# pair up night algorithm (speed dating)

i have 30 girls who are going to meet 12 guys (out of 30) each in one hour. the girls stay at their table (for example: table #1 for girl #1).

the guys fill up bids and a schedule is formed with this specification:

spot   girl1    girl2     ..
8:00   guy #3   guy #3
8:05   guy #5   guy #1
8:10   guy #6   guy #9
8:15   guy #8   guy #8
8:20   guy #21  guy #7
8:25   guy #4   guy #6
8:30   guy #55  guy #4
8:45   guy #3   guy #2
8:50   guy #24  guy #21
8:55   guy #4   guy #5


how can i sort the 30 guys in a way no one would have to be at two places at the same time? any algorithm?

UPDATE:

the guys fill up the bids. they have 100 points and can spread them around the 30 girls. the top 12 guys for each girl meet with the girl.

BTW i have a hunch this is a soduko style problem

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There are a few details here that are unclear to me. First of all, will each girl only meet with 12 guys (as is implied by the 5-minute increments on the example schedule)? By "filling up bids", do you mean that each girl has preferences for who she wants to meet when, and we want to satisfy as many preferences as possible? Otherwise, what's wrong with simply having the guys rotate around the tables by 1 each turn? – Lopsy Dec 18 '12 at 18:31
added an update – Guy Dec 18 '12 at 18:37
The question now appears to be self-contradictory. "both" in "both fill up bids" appears to refer to both "guys" and "girls", which seems to contradict the statement "the guys fill up the bids" in the update. – joriki Dec 18 '12 at 18:44
you're right. sorry. fixed that. – Guy Dec 18 '12 at 18:46