Pickleball Formats
Pickleball Formats Explained: Every Way to Play in pikel
Every format in the catalog, side by side: rotating partners, fixed partners, singles, ladders, team play and brackets — and which fits your night.
3 min readUpdated
The format decides who partners with whom, how many games you play, and how the winner is crowned. pikel runs 18 of them, grouped the way the app groups them — by how teams are formed. This guide covers every one, so you can match the format to your group in one read.
Rotating partners
You get a new partner as the night goes on, and your standing is your own record.
- Mixer — new partner every game. The most social format, and the right start for drop-in nights and new groups. 4 to 32 players.
- Musical Courts — dealt exactly like Mixer: a new partner every round, four to a court. The only difference today is the cap: 4 to 24 players.
- Mixed Doubles — mixed pairs every round: every team is one player from each side.
- Double Header — two games with each partner against the same opponents, then rotate.
- Up & Down the River — King of the Court. Play a game with everyone on your court, then two players move up and two move down on their own record.
- Claim the Throne — King of the Court where every game moves you. The king court defends.
Fixed partners
You keep one partner all session, and your record is your pair's.
- Fixed-partner round robin — keep your partner and meet every other pair once.
- Hold the Throne — King of the Court as a pair: climb a court together, drop a court together.
- Single elimination — a bracket of fixed pairs. Lose once and you're out.
- Double elimination — a bracket where everyone gets a second life.
A doubles knockout runs as a Tournament rather than a single game night; the singles brackets below can run as a game.
Singles
One against one.
- Singles round robin — everyone plays everyone once. No partner to find.
- Singles single elimination — a singles bracket. Lose once and you're out.
- Singles double elimination — a singles bracket with a second life.
Teams
Club against club: two or more teams, each with a roster and a captain.
- MLP-style v3 — three starters a side.
- MLP-style v4 same gender — four starters a side, all the same gender.
- MLP-style v4 mixed gender — two men and two women a side.
- Inter-club — six players a side, and everyone plays once.
- Squads — lineups are dealt so everyone plays an equal number of games.
A quick decision table
| Your situation | Pick |
|---|---|
| New group, everyone just wants to mix | Mixer |
| The same as Mixer, capped at 24 | Musical Courts |
| Mixed doubles all night | Mixed Doubles |
| A couple of games with each partner | Double Header |
| Everyone came with a partner | Fixed-partner round robin |
| Mixed skill levels, and winners should climb | Up & Down the River or Claim the Throne |
| Regular pairs who want to climb together | Hold the Throne |
| A knockout finish on one night | Single elimination (singles only; a doubles knockout runs as a Tournament) |
| One-on-one play | Singles round robin |
| Your club against another club | Inter-club |
Pro tip
When in doubt, run Mixer. It needs no special setup, scales from a foursome to 32, and keeps everyone meeting new partners. You can change the format later, once you know your group's rhythm.
Common questions
- Which format should I pick?
- Start with Mixer — a new partner every game, for 4 to 32 players. Pick Musical Courts if the same thing capped at 24 players suits you better, Mixed Doubles for mixed pairs all night, Fixed-partner round robin when everyone came with a partner, and a King of the Court format like Up & Down the River when you want winners to climb.
- How many formats does pikel run?
- Eighteen, in four groups: rotating partners (Mixer, Musical Courts, Mixed Doubles, Double Header, Up & Down the River, Claim the Throne), fixed partners (Fixed-partner round robin, Hold the Throne, Single elimination, Double elimination), singles (Singles round robin, Singles single elimination, Singles double elimination) and teams (MLP-style v3, MLP-style v4 same gender, MLP-style v4 mixed gender, Inter-club, Squads).
- What's the difference between rotating and fixed partners?
- With rotating partners you get a new partner as play goes on, and your standing is your own record. With fixed partners you keep one partner all session, and your record is your pair's.
- Can I change the format after players have RSVP'd?
- Yes. The format belongs to the game, not the players, so you can change it at any time, even after the game starts. If scores are already in, pikel asks before it clears them.
- What is King of the Court?
- A ladder: winners move up a court and losers move down, so skill sorts itself out over the night. Up & Down the River moves players every round, Claim the Throne moves them every game, and Hold the Throne moves fixed pairs together.
Keep reading
Read enough. Go play.
pikel is on iPhone and Android — find a game near you, or run your own.
