NextCuatro — Generation 3 · v1.8.2 Alpha
NextCuatro supports three play modes: Open, Zoned, and Tournament. Choose a mode using the single Play Mode selector. Confirm the warning before switching; Mixer/Zoned player records are retained, and tournaments are stored separately.
New in v1.8.2 Alpha
All app alerts and confirmations now appear within NextCuatro without the browser address heading. Tournament mode has a prominent amber construction notice.
Open
Flexible drop-in play for changing attendance, with up to eight courts and rosters of up to 96 tested players. Choose Smart Random, Similar Skill, or Balanced Teams. Smart Random permits unrated players; Similar Skill and Balanced Teams require ratings. Mixer includes optional adaptive ratings, fixed partners, sit-outs, departures and returns, fairness tracking, wins/losses, optional adaptive ratings, and a 10-, 12-, or 15-minute timer.
Zoned
Assign courts to six skill groups: Beginner (below 2.0), Developing (2.0–2.99), Intermediate 1 (3.0–3.49), Intermediate 2 (3.5–3.99), Advanced (4.0–4.49), and Elite (4.5+). Each zone has independent game advancement and fairness rotation. The organizer assigns available courts to zones. Adaptive ratings and the shared game timer are disabled in Zoned Play.
Tournament — under development
- Create and save a named tournament with Number of Sessions and Games per Session; the app supports up to 16 sessions.
- Use a fixed roster of 4–32 registered players, in multiples of four, across up to eight courts. Every player plays each game rotation; individual Sit Out and Leave controls are not used.
- Register individual players, fixed pairs, or a mixture. Fixed partners stay together; solo entrants rotate partners. Tournament matchups do not depend on skill ratings.
- Use Timed games (10, 12, or 15 minutes) with a visible Start/Pause/Reset timer, or Modified rally scoring with a configurable score target. The timer does not automatically advance games.
- Enter actual scores for both teams on every court before advancing. Track wins, losses, point differential, completed games, and both session and cumulative standings.
- Choose the primary ranking method: Most wins (point-differential tiebreak) or Point differential (wins tiebreak). Fixed partners share the same finishing position.
- Substitutes can play in a registered player's place while the results remain credited to that registrant.
- Export Tournament and Import Tournament use an Excel-compatible .xlsx workbook. These files can also be stored in Google Drive and opened in Google Sheets; this is not live Google Sheets synchronization.
NextCuatro · Generation 3 · v1.8.2 Alpha · Flexible. Smart. Adaptive.
Open and Zoned details
Players & availability
- Add players before or during a session; new players receive priority in the next rotation when space permits, without catching up on earlier sit-outs.
- Choose a self-reported skill level, or leave a player Unrated.
- Pair two players who want to play together, or unpair them.
- Use Bye / Sit Out for a one-game break, or Done Playing / Leave when someone is finished for the session.
- See the number of active players at a glance. NextCuatro has been tested with up to 96 active players; additional players are allowed after a one-time warning, but larger sessions are not yet validated.
Rotation modes
- Smart Random: rotates players while considering sit-out fairness and teammate variety.
- Similar Skill: uses a soft court ladder: Court 1 has the strongest players, with progressively lower ratings on higher-numbered courts. Players normally remain on their natural court or move only one court up or down; fixed pairs and unavoidable roster constraints may require exceptions.
- Balanced Teams: aims to create competitive, evenly matched teams by keeping the sum of player ratings similar on each side.
- Select the actual numbered physical courts (1–8), including nonconsecutive numbers; availability changes take effect with the next game.
- Smart Random and Balanced Teams favor less-used physical courts and discourage repeat groups of four. Similar Skill retains its ordered skill ladder.
Fairness & fixed pairs
- Rotation considers arrival-adjusted scheduling sit-outs, voluntary breaks, and consecutive games played; displayed sit-out totals are always actual counts. The app avoids repeat assigned breaks while eligible players have fewer sit-outs whenever pairing and court capacity permit.
- Fixed pairs normally play together and, when possible, sit out together.
- When a one-person break would unfairly favor a fixed pair, the organizer may be asked whether to separate the pair temporarily for two games. Each partner takes one actual break; after either declining or completing an approved two-game separation, the organizer is not asked again until every active solo player has taken another break. Actual sit-out totals are always preserved, even when a pair declines several times. Pairing and unpairing can be changed during a session.
Games, results & ratings
- Press Next Cuatro! to generate the next game and court assignments.
- Tap the winning team to record a result; the winner is highlighted.
- Review games played, sit-outs, wins and losses, and partner variety in Session fairness.
- Adaptive ratings can be toggled on or off for each rated player in Mixer Mode. In Zoned Mode, the Adaptive button is disabled and adaptive adjustments are paused. Players who enter a baseline skill rating can have their rating adjusted upward or downward based on recorded wins and losses against other rated players. Players without a baseline rating cannot participate in adaptive rating adjustments.
Timer & session controls
- In Mixer Mode, play using modified rally scoring to help games finish at approximately the same time, or use the optional 10-, 12-, or 15-minute game timer. Start, pause, or reset the timer as needed. The timer automatically resets and stops when the next round is generated.
- At zero, hear the end-of-game chimes and see the end-of-game message.
- Next Cuatro! resets and stops the timer for the new game; it does not start automatically.
- Session data is stored in this browser on this device. Clearing browser data may remove it.
- New Session / Clear Everything requires confirmation and erases the current session.
