Wheel of Names - Spin the Wheel
Type one name per line. Spin the wheel to pick a fair random winner.
Results
How to use the wheel of names
- Add your entries. Type or paste names into the box, one per line. The wheel updates as you type.
- Spin the wheel. Tap the wheel, press Spin, or press Ctrl+Enter. The wheel slows down and stops on the winner.
- Remove or keep the winner. Remove takes the name off the wheel so it cannot win again. Keep leaves the list as it is.
Shuffle mixes the order of the slices, Sort puts them in A to Z order, and Clear empties the list. Every spin is listed under Results, so you can see who was picked earlier.
Ideas for the wheel
- Classrooms. Pick who answers next, who presents first or who gets the class job this week. Use Remove so every student gets a turn before anyone goes twice, and Fullscreen to show the wheel on the projector.
- Giveaways and raffles. Paste the list of entrants and spin live. One line per entry keeps it fair, and a name entered twice has twice the chance.
- Streams and meetings. Choose the next game, the next speaker or the order of a stand-up. Share a link to the wheel so others can check the list.
- Everyday decisions. What to eat, which movie to watch, who does the dishes. Put the options on the wheel and let it decide.
Is it fair?
Every line is one slice of the same size. The winner is drawn with your browser's cryptographic random number generator before the wheel moves, and the spin then stops on that slice. The speed and length of the spin change nothing about the odds.
Questions and answers
Is the wheel really random?
Yes. The winner is chosen with your browser's cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues) before the wheel starts turning, and every entry has exactly the same chance. The spin animation then stops on that entry, so what you see is what was picked.
How many names can I put on the wheel?
Up to 1,000 entries. With more than about 100 entries the labels get too small to read, so the winner is always shown in large type after each spin.
How do I give one name a higher chance?
Add it more than once. Every line is one slice, so a name on three lines has three times the chance of a name on one line.
Can I remove the winner so nobody is picked twice?
Yes. After each spin choose Remove in the result window and the winner leaves the wheel. Choose Keep to leave the list as it is.
How do I share my wheel with students or friends?
Press Share. It copies a link that contains your entries, so anyone who opens it sees the same wheel. Nothing is uploaded; the names live in the link itself.
Are my names saved?
Your entries, settings and the last results are saved in your own browser, so the wheel is still there when you come back. They are never sent to a server.
Can I use the wheel on a projector or smartboard?
Yes. Press Fullscreen to show only the wheel, as large as the screen allows. Press Space or click the wheel to spin, and Esc to leave fullscreen.
Can I put the wheel on my own website?
Yes. Add your entries and press Embed. It copies a short piece of HTML with your wheel, which you can paste into a school page, blog or website. The embedded wheel spins exactly like this one and keeps your entries.
Is there a keyboard shortcut to spin?
Press Ctrl+Enter (Cmd+Enter on a Mac) anywhere on the page, or Space or Enter when the wheel is focused.