Dinkerly · Guide

Organise your next doubles session.

Add your group first, then choose how and when you want to play. No session name is needed.

1. Add the players

Add player rows in the Men and Women columns. Each row counts as a player; blank names use Player 1, Player 2 and so on. Add at least four players, then choose Next: setup. The headcount comes from your list, with no separate capacity to fill.

2. Choose your session options

Start time follows your device’s current local time until you edit it or create matchups. Choose your end time, courts, rounds, breaks, scoring and matchup mode. Dink & Mix calculates match length after subtracting breaks between rounds (two minutes by default). No break is added after the last round. If games become too short, reduce the rounds or allow more time.

3. Create the matchups

Review the session overview, then choose Create matchups. Doubles needs four players per court; spare courts stay unused and resting players rotate back in. You can return to Players to change the group before creating your schedule.

4. Explain the format

Tell everyone when each round ends, where the court numbers are, and how resting players find their next match. Standard pairs men against men, women against women, or mixed teams against mixed teams. Use the Pairings multi-select in Setup to choose any combination of Men’s, Women’s, Mixed and Men vs Women. The first three are selected by default. With Strict pairings on, only selected types are scheduled, cycling through Mixed, Men’s, Women’s and Men vs Women across courts. The starting type moves on between rounds. Types that cannot fit the players are skipped; when different types cannot share a round, the round uses one type. Court use is maximised within these rules. Strict pairings is off by default. In Standard, the planner rotates rests fairly first, keeps the maximum possible number of courts within your preferred types for the active group, then fills any remaining courts with flexible doubles pairings. These can include mixed vs men or mixed vs women, and are labelled on the match cards. For example, seven men and five women can play on three courts with one flexible match; strict mode uses two courts with four people resting. Exception appearances are spread across players where possible. Playing time and repeat pairings are balanced within these rules; uneven groups can need fewer courts and extra rests. A lone man or woman cannot join a permitted match. Gauntlet instead groups players by accumulated points, allowing nearby score groups to mix so the same four players are not locked together. With Strict pairings off, similar scores take priority, followed by preferred pairing types and variety. With it on, Gauntlet must use your selected types, even if that means fewer courts or less closely matched score groups. Existing saved schedules keep their original pairings until you choose Edit setup and players and recreate them.

How matchup variety works

1. Balance playing time and rest turns within the available pairing types.
2. Compare legal doubles variations. Swapping team order or court number does not count as a new matchup.
3. Prefer unused matchups, then avoid partners and opponents from the previous round.
4. Balance previous partnerships and opponent encounters across the whole session. When a matchup must repeat, prefer the least-used options rather than forgetting the history.

The aim is to work through available variations before repeating. A repeat can still be necessary when pairing choices, resting players, score groups or the remaining courts restrict the options. With four players, for example, there are only three doubles team splits. Larger sessions explore the variation list in batches to keep the tool responsive. Gauntlet recalculates only after the previous round has complete results, using accumulated scores and the same encounter history.

Use your own timer or stopwatch for the calculated match duration and breaks.

5. Record scores

Choose regular (side-out) or rally scoring before creating matchups. Enter both final team scores for each court. Complete score pairs update the scoreboard and save automatically. Save & next round saves the whole round before advancing; it is unavailable until every court has both scores. You can open Summary at any time. On the final round, choose Save round & view summary. Ties count as draws. The summary ranks players by most wins, then fewest losses. Only completed matches count.

6. Take it courtside

Download the PDF for the dashboard, standings, recorded scores, court sheets, player cards, check-in and organiser notes. Your session saves automatically for a later visit in the same browser. Reset clears it and returns to Players.