Some decisions are easier when chance makes them: who goes first, which prize a guest wins, what’s for dinner, which student answers next. This wheel spinner turns any list into a colorful wheel and spins it to a fair, random result. It is built for classrooms, giveaways, game nights and indecisive groups, and it works on phones and with a keyboard.
How to use the wheel spinner
- Type or paste your entries, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type.
- Press Spin, tap the wheel, or press Enter while the wheel is focused.
- Read the winner under the wheel and on the tape. The Recent results list keeps the last 30 picks.
- Tick Remove each winner to take winners off the wheel automatically.
- Use Shuffle to mix the slice order, Sort A–Z to tidy the list, or Reset to start over.
If your device is set to reduce motion, the wheel skips the long spin and jumps straight to the result.
How the winner is chosen
A fair wheel gives each of its n slices the same probability:
The spinner draws a random integer from 0 to n − 1 using the Web Crypto API with rejection sampling, so no slice is favored by rounding. It then picks a random point inside that slice, away from the edges, and animates five to seven full turns that slow to a stop exactly there. The physics are for show — the outcome is decided before the wheel moves.
Repeated entries
Because every line is a slice, an entry that appears k times out of n wins with probability k ÷ n. That makes weighting easy and visible: two slices for a more popular choice, three for an even stronger favorite.
Worked example
Eight dinner options: Pizza, Tacos, Sushi, Burgers, Pasta, Salad, Curry, Ramen.
Each slice covers 360° ÷ 8 = 45° of the wheel and wins 1 time in 8, or 12.5%. If you add Pizza a second time, Pizza covers 2 of 9 slices (22.2%) and each other option drops to 11.1%.
With "remove each winner" on, the first spin picks from 8, the next from 7, and so on — after seven spins the last entry is decided by elimination.
How often will a name repeat?
Without removal, every spin is independent, so repeats are common. With 10 entries:
| Spins | Chance at least one name wins twice |
|---|---|
| 2 | 10% |
| 3 | 28% |
| 4 | 49.6% |
| 5 | 69.8% |
| 6 | 84.9% |
This is the same effect as the birthday paradox. If repeats would feel unfair — giving every student one turn, for example — switch on winner removal.
Ideas for using the wheel
- Classroom: cold-call students, choose a review topic, or pick the next reader.
- Giveaways: list entrants, spin on a livestream, and keep the results list on screen as a record.
- Chores and turns: put each household task on the wheel and spin once per person.
- Game nights: choose the next game, a dare category or a team captain.
- Decisions: when two options are truly equal, let the wheel break the tie.
For a plain list of winners without the animation, the random name picker draws several at once. To split a group into fair sides, use the random team generator, and for head-to-head play-offs build a tournament bracket. A quick two-way decision only needs the coin flipper.
Frequently asked questions
Is the wheel spinner really random?
Yes. The winner is chosen first with your browser's cryptographic random number generator, giving every slice exactly the same chance, and the animation is then aimed at that slice. Where the wheel starts, how hard you click and how long it spins have no effect on the result.
How do I give one option better odds?
Enter it more than once. Each line is its own equal slice, so an option listed twice out of ten lines has a 2 in 10 chance. Use Shuffle to spread the duplicates around the wheel.
Can I remove a name after it is picked?
Tick Remove each winner from the wheel. After every spin the winning line is deleted from your list, which is handy for raffles, turn orders and classroom cold-calling.
How many entries can the wheel hold?
Up to 100. Labels shrink as the wheel fills, and long entries are shortened on the wheel itself, but the full text is always shown as the result.
Are my entries saved or shared?
They are saved only in this browser so the wheel is ready next time, and they are never sent anywhere. Press Reset to clear them.