Random Team Generator

Paste a list of names and this random team generator shuffles them and deals them into teams, one by one, so no team ends up bigger than another by more than a single person. Split by the number of teams you want or by how many people each team should hold, then download the result.

How to split a list with this random team generator

1. Paste or type the names into the box, one name per line. A class register, a training squad or a workshop group all work the same way.
2. Choose how to split. Pick a number of teams, or pick a team size and let the tool work out how many teams that makes.
3. Generate the teams. The whole list is shuffled first, then dealt out one name at a time, like cards around a table.
4. Read the teams on screen. Sizes differ by at most one person, so there is no leftover team of two facing teams of six.
5. Download the teams as a text file if you need them for a register, a group chat or a printed sheet.

Generate again whenever you want a fresh split. Every run is a new shuffle, so last week teams carry no weight at all.

How the dealing keeps team sizes honest

The method matters more than the shuffle alone. A shuffled list cut into blocks can still bunch people unevenly once sizes are rounded, so this tool deals instead. After the shuffle, the first name goes to team one, the next to team two, and so on around the table until the names run out.

A worked example shows what that gives you. Ten names into three teams deals out as four, three and three. Twenty-three names at five per team makes five teams, four full teams of five and one team of three. There is no setting where one team quietly ends up with half the list.

Dealing after a shuffle also spreads the order of your list. If you pasted names in ability order, best first, the strong players land on different teams instead of stacking onto the first one, because their positions after the shuffle are scattered.

The shuffle uses the secure random source built into your browser, the same source browsers rely on for security work. No names are sent anywhere to be mixed.

Random teams are not the same as balanced teams

Be clear about what random does. It gives everyone the same chance of landing anywhere, and it makes team sizes even. It does not read skill, experience or friendships, so a random split can still put your three best players on one team by plain chance.

If skill balance matters, use the tier workaround. Sort your list into rough levels, run the generator once per level, then build each final team from one name out of each level run. It takes a few minutes and it is how coaches who care about even games actually do it.

The tool cannot keep people together or keep them apart. There is no setting for pairs, rivals or separated siblings, and adding one quietly would change what the tool promises. Split the list by hand first if a pair must stay together, then generate each half.

One practical warning. A name typed twice is treated as two separate entries, so a duplicated line can put the same person on two teams. Skim the list for repeats before you generate, and remember the names never leave your browser, so a lost list is simply gone.