Tournament Mode: Turn Your Shortlist into a Champion
A bracket-style head-to-head voting system that helps couples quickly narrow dozens of names down to one confident winner.
When to Use Tournament
Tournament Mode is most useful when your shortlist has grown beyond 4-5 names and you can't agree on a clear favorite. Instead of talking in circles, Tournament gives you a structured, game-like way to eliminate options. Most couples find that using Tournament for 15-20 minutes gets them from a long shortlist to a confident top 1–2 names ready for the final ceremony.
How to Start a Tournament
- Open Names → Tournament from the navigation
- BabyTime builds a bracket from all names that at least one partner voted Yes on - you need at least 2 names to start
- Two names appear side by side. Tap the one you prefer to advance it to the next round
- Keep voting until one name wins the tournament
- View your partner's results (once they've run their own tournament) to see the combined consensus
How the Bracket is Built
Tournament automatically seeds names by match score — names both partners voted Yes on get higher seeds, while single-partner Yes votes are seeded lower. In the first round:
- Your highest-seed names face lower-seed opponents
- If you have an odd number of names, the top seed gets a bye in round one
- Names advance or are eliminated based purely on your head-to-head choices - BabyTime's algorithm doesn't influence the outcome
Reading Tournament Results
Your winner
The name that won all your match-ups. This reflects your personal preference from this tournament session.
Partner's winner
Your partner's top name from their own independent tournament. Shown alongside your winner for comparison.
Consensus score
A combined score showing how often each name won across both partners' tournaments. Higher consensus = stronger shared preference.
Rounds won
How many consecutive head-to-head rounds a name survived. A name that won all 4 rounds of a 16-name bracket has earned a strong signal.
Using Tournament with Your Partner
Tournament is designed to be run independently by each partner - it deliberately avoids real-time head-to-head play, which can introduce social pressure (you may vote differently when you know your partner is watching). The recommended flow:
- Both partners run their tournament separately, at their own pace
- Once both are done, open the Results screen together
- Discuss the consensus — names that won for both partners are the strongest candidates
- If you disagree, run a second tournament with just your top 2–3 names from each partner
Tournament vs. Standard Discover
Standard Discover is great for building a shortlist — it surfaces new names, lets you vote yes/maybe/no, and trains your personalised recommendations over time. Tournament is the next step: it helps you choose between names you've already decided you like.
- Use Discover when your shortlist has fewer than 5 names and you want more options
- Use Tournament when you have 5+ shortlisted names and need to narrow down to a finalist
- Use the Decision Ceremony once you have a finalist and are ready to commit
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need Pro for Tournament?
Yes — Tournament Mode is a Pro feature. Free users can view a limited preview but cannot complete a full bracket tournament.
Can I run Tournament more than once?
Yes. Each run creates a new tournament using your current shortlist. If you add names to your shortlist after a tournament, running it again will include the new names. Past tournament results are saved to your Journey history.
What if I only have 2 or 3 names on my shortlist?
Tournament works with as few as 2 names — it'll be a single match-up. For small shortlists, Compare (side-by-side view of up to 4 names) may be a better starting point.