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🎯 Tournament Random mêlée Individual ranking
Offered with ❤️ by Paquita from Petanqueland.fr
fFacebook: Pétanque by Paquita
Random draw: at each round, the matchups are redrawn at random in singles, doubles or triples. The system does its best to prevent the same players from playing together again. The ranking is individual.
Players list
Enter the players in the list on the left
then click on LAUNCH THE RANDOM DRAW to start.

📖 User guide & detailed features

Random mêlée from A to Z: every setting, every button, every rule.

Contents
  1. What is a random mêlée?
  2. Tournament settings
  3. Game format
  4. Handling leftovers
  5. Number of players, games, bye points
  6. Player entry
  7. Launch the random draw
  8. Enter the scores
  9. Round by round to the champion
  10. Bye teams
  11. The ranking
  12. Save & resume
  13. Export / Import
  14. Print
  15. Clear everything
  16. How the draw works
  17. Frequently asked questions
📥 Import a list from a file (Notepad / Word / Excel)
At the top of the list, two buttons: 📄 Template (downloads a file .txt of example, already commented, to fill in) and 📥 Import (loads your file and fills the list automatically).
Format: one player per line — Nom du joueur ; Licence (the licence is optional).
Word → "Save as → Plain text (.txt)". Excel → "Save as → CSV". The separator (;, comma or tab) is detected automatically; empty lines and those starting with # are ignored.

1. What is a random mêlée?

This software organizes a pétanque competition in mêlée format : at each round, the teams are redrawn at random. The system does its best to prevent the same players from playing again together (as teammates) or against each other (as opponents). The ranking is individual : each player scores their own points.

2. Tournament settings

Organiser / Club & Date

Optional fields that appear at the top of the official PDF and are saved in the backup.

3. Game format

Buttons Singles / Doubles / Triples : they determine the number of players per team (1, 2 or 3) formed each round.

4. Managing remaining players

When the number of players doesn't divide evenly, two options (in doublette/triplette):

  • Mandatory byes — random draw : the extra players are given a bye for the round (they don't play but receive a points bonus). The software prioritizes those who have been given a bye the least often.
  • Mix doubles + triples : instead of giving byes, the software mixes doubles and triples so that everyone plays. E.g.: 14 players in triplette → 4 triplettes + 1 doublette.
⚠️ The "Mix" option is disabled in tête-à-tête (it would make no sense): the button appears greyed out.

5. Number of players, games and points for exempts

SettingRoleValues
Number of playersHow many entry lines to show on the left.from 4 to 64 (2 in tête-à-tête)
Number of gamesHow many rounds the tournament will last. At the last round, the champion is designated.from 2 to 6
Exempt pointsThe points awarded to an exempted player in a round (fictitious win).from 0 to 13 (13 by default)

Under these settings, a box "Planned distribution" explains in real time what your configuration will produce.

6. Player entry

The left column "Players list" fills in automatically based on the chosen number. For each player: Name + Licence (optional; a default name is used if empty).

7. Launch the mêlée

The yellow button LAUNCH THE RANDOM DRAW — ROUND 1 reads the players and forms the 1stst round at random.

⚠️ Launching this button again starts everything over. To continue, use the "Launch next round" button at the bottom of a completed round.

8. Entering the scores

1
The fastest — click on the winning team (its box or its score): it automatically takes 13, then a window opens with the numbers 0 to 12 to choose the loser's score.
2
The arrows ▲ ▼ next to each score (point by point).
3
Keyboard entry directly into the boxes.

A match cannot end in a tie. As soon as it is valid, the winner moves to green with the label Winner and the ranking updates.

9. Round by round until the champion

When all matches in a round are entered, the badge Round complete appears, then:

  • If games remain: the blue button LAUNCH NEXT ROUND — NEW RANDOM DRAW.
  • At the last round: the banner "TOURNAMENT FINISHED — WINNER" + the button GENERATE OFFICIAL PDF.

If a pair has already been teammates, an orange warning flags it (only when unavoidable).

10. Exempt teams

If the count doesn't divide evenly, one or more players (or a team) are given a bye : they don't play but receive a win with the "Exempt points" bonus (13-0 by default). The draw favours those who have been exempted the least often.

11. The ranking

ColumnMeaning
VWins (an exempt counts as a win)
DLosses
BPBowls / points for (scored)
BCBowls / points against (conceded)
DiffDifference BP − BC

Order: first wins, then the difference (Diff), then points scored (BP). The top 3 get a gold / silver / bronze badge.

12. Automatic save & resume

The tournament is saved automatically in the browser after each score and each round. If you close the page and come back, everything reloads by itself. The button 💾 Save forces an immediate save with confirmation.

13. Export / Import

Backup file (.json) — recommended

  • ⬇️ Export (file) : downloads a file .json with the whole competition (to transfer to another PC).
  • ⬆️ Import (file) : reloads a .json exported and restores everything.

Via the PDF (hidden save)

  • EXPORT THE PDF : generates the official PDF and and hides the full save inside it.
  • IMPORT A PDF : re-reads one of these PDFs to recover the competition.

14. Print

The button 🖨️ Print opens the print window directly with a clean PDF (without the browser headers/footers), black on white, economical on ink.

15. Clear everything

The button 🗑️ Clear all clears the tournament and the browser save, after confirmation. Export the file .json before if you want to keep a record of it.

16. How the draw works (for the curious)

Each round, the software tests dozens of compositions and keeps the best one:

  • Avoid repeated teammates : it favours teams where the players have not already played together.
  • Avoid playing the same opponents again : when pairing the teams, it looks for new matchups.
  • Fair byes : if someone has to be given a bye, it is first the one who has had it the least often.

A measure of chance remains (it's a mêlée!), framed by these fairness rules.

17. Frequently asked questions

I closed the page, did I lose everything?

No: resume is automatic on the same browser. If in doubt, export the file .json.

Can I change the number of games along the way?

Yes. Change "Number of games": the display and the end of the competition adapt accordingly.

Can I mix doubles and triples?

Yes, with the "Mix doublettes + triplettes" option (except in tête-à-tête), so that everyone plays without an exempt.

Is it all free?

Yes, 100% free, offered by Paquita from petanqueland.fr. 🎯

Choose the loser's score
Click on the loser's points. The winning team automatically gets 13.
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