- How long a round robin takes
- Round robin schedules for 4 to 12 teams
- Turning matchups into a schedule
- Double round robin
- When your season doesn’t fit a round robin
How long a round robin takes
In a round robin every team plays every other team once. With an even number of teams that takes one week fewer than the number of teams, and everyone plays every week. With an odd number, one team sits out each week (a bye), so it takes as many weeks as there are teams, and every team sits out exactly once.
| Teams | Weeks | Games a week | Games in total | Byes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | None |
| 5 | 5 | 2 | 10 | One a week |
| 6 | 5 | 3 | 15 | None |
| 7 | 7 | 3 | 21 | One a week |
| 8 | 7 | 4 | 28 | None |
| 9 | 9 | 4 | 36 | One a week |
| 10 | 9 | 5 | 45 | None |
| 11 | 11 | 5 | 55 | One a week |
| 12 | 11 | 6 | 66 | None |
The total is always teams × (teams − 1) ÷ 2. It’s the number to check against your court time:
games a night you can host = courts × time slots
games a night a round robin needs = teams ÷ 2 (rounded down)
Ten teams on two courts with three time slots can host six games a night and need five, so one court time sits empty each week (or holds an extra game). Ten teams on one court with three time slots can’t play everyone every week; that’s an odd-number problem in disguise, even though ten is even.
Round robin schedules for 4 to 12 teams
Number your teams by drawing names from a hat, then read across each week. These use the circle method: team 1 stays put and everyone else rotates one place each week, which guarantees each pair meets exactly once.
4-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 42 v 3 |
| 2 | 1 v 32 v 4 |
| 3 | 1 v 23 v 4 |
5-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 53 v 4 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 v 52 v 3 | 4 |
| 3 | 1 v 43 v 5 | 2 |
| 4 | 1 v 32 v 4 | 5 |
| 5 | 1 v 24 v 5 | 3 |
6-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 62 v 53 v 4 |
| 2 | 1 v 52 v 34 v 6 |
| 3 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 5 |
| 4 | 1 v 32 v 45 v 6 |
| 5 | 1 v 23 v 64 v 5 |
7-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 73 v 64 v 5 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 v 72 v 53 v 4 | 6 |
| 3 | 1 v 62 v 35 v 7 | 4 |
| 4 | 1 v 53 v 74 v 6 | 2 |
| 5 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 5 | 7 |
| 6 | 1 v 32 v 46 v 7 | 5 |
| 7 | 1 v 24 v 75 v 6 | 3 |
8-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 82 v 73 v 64 v 5 |
| 2 | 1 v 72 v 53 v 46 v 8 |
| 3 | 1 v 62 v 34 v 85 v 7 |
| 4 | 1 v 52 v 83 v 74 v 6 |
| 5 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 57 v 8 |
| 6 | 1 v 32 v 45 v 86 v 7 |
| 7 | 1 v 23 v 84 v 75 v 6 |
9-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 93 v 84 v 75 v 6 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 v 92 v 73 v 64 v 5 | 8 |
| 3 | 1 v 82 v 53 v 47 v 9 | 6 |
| 4 | 1 v 72 v 35 v 96 v 8 | 4 |
| 5 | 1 v 63 v 94 v 85 v 7 | 2 |
| 6 | 1 v 52 v 83 v 74 v 6 | 9 |
| 7 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 58 v 9 | 7 |
| 8 | 1 v 32 v 46 v 97 v 8 | 5 |
| 9 | 1 v 24 v 95 v 86 v 7 | 3 |
10-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 102 v 93 v 84 v 75 v 6 |
| 2 | 1 v 92 v 73 v 64 v 58 v 10 |
| 3 | 1 v 82 v 53 v 46 v 107 v 9 |
| 4 | 1 v 72 v 34 v 105 v 96 v 8 |
| 5 | 1 v 62 v 103 v 94 v 85 v 7 |
| 6 | 1 v 52 v 83 v 74 v 69 v 10 |
| 7 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 57 v 108 v 9 |
| 8 | 1 v 32 v 45 v 106 v 97 v 8 |
| 9 | 1 v 23 v 104 v 95 v 86 v 7 |
11-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games | Bye |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 v 113 v 104 v 95 v 86 v 7 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 v 112 v 93 v 84 v 75 v 6 | 10 |
| 3 | 1 v 102 v 73 v 64 v 59 v 11 | 8 |
| 4 | 1 v 92 v 53 v 47 v 118 v 10 | 6 |
| 5 | 1 v 82 v 35 v 116 v 107 v 9 | 4 |
| 6 | 1 v 73 v 114 v 105 v 96 v 8 | 2 |
| 7 | 1 v 62 v 103 v 94 v 85 v 7 | 11 |
| 8 | 1 v 52 v 83 v 74 v 610 v 11 | 9 |
| 9 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 58 v 119 v 10 | 7 |
| 10 | 1 v 32 v 46 v 117 v 108 v 9 | 5 |
| 11 | 1 v 24 v 115 v 106 v 97 v 8 | 3 |
12-team round robin schedule
| Week | Games |
|---|---|
| 1 | 1 v 122 v 113 v 104 v 95 v 86 v 7 |
| 2 | 1 v 112 v 93 v 84 v 75 v 610 v 12 |
| 3 | 1 v 102 v 73 v 64 v 58 v 129 v 11 |
| 4 | 1 v 92 v 53 v 46 v 127 v 118 v 10 |
| 5 | 1 v 82 v 34 v 125 v 116 v 107 v 9 |
| 6 | 1 v 72 v 123 v 114 v 105 v 96 v 8 |
| 7 | 1 v 62 v 103 v 94 v 85 v 711 v 12 |
| 8 | 1 v 52 v 83 v 74 v 69 v 1210 v 11 |
| 9 | 1 v 42 v 63 v 57 v 128 v 119 v 10 |
| 10 | 1 v 32 v 45 v 126 v 117 v 108 v 9 |
| 11 | 1 v 23 v 124 v 115 v 106 v 97 v 8 |
Turning matchups into a schedule
A round robin table says who plays whom. It doesn’t say when or where, and that’s where most of the complaints come from. If you copy the table straight into your time slots, the game listed first each week tends to land in the same slot, and the same teams end up at 6:30 week after week while others always get the 9:30 game.
- Rotate the time slots. Over a season, each team should play about as many early games as late ones. Keep a tally per team as you fill in the weeks. The step-by-step scheduling guide shows how.
- Rotate the courts or diamonds if one is better than the other (the one with the good lights, the one without the post in the corner).
- Balance home and away if it matters in your sport (last at-bat in slo-pitch, which bench in basketball). Swap the order of each pair in alternate weeks.
- Take holidays out first. Cross off the nights you can’t play before you place week 1, so the round robin lands on real dates.
In PowerSchedule
The schedule generator starts from the same rotation (Berger tables), then places each week’s games into your courts and time slots. While it does, it balances early and late games, courts, and home and away, and it skips your blackout dates. It tries hundreds of versions and keeps the one that does best on the fairness rules you rank. A fairness report then shows every team’s count for each time slot, so you can check before you publish. See it for volleyball, basketball, slo-pitch or curling.
Double round robin
Play the table twice, swapping home and away the second time. Eight teams take 14 weeks; ten teams take 18. Leave a few weeks between a pair’s two meetings: starting the second round robin from week 1 again does that naturally. If your league plays two games a night, each team can play two rounds a night, so a single round robin of eight teams fits in four nights. Just make sure nobody plays the same team twice in one night.
When your season doesn’t fit a round robin
Most seasons don’t. The gym is booked for ten weeks, and eight teams need seven.
Longer than one round robin, shorter than two
Play the full round robin, then use the leftover weeks for a partial second one. Some pairs meet twice and others once. Choose the repeat games so every team gets the same number of games, and spread the repeats out so no team plays a rematch the week after the first game. Rank the standings on points per game or win percentage if the game counts end up uneven.
Shorter than one round robin
Ten teams and only eight nights: each team misses one opponent. That’s fine for a rec league, as long as every team plays the same number of games. If you have divisions by skill, miss games within the division last.
Running a one-day event instead?
A tournament day with pools is a different job: several games per team in an afternoon, then playoffs. Our sister site TourneyScheduler covers that in its round robin pool play guide.
In PowerSchedule
You give it the start and end dates and it fills the season you have, not the one the table assumes. It keeps every team on the same number of official games. Games beyond that can be played as exhibition (they don’t count in the standings) or left out. The “Balance opponents” rule aims to keep each team within one game of every opponent, and “Space out rematches” avoids repeat games within two weeks. Mark either one as a must and any schedule that breaks it is thrown out.