Ranked is where you sweat; customs are where you actually have fun. A private lobby with friends lets you do whatever you want — random champions, silly builds, 1v1s, or a full-on competitive draft. This guide runs through the best ways to play League of Legends custom games, from pure chaos to a serious in-house match, and the tools that make each one easy to set up.
Why customs beat ranked for playing with friends
There is no LP on the line, no strangers flaming, and no meta to respect. A custom lobby is a sandbox: you pick the rules, the teams and the mode, and you can restart or swap things whenever you like.
That freedom is exactly why customs are the best format for a group of friends. You can go full meme one game and try a tryhard draft the next — same lobby, completely different vibe.
Chaos mode: randomize everything
The quickest way to a fun, level playing field is to take choice out of it. Roll a full random team for each side with our random team generator — five champions per team, locked in, no arguing over who gets mid.
Want maximum chaos? Add Ultimate Bravery on top: everyone randomizes their champion, spells and a cursed build, then commits. It turns a normal custom into a highlight reel.
Classic fun formats
Beyond full randomness, a few custom formats never get old:
- 1v1 mid — same champion or blind pick, first to a kill or a tower wins. The purest test of mechanics.
- ARAM customs — everyone rolls a random champion on the Howling Abyss. See our ARAM guide to actually win them.
- Blind pick or theme games — all AP, all tanks, all one champion. Pick a silly rule and run with it.
- One-for-all style — the whole team plays the same champion for maximum spam.
Competitive mode: run a real pick & ban draft
When your group wants to take it seriously — a scrim, an in-house tournament, or just a sweaty 5v5 — the random stuff goes out the window and you want a proper draft. That means alternating bans and picks, like the pros do, so each team can plan a composition and deny the enemy their best champions.
The League client custom lobby has a tournament draft option, but for a clean, stream-ready draft with timers and shareable links, we use Proban — a free draft tool (no account) that runs the full LoL pick & ban. If you want to spice up a series, it also supports fearless draft, where champions already played in the series are locked out — a great way to force variety in a Bo3 or Bo5.
How to set up the lobby
Whichever mode you pick, the setup is the same: create a Custom game, choose the map (Summoner’s Rift, or the Howling Abyss for ARAM), set it to Draft or Blind, and invite your friends or drag them onto teams. For a competitive match, select Tournament Draft so the in-client ban phase runs — or run your draft in Proban first and just lock the results in a blind lobby.
Add a couple of spectators if someone wants to cast or record, and you are set. The whole thing takes two minutes.
Pick your format
Not sure what to run tonight? Match the mode to the mood:
- Just want to laugh → random teams or Ultimate Bravery.
- Want a quick skill test → 1v1 mid.
- Want fast, non-stop fights → ARAM customs.
- Want a real, competitive match → a proper pick & ban draft with Proban.