random teams are useful when the goal is to avoid popularity contests, repeated friend groups, or the same people always choosing each other. Paste the list, pick the number of teams, and generate the groups before everyone begins lobbying for a trade.
4. Use random teams where fairness matters more than skill balance
A random team maker works well for situations where everyone should have an equal chance of landing in any group:
- Classrooms: discussion groups, lab partners, review games, projects, and stations.
- Games: trivia, party games, field-day activities, or casual sports.
- Work and events: breakout groups, workshops, icebreakers, and team-building activities.
- Family and friends: chores, competitions, tournament sides, or any situation where nobody wants to be accused of rigging the teams.
5. Know when pure randomness is not enough
If the teams need to be balanced by skill level, age, role, accessibility needs, or another important factor, randomizing the entire list may not be the best method. One option is to create smaller pools first, then randomize within those pools. Randomness is good at removing preference and bias; it does not know which person plays goalkeeper.
6. Reshuffle only for a real reason
If you keep generating teams until everyone likes the result, the process stops being random in any meaningful sense. Decide the rules first. Generate once, or agree in advance on the specific reason a reshuffle is allowed.
How to make random teams with Ready Set Pick
- Open the free Team Maker.
- Paste the names, one per line.
- Choose how many teams you need.
- Select Make teams.
- Use the result on screen, or reshuffle only if your rules call for it.
Make random teams now
Paste your roster into Team Maker and split everyone into balanced random groups without an account or sign-in.