Step by step

How Who Play works

From creating your first game to a leaderboard your group will actually open. The full flow, end to end.

Who Play turns a weekly pickup game into a structured season in eight steps: create a group, invite players, propose a date, collect RSVPs, auto-balance teams using each player's ELO rating, record the score, vote MVP, and watch the standings update. It runs entirely in the browser and works alongside the WhatsApp group your players already use.

01.How do I create a pickup game?

Open Who Play in any browser, tap Create a Game, and pick the sport, date, time, location and max players. The whole flow takes about 30 seconds. You'll get a shareable link straight away — your players never need to install anything.

03.How do you balance teams automatically?

Once everyone confirms, tap Balance Teams. Who Play splits the roster using each player's current ELO so the two sides have similar total skill. You can override picks manually if you know about a niggle or a guest player. The balance algorithm runs on the server so it's identical across web and mobile.

04.How does ELO ranking work for amateur sports?

ELO updates after each game using a base K-factor of 32. Win against a stronger team and you climb fast; lose to a weaker team and you drop fast. At the end of the season we apply a small bonus for MVP wins, attendance, and tournament results, then archive the standings — so each new month starts clean. See the rankings page for the full formula.

05.How does MVP voting work?

After the final whistle, every player gets a one-tap card to vote for their MVP. Votes close automatically and the result shows up on the post-match screen. The player with the most monthly MVPs is crowned Player of the Month and earns a small ELO bonus at archive.

06.Who logs the score?

Anyone in the game can log the score — not just the organiser. You can also edit goals, assists and other ball-sport stats from the post-match screen. Once everyone is happy, the result is archived and the ELO update runs.

07.Do my players need to install anything?

No. Who Play works in any modern browser. Players RSVP without an account; only the organiser and players who want to track stats sign in. The web app is also installable as a PWA on iOS and Android — same code, no app store wait. Native apps are on the roadmap.

08.Is it really free?

Yes. Free for organisers, free for players, free for the whole group. No subscription, no hidden fees, no per-player cost. We're a small Portuguese studio (Dinis Studio) building this for our own weekly games — and yours.