Can I draft things that are not sports?

Yes. GetDraftedNow does not require a sports context or a pre-built catalog. The item pool is whatever list you choose to paste in. Popular non-sports uses include movie draft nights where each person picks films for a shared watchlist, Pokémon drafts for competitive play, music playlist drafts where each person claims songs or albums, restaurant drafts to decide where a group eats each week, baby name drafts, fantasy wrestling, video game draft tournaments, and office pools built around award shows or reality TV eliminations. You paste your list of items, optionally add category labels, set the number of rounds and pick timer, invite your group with magic links, and the live draft board handles everything. If you can write a list of options, you can run a draft.

Do I have to use a pre-built player list?

No. The item pool in GetDraftedNow is entirely user-defined. You type or paste in any list of items — there is no requirement to use a fantasy sports roster, a licensed database, or any pre-built template. Templates are available as a starting point for common use cases like fantasy football positions or a standard movie genre set, but they are optional and fully editable. You can start from scratch, start from a template and modify it, or paste a list directly. Each item can have a name, category, and optional commissioner notes. Once your pool is set up, participants pick from it using the live board just like any other draft format. The same snake, linear, and auction draft mechanics work regardless of whether the items are NFL players, Pokémon, or restaurants.

Can I limit each person to one pick per category?

Yes. GetDraftedNow has an optional category picking rule that prevents any drafter from selecting more than one item per category. When enabled, once a drafter has claimed an item in a given category — for example, Action movies in a film draft, or QB in a football draft — that category is locked for them for the rest of the draft. They can only pick from categories they have not yet claimed. This is useful for drafts where balance across the item pool matters: fantasy sports position limits, genre-diverse movie nights, or any custom draft where you want each person's selections spread across the full range of options. You set it as a draft-level setting before the draft starts, and the live board automatically enforces it by greying out ineligible items for the drafter on the clock.

DRAFT ANYTHING · BRING YOUR OWN LIST

Run a Custom Draft With Any Item Pool

Most draft apps only know about sports. GetDraftedNow lets you draft anything — paste any list, set the format and timer, and draft it in turns with your group. Movies for an awards-night pool, video games, Pokémon, board games, restaurants, your fantasy soccer squad: if you can list it, you can draft it. Free, online, no install.

Create a free custom draft

Free to createAny item poolNo signup required for drafters

What is a custom draft?

A custom draft is a turn-based draft where the pool is whatever you want it to be — not a fixed list of athletes. You paste your own list of items, optionally group them into categories, and your group takes turns picking from the pool. It is the same mechanic that makes sports drafts fun (snake order, a timer, no duplicate picks) applied to literally any set of things you want to divide up fairly.

What can you draft with a custom item pool?

Movies & TV — draft Oscar nominees for an awards-night prediction pool, or build a "fantasy movie studio" with friends.
Video games — draft a backlog for a year-long challenge, or pick teams for a tournament.
Pokémon — run a Nuzlocke or VGC-style draft league where each trainer drafts their roster.
Fantasy soccer / F1 — draft players or drivers for a season-long pool when no off-the-shelf app fits your house rules.
Board game night — draft who brings which game, or draft characters/factions before a campaign.
Restaurants, recipes, or chores — draft a dinner rotation, a potluck menu, or split the chore list so no one fights over it.
Baby names, fantasy bands, draft-your-own-anything — if you and a group need to divide a list fairly and in turns, it works.

The only requirement is a list. Paste it in, and GetDraftedNow handles the order, the timer, and making sure no item gets picked twice.

How do you create a custom draft from your own list?

Start a new league. Sign up free and create a league — "league" just means your draft group; it does not have to be sports.
Paste your item pool. Drop in your list of items. Add categories (for example "Action", "Comedy", "Horror" for a movie draft) if you want the board organized by type.
Choose a format and rules. Snake or linear order, how many rounds, and whether to limit one pick per category per person.
Set the pick timer. Seconds for a fast in-person draft, or hours/days for an async one.
Invite your group. Share each person's magic link — no accounts needed.
Start drafting. Everyone takes turns from the live board; auto-pick covers anyone who misses their window.

Can you draft non-sports things online?

Yes — that is exactly what GetDraftedNow is built for. Because the item pool is just a list you provide, there is no sports requirement anywhere. Awards pools, game nights, Pokémon leagues, and "draft our group's bucket list" all run the same way a fantasy football draft does, with the same timers, notifications, and live board.

What custom draft formats and rules can you configure?

Formats: snake, linear, auction, third-round reversal, and random last round.
One-pick-per-category: enforce variety, so each person ends up with a balanced mix (handy for movie genres, positions, or factions).
Pick timer & time bank: set the per-pick window, and optionally give everyone a reserve of bonus seconds for tough picks.
Auto-pick: decide what happens when someone misses their turn — ranked list, random, or a commissioner pick — so the draft never stalls.

Start your custom draft free

Bring a list, bring your group, and draft anything. Free to create, no install, works on desktop and mobile.

Create a free custom draft

Part of GetDraftedNow's online draft tools.

Questions? See the FAQ or email [email protected].