How many games in a round robin, and how long it takes

A single round robin of n teams has n × (n - 1) ÷ 2 games, so six teams play fifteen. How long the day takes depends on how many of those games can run at once, which is the number of pitches, capped at half the number of teams.

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Useful for turf regulars and office tournaments.

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What does one more team cost?

Your tournament
Teams6
Pitches2
The working, as you change it

Games

6 × 5 ÷ 2
15

Games per team

plays the other 5
5

Games at once

one per pitch
2

Time slots

15 games ÷ 2 at once
8
The day runs6 h 35 min8 slots of 45 minutes, with 5 minutes between games

Change the teams, the pitches and the format. Game lengths are the football formats.

5 points

In short

  • Every pair plays onceEach of n teams plays n - 1 games, so a single round robin has n × (n - 1) ÷ 2.
  • Six teams, fifteen gamesFour teams play six games, five play ten, six play fifteen and eight play twenty-eight.
  • Home and away doubles itPlaying everyone twice doubles both the games each team plays and the total.
  • Pitches stop at halfA game needs two teams, so six teams can use three pitches and a fourth stands empty.
  • One more team costs moreA new team plays every team already in, so a seventh team adds six games.
Games

The formula

In a single round robin every team plays every other team once. Each of the n teams plays n - 1 games, and every game has two teams in it, so the total is n × (n - 1) ÷ 2.

| Teams | Games each | Games in total | | ----- | ---------- | -------------- | | 4 | 3 | 6 | | 5 | 4 | 10 | | 6 | 5 | 15 | | 8 | 7 | 28 |

Home and away doubles both numbers.

Pitches

How long the day takes

The day's length is the number of rounds you need, times the game length plus changeovers. Pitches cut the number of rounds, but only up to a point: a game needs two teams, so at most half the teams can play at once. Six teams can use three pitches; a fourth would stand empty.

Adding a team costs more than one game. It adds a game against every team already in, which is why a seventh team adds six games, not one.

With the fixtures worked out

Run it

Create a league with your teams and the fixtures, table and top scorers are worked out for you as each game finishes. Several games can run at once across pitches, and a team is never put into two games at the same time.

Need to know

Questions people ask

About round-robin game counts.

How many games does each team play?

One fewer than the number of teams in a single round, and twice that home and away.

Why does a third pitch not always help?

Each game needs two teams, so only half the teams can play at once. Six teams can use three pitches, and a fourth would stand empty.

What about an odd number of teams?

One team sits out each round. The total still follows the same formula.

What else it does for you

Keep exploring

Try it on your next match

Create a league

Add your teams and the fixtures are worked out.

Create a league