A round robin for 12 teams has 66 games: each team plays the other 11 once, and 12 × 11 ÷ 2 = 66. The schedule takes 11 rounds of 6 games, and every team plays in every round.
The 12 team schedule
Give each team a number from 1 to 12 (your top seed, or simply the first name on your list, is Team 1) and play the rounds in order. The 6 games of a round can be played at the same time, one per court or field.
Round
Game 1
Game 2
Game 3
Game 4
Game 5
Game 6
1
1 v 12
2 v 11
3 v 10
4 v 9
5 v 8
6 v 7
2
11 v 1
12 v 10
2 v 9
3 v 8
4 v 7
5 v 6
3
1 v 10
11 v 9
12 v 8
2 v 7
3 v 6
4 v 5
4
9 v 1
10 v 8
11 v 7
12 v 6
2 v 5
3 v 4
5
1 v 8
9 v 7
10 v 6
11 v 5
12 v 4
2 v 3
6
7 v 1
8 v 6
9 v 5
10 v 4
11 v 3
12 v 2
7
1 v 6
7 v 5
8 v 4
9 v 3
10 v 2
11 v 12
8
5 v 1
6 v 4
7 v 3
8 v 2
9 v 12
10 v 11
9
1 v 4
5 v 3
6 v 2
7 v 12
8 v 11
9 v 10
10
3 v 1
4 v 2
5 v 12
6 v 11
7 v 10
8 v 9
11
1 v 2
3 v 12
4 v 11
5 v 10
6 v 9
7 v 8
Each team's opponents
The same schedule by team: read across a row to see who that team plays in each round. Post it or hand it out so every team knows its next opponent.
Team
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
1
12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
2
11
9
7
5
3
12
10
8
6
4
1
3
10
8
6
4
2
11
9
7
5
1
12
4
9
7
5
3
12
10
8
6
1
2
11
5
8
6
4
2
11
9
7
1
3
12
10
6
7
5
3
12
10
8
1
4
2
11
9
7
6
4
2
11
9
1
5
3
12
10
8
8
5
3
12
10
1
6
4
2
11
9
7
9
4
2
11
1
7
5
3
12
10
8
6
10
3
12
1
8
6
4
2
11
9
7
5
11
2
1
9
7
5
3
12
10
8
6
4
12
1
10
8
6
4
2
11
9
7
5
3
How long a 12 team round robin takes
Count time slots, not games. With 6 courts or fields a whole round is played at once, so the event takes 11 time slots. With fewer courts a round needs more than one slot (rounds played in order):
Courts
Time slots
1
66
2
33
3
22
4
22
5
22
6
11
Multiply the time slots by the length of one game, plus a few minutes to change over, to plan the day. On 3 courts that is 22 slots.
How the schedule is made
Bracket Maker uses the circle method. Team 1 stays in place while Teams 2 to 12 move one position around a circle after every round, and in each round the top half of the circle plays the bottom half. After 11 rounds every pair of teams has met exactly once, which is why 12 teams need 11 rounds.
Home and away
If one side has an advantage (home field, serving first, choosing ends), give it to the first-named team in each game. Over its 11 games every team is named first 5 or 6 times, so no team gets more than one extra.
Playing everyone twice
For a double round robin, play the table a second time with the two teams in each game swapped. That makes 22 rounds and 132 games, 22 for each team. In Bracket Maker, set Play each other: Twice and it builds both halves.
One team more or less
11 teams play 55 games in 11 rounds and 13 teams play 78 games in 13 rounds. Any odd number of teams means one team sits out each round.
Open Bracket Maker, pick Round robin and paste your 12 team names: you get this schedule with names, a score box for every game and the standings with tie-breaks. Free, right here in your browser or offline in the Android app.
Frequently asked questions
How many games are in a 12 team round robin?
66. Each team plays the other 11 once, and every game involves two teams: 12 × 11 ÷ 2 = 66.
How many rounds does a 12 team round robin take?
11 rounds of 6 games, with every team playing in every round.
How many games does each team play?
11, one against each other team. Every team plays once in every round.
Who plays in round 1 of a 12 team round robin?
1 vs 12, 2 vs 11, 3 vs 10, 4 vs 9, 5 vs 8 and 6 vs 7. Team 1 then plays Team 11 in round 2.
How many courts do I need for 12 teams?
6 to play a whole round at once. On 3 courts the schedule takes 22 time slots, and on 1 court 66.