Click the wheel or press space to spin
Random pairs wheel: two spins make a pair
One slice per person. The first spin gives you one half of the pair, the second gives the other, and both names leave the wheel behind them.
Letting people pick partners always leaves the same few standing there unchosen. This wheel takes each drawn name off the wheel straight away, so working through the list produces the pairs, nobody is drawn twice, and nobody is left over for a reason anybody could take personally. The sample list holds twelve names. Paste your own over it.
How do I make random pairs?
Paste your list of names onto the wheel and spin twice for each pair. Every drawn name leaves the wheel, so later spins only offer people who have not been paired yet.
- Paste the list of names
Open the bulk box and put one name per line. With an odd number, add a slice reading group of three.
- Spin twice per pair
The first spin gives the first partner, the second gives the other. Note the pair down and carry on.
- Read the pairs off the results tab
The results tab lists draws in order, so each two lines in a row are one pair.
Random pairs questions
Why does a name disappear after it is drawn?
Because this wheel ships with remove after win already on, which is what pairing needs. It keeps anyone from being drawn twice and saves you deleting names by hand between spins. Set after win back to keep in advanced settings if you want the full list to stay.
What happens with an odd number of people?
Add a slice reading group of three, or agree that the last name left pairs up with you. Either way, say which rule you are using before the first spin, while nobody knows yet who the odd one out will be.
Can I use it to draw doubles partners?
Yes, and that is how a lot of badminton and pickleball groups run it: two spins make a pair, then carry on down the list. If you want a court-ready version, the pickleball draw template in this category starts from a player list.