Game Settings
The Game Settings panel controls how the dispatcher behaves for the current session. These settings can be adjusted on the fly, even while games are running.
Settings Overview
Settings are organized into sections: Dispatch, Game History & Scoring, General, and Display. Each setting has a sensible default so your league works out of the box — adjust them as needed.
Dispatch
Dispatch Algorithm
Selects which matchmaking algorithm the dispatcher uses: Fair Random (maximize partner diversity), Move Up / Move Down (ranked ladder), Elo (rating-based matchmaking), or Fixed Group Rotation (fixed groups with rotation).
Court Selection
Determines which court is selected during dispatch: Oldest Used (court not used for the longest), Most Recently Used, Random, or Alphabetical order.
Number of Players per Court
How many players are assigned to each court per game. Default is 4 for doubles play.
Max Tolerable Player Ratio from Same Game
Controls how many players from the same recently finished game can be placed together again (0 to 1). A value of 0.5 means at most half the players from a previous game can end up on the same court. Lower values increase variety.
Auto-Approve Recommendation
When enabled, the first dispatch recommendation is automatically approved after a countdown, without requiring manual confirmation.
Game History & Scoring
Group Games within Time Difference (minutes)
Games finishing within this many minutes of each other are grouped together as if they finished at the same time. This is powerful when using the Fair Random algorithm — the algorithm will consider players from various games that finished in the same time range as having waited the same amount of time, giving it a bigger pool of players to increase roster diversification. Default is 1 minute, so two games ending within 1 minute of each other will have all their players shuffled together to maximize diversity. Otherwise, wait time will weigh into the dispatch decision.
Filter Out Games Longer Than (minutes)
Games lasting longer than this duration are excluded from game history analysis. Useful for filtering out games that were accidentally left running. Default is 30 minutes.
Number of Hours to Display Games
How many hours of game history to load and display on the play day page. Default is 6 hours. This is also used by the Fair Random algorithm to evaluate player diversification — the algorithm looks back this many hours to determine which partners and opponents each player has already been matched with.
Default Winner / Loser Score
Default scores pre-filled when finishing a game. The winner score defaults to 21 and the loser score to 10. Adjust these to match your sport (e.g., 25/0 for volleyball, 11/0 for table tennis).
Editable Recent Games
How many of the most recent finished games can be edited or corrected. Set to 0 to disable score editing entirely. Default is 3.
General
Time Zone
The timezone used for date grouping in stats and reports (e.g., America/Toronto). Auto-detected from your browser on first use, then saved. Ensures all league members see consistent dates regardless of their location.
Display
Show All Courts
When enabled, all courts are displayed on the play day page, including empty ones. When disabled, only courts with active games or assigned players are shown.
Start All Players as Idle
When enabled, all players begin the session in "Idle" status (immediately available for dispatch). When disabled, players start as "Not Available". This setting is applied when using the Start Game Day button.
Show Elo Rating on Players
When enabled, Elo ratings are displayed on player cards in the dashboard. Some recreational leagues prefer to hide Elo ratings as they can introduce a competitive atmosphere — you can enable or disable this at any time.
Elo Rating Settings
Elo Initial Rating
Starting Elo rating for new players. Default is 1200.
Elo K-Factor (New Players)
Rating volatility for new players (below the experience threshold). Higher values mean ratings change more after each game. Default is 32.
Elo K-Factor (Experienced Players)
Rating volatility for experienced players. Typically lower to stabilize ratings for veterans. Default is 16.
Elo Experience Threshold
Number of games a player must play before transitioning from the "new" K-factor to the "experienced" K-factor. Default is 20 games.
Fixed Group Settings
Keep Playing After All Matchups Are Done
When enabled, groups that finish all their scheduled matchups continue dispatching bonus games in a loop. When disabled, completed groups stop playing until promotion/relegation triggers the next cycle. Only visible when using the Fixed Group Rotation algorithm.
Announcement
Announcement Banner
A short message (up to 200 characters) displayed as a banner on all pages for league members. Use it to communicate schedule changes, reminders, or any important info. Leave empty to hide the banner.