Good Game Sports
Ladder Formats

Crazy 8's Format Walkthrough

This walkthrough covers the complete workflow for running a Crazy 8's event in Good Game Sports—from setup through scoring. Use this as your single reference for this rotating-partner format.

What is Crazy 8's?

Crazy 8's is a doubles format designed for groups of 8 players. Partners rotate based on results—winning partners stay together, while losing players get new partners for the next round. This creates dynamic matchups and keeps games competitive.

Key characteristics:

  • Players are sorted by rating (DUPR) and seeded into groups

  • Round 1 pairs players by seed: 1&8 vs 2&7 and 3&6 vs 4&5

  • Winning partnerships stay together; losing players get reassigned

  • The system avoids repeating previous partnerships whenever possible

  • Each group runs independently—no waiting for other groups to finish

This format works well for socials, clinics, one-day events, and league play with weekly promotion/relegation.

How Pairings Work

Round 1 — Seeded Pairings

Players are sorted by rating (DUPR) and paired by seed:

Court 1

Seeds 1 & 8 vs Seeds 2 & 7

Court 2

Seeds 3 & 6 vs Seeds 4 & 5

This seeds the initial matches so the highest-rated players face each other, while lower seeds get balanced matchups.

Round 2+ — Winners Stay, Losers Re-Pair

After each round:

  • Winning partners stay together — they keep their partnership and play again

  • Losing players get new partners — the system reassigns them from the losing pool

  • No repeat partnerships — the system avoids pairing players who have already partnered in this event

This creates momentum for winning teams and fresh opportunities for losing players.

Drag-to-Reorder and Matchup Preview

Before generating matches, you can manually adjust the seeding order:

  1. Drag and drop players within each group to set your preferred order

  2. Players are paired sequentially based on your arrangement (1st & 2nd vs 3rd & 4th)

  3. A matchup preview shows exactly who will partner and who they'll play against

  4. Review the preview, then commit to generate matches

This gives you full control over initial partnerships when you want specific pairings.

Single-Day Events vs League Events

Single-Day Events

Set up groups of 8 and generate as many rounds as you like. Each round creates fresh matchups based on results. Great for social events, clinics, or one-day tournaments.

League Events (Multi-Week)

For weekly leagues, Crazy 8's adds promotion and relegation between weeks:

  • Partnership history resets each week — players start fresh at each session

  • Players move up or down groups based on results from the previous week

  • New players joining mid-season are distributed evenly across groups

  • Opt-in/opt-out works the same as other league formats—players commit only to dates they can attend

For details on opt-in, see League opt-in.

Per-Group Independence

Each group runs on its own schedule. When a group finishes all matches and scores are entered, the next round generates immediately for that group. You don't need to wait for other groups to finish.

This keeps play moving and avoids downtime—faster groups can continue while slower groups catch up.

Auto-Generation

Turn on auto-generation to create rounds automatically:

  • When all matches in a group are scored, the next round generates immediately

  • Set a round limit to cap total rounds, or leave it unlimited

  • Turn auto-generation off at any time if you want manual control

Editing Groups Mid-Event

You can edit groups at any point during the event:

  • If a player drops out, remove them from the group

  • If a player needs to move groups, drag them to the correct group

  • Make your changes, then regenerate—the system respects your edits

For group management details, see Editing groups in Round Robin.

Sorting Options

When starting matches, choose how players are sorted into groups:

  • By DUPR — Uses players' DUPR ratings to seed them. Higher-rated players get higher seeds.

  • By Standings — Uses current standings to sort. Useful in leagues where you want group placement based on performance.

  • Random — Shuffles players randomly. Good for social events where you want variety in initial pairings.

Step-by-Step: Running a Crazy 8's Event

Step 1: Create the Event

  1. From the dashboard, click + Create Event

  2. Fill in event details (name, dates, location)

  3. Set Format to Crazy 8's

  4. Choose event type (Tournament, League, or Single Day)

  5. Click Create Event

For detailed creation steps, see Creating an Event in GGS or Choosing event type.

Step 2: Add Players

  1. Go to the Players tab

  2. Click + Add Players to add manually, or import from a spreadsheet

  3. For best results, add players in multiples of 8 (each group needs exactly 8 players)

If you use CourtReserve, players sync automatically. See Sync players into an event.

Step 3: Choose Sorting and Generate Matches

  1. Go to the Matches tab

  2. Tap the Admin button

  3. Select Generate Matches

  4. Choose your sorting method (By DUPR, By Standings, or Random)

  5. Optionally drag players to reorder and preview matchups

  6. Click Continue, then Confirm to generate

Step 4: Enter Scores

  1. Tap a match card to open score entry

  2. Enter the score

  3. Click Submit Score

Standings update automatically. When all matches in a group are scored, the next round generates (if auto-generation is on), or you can generate manually.

Step 5: Continue Play or End Event

Each round creates new matchups based on results. Continue generating and scoring rounds as long as you like. For league events, players will be promoted or relegated between groups for the next session.

When finished, view final standings to see results. See Viewing Final Placements.

What's Next

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