random 3 team generator3 teams

Three teams for games that need a third side

Three teams is the split people forget, and it solves a common problem: too many players for two sides, not enough for four. The page opens on Make 3 teams. Paste the names, press the button, and the shuffle deals one name to each team in turn, so the teams never differ by more than one player. Fifteen people give three teams of five; sixteen give one team of six and two of five.

Formats that suit three teams

• Winner stays on. Two teams play a short game while the third waits. The winner stays, the loser steps off, and the waiting team comes on. Nobody sits out for long.
• Round robin. Each team plays the other two once: three games in total, and each team rests for one of them. The schedule below lays it out.
• Relays and races. Three lanes, three teams, every runner going in turn.
• Quiz rounds. Three tables keep scoring simple and leave room for a buzzer round where each team answers in turn.
• Class stations. Split the class into three groups and rotate them between three activities, so each station only ever has a third of the students.

Telling the teams apart

Give each team a color before you draw, so Team 1, Team 2 and Team 3 match the bibs or table cards you already have. Read the teams out loud or press Copy to paste them in a group chat.

Uneven numbers bother some games more than others. If one team ends up a player short, let it have the first turn, or let one player switch sides each round. For two sides only, use 2 teams; for small working groups of three people, see groups of 3.