A tier list ranks items from the best (S) down to the worst (F). This generator takes any list you paste in and randomly distributes the items across the six tiers, giving you a neutral, unbiased starting point for a ranking debate, a draft, or a tier-list video.
How it works
The tool uses two well-known steps:
1. Fisher-Yates shuffle the full item list (uniform random order)
2. Deal items round-robin into 6 buckets: S, A, B, C, D, FThe Fisher-Yates shuffle walks the array from the end to the start, swapping each element with a randomly chosen earlier one. This produces every possible ordering with equal probability. Items are then dealt out so each tier receives an even share; if the count does not divide by six, the extra items land in the higher tiers first.
Where tier lists come from and why random works
The S-through-F ranking scale originated in Japanese arcade culture, where players graded fighters, courses, or characters from S (Special or Superior) down through A, B, C, D, and F (Fail). Internet communities adopted the format in the 2000s and it spread into gaming discourse, food debates, music rankings, and just about any domain where people want to argue about which things are better than others.
The genre thrives on disagreement. A tier list is only interesting if someone objects to it, which is why starting with a purely random assignment is often more generative than starting with someone’s careful considered ranking. A random layout gives everyone in the room an equal reason to complain, and that disagreement drives the discussion toward actual insight about what people value.
Getting more from the output
The random tier list is a starting point, not an answer. The most productive way to use it is as a structured provocation:
- Read out each tier and ask whether anyone strongly disagrees with a placement
- Find the easiest moves first — the items that almost everyone would agree belong in a different tier — and settle those before tackling the contested middle ground
- Treat the S tier as the hardest to earn: most lists have at most two or three genuine S-tier items, and the conversation about what deserves to be there is usually the most interesting part
For ranking debates with a fixed group, you can also use the random list as a draft order tool: the item that lands at the top of the randomly shuffled list becomes the first pick, giving everyone a random but fair starting position.
Use cases
Content creation — tier list videos and posts are a reliable content format because audiences immediately want to argue with the ranking in the comments. Generating a random starting layout and then reasoning through changes while recording gives the video an authentic, in-progress feel.
Group decisions — randomly assigning options to tiers removes the bias of whoever speaks first in a group setting. Everyone can react to the random state rather than the loudest voice’s preference.
Ice-breakers and games — any shared reference set (songs, films, sports teams, foods) becomes a discussion starter when randomly tiered. The rules of the game are implicit: defend your S-tier choices, attack other people’s.
Tips and notes
- Use one item per line — blank lines are ignored.
- Hit Generate again for a completely fresh random layout.
- The random layout is meant as a conversation starter: debate the placements from there, defending or attacking each item.
- Because the shuffle is uniform, running it many times will spread any single item roughly evenly across all tiers over the long run — no item is stuck in F.