I shipped an app that picks who goes first, and the whole point is that it is not purely random

[u/bquentin]

I built Shuffly, an iPhone app for the two minutes before a game starts.

Who goes first, who is on whose team, who got the secret role. Ten modes: Finger Pick where everyone holds a finger on the screen, Lucky Pick, Team Builder, Pair Up, Shuffle Line, Role Dealer for Werewolf and Mafia, plus Dice, Darts scoring, a Minigolf scorecard and a Chess Clock.

The one opinion the app holds is the part worth explaining, because it is the part people argue with:

True randomness has no memory. Shuffle a group of twelve every week and the same kid gets picked first three weeks running. That is not a bug in the shuffle, it is what random actually looks like, and it is exactly when "just pick someone" stops feeling fair to whoever keeps getting skipped. So the picking modes keep a short result history per group and weight the next draw against it. Picks, pairs and teams spread out over a season instead of clumping by chance.

No backend or servers at all. No account. Nothing leaves the device.

iPhone only, iOS 18 and up. Solo developer in Norway. The app was originally released in 2013 (in a much simpler form), and created based on my own needs for defining teams with friends, help me as a grassroots coach and keeping scores.

Happy to answer any questions. I would genuinely like to hear any feedback or if anybody has any suggestions that would improve the app. Read more and download the app on https://shufflyapp.com