Spin the Wheel

Put one option per line, press spin, and the wheel slows to a stop under the arrow. Good for picking lunch, handing out dares, setting a running order, or drawing a prize in front of everyone.

How to use

  1. Type your entries, one per line. The quick-fill buttons drop in a ready-made list if you just want to start.
  2. Want one option to come up more often? Add «*3» after it and that slice gets three times wider.
  3. Press spin and let the wheel come to a stop.
  4. Setting an order instead? Turn on «Remove the winner» and keep spinning until the wheel is empty.

The winning slice is chosen before the wheel starts moving. The animation just shows you where it landed, so nothing you do mid-spin changes the result.

Copying the result link packs your entry list and settings into the URL, so whoever opens it sees the same wheel.

In depth

Wheel, ladder, or marble race

All three pick at random. What differs is the shape of the answer, and that is the only thing you need to compare.

A wheel picks one thing out of many. If the question has a single answer — where are we eating — this is the fastest, and it is the only one of the three where you can weight the odds.

A ladder draw pairs people to outcomes one to one. Use it when two people must not end up with the same thing, like assigning chores.

A marble race also picks one winner, but the value is that you have to watch it to the end. If the point is a room full of people shouting at a screen, use that instead.

How the weights work

Slice width is the probability. Add up every weight for the denominator; a slice's own weight is the numerator.

With «A *2, B, C» the total is 4, so A sits at 2/4 = 50% and B and C take 25% each. On screen, A's slice is as wide as the other two combined.

Weights run from 1 to 99. Give one slice a very large number and the rest thin out to slivers, which on screen reads as a foregone conclusion.

You never have to touch this. With no suffix every entry weighs 1 and every slice is the same size.

Using it with a group

Picking food is the common one. List the candidates, spin once, and the twenty-minute «I don't mind, you choose» loop is over. Leave out anything someone can't eat.

For party games, spin twice: once on the list of names, once on the list of dares. Who and what, settled in two spins.

For turn order, switch on «Remove the winner». One name drops out per spin until the whole order is on screen.

For a prize draw, load every entrant and spin exactly once. Spinning repeatedly until you like the outcome is not a draw.

When someone calls it rigged

The hard part of a random draw is rarely the maths. It is that a result nobody watched being set up is a result somebody will want to redo.

Show the wheel before you spin it. Everyone can see the entries and how wide each slice is, which settles the «my name was smaller» argument in advance.

Afterwards, save the image or copy the link into the group chat. The draw order comes with it, so there is a record.

If you are going to use weights, say why before the spin. Discovered after the fact, they stop being a probability question.

Replaying the same wheel

«Copy result link» writes your entries and the mode into the URL. Whoever opens it gets the same wheel and one automatic spin.

There is no account and no server copy. The address bar holds everything, so deleting the link deletes the wheel with it.

That is also why you should keep personal details out of it. Links survive in chat histories and browser history — nicknames are fine, phone numbers are not.

It runs entirely in your browser

Nothing is uploaded. Drawing the wheel and choosing the slice both happen on this page.

So it keeps working on a plane or underground once the page has loaded.

Sound and vibration have their own toggle on the screen, for the times when a wheel that goes ping is the wrong thing to have running.

FAQ

Is the spin actually random?

Yes. The winning slice comes from the browser's random number generator, and the spin animation is calculated to stop there. Dragging harder or holding the button longer changes nothing.

Can I make one option more likely?

Add «*3» after it. That slice becomes three times wider and three times as likely. With «Pizza *3, Sushi», pizza wins three spins out of four on average.

How many entries can the wheel hold?

Forty. Past that the slices get too thin to read and the share link starts getting cut off in chat apps.

How do I get a running order instead of one winner?

Switch on «Remove the winner» and spin until nothing is left. Each result stacks up in the draw-order list on the right.

Can I show someone the result afterwards?

Save it as an image or copy the result link. The link carries the entry list, so the person who opens it gets the same wheel.

Method and sources

What this tool bases its numbers on, and how far those numbers go.

What this tool is
A uniform draw with an animation on top. The spinning is decoration — the outcome is chosen by the random number generator, not by the physics you watch.
Formula
A random value is drawn and mapped to a segment, then the wheel is animated to land there. Equal segments therefore have equal probability, and the deceleration curve, spin duration and starting angle have no influence on the result.
Worked example
Eight equal segments give each one a probability of 1/8 = 12.5%. Doubling a segment's angular width doubles its probability to 2/8 = 25%.
Limitations
  • The animation cannot bias anything, and cannot prove anything either. It is drawn after the outcome is decided, so watching it closely tells you nothing about fairness.
  • Math.random is not cryptographic. The specification guarantees only approximate uniformity, so this is unsuitable where a participant has an incentive to predict the result.
  • Segments are equally likely only if they are equally sized. Uneven widths produce proportional, not equal, chances — which is a feature, as long as everyone knows.
  • Spinning repeatedly until the result suits you replaces the draw with your own preference, whatever the wheel showed.
Effective date
Last reviewed

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