Random Spinning Wheel
Enter names, spin the wheel, pick a winner.
100% in your browser — nothing uploadedSpin the wheel to pick a random name, number or yes/no
About this random spinning wheel
Type a list of names or options — one per line — and spin the animated wheel to randomly select a winner. The wheel is drawn on a canvas with colorful slices, each labeled with one entry. A smooth deceleration animation makes the spin feel physical and satisfying, and a fixed pointer at the top shows the final pick.
The wheel uses the Web Crypto API (crypto.getRandomValues) for true randomness, not the weaker Math.random, and discards the few raw values that would make the split uneven. The winner is decided before the animation starts, then the wheel is spun to land precisely on that slice. Every entry has an exactly equal chance, no matter where the wheel stopped last time.
Teachers use it for cold-calling students fairly, event organizers for raffle draws, teams for assigning tasks or choosing a lunch spot, and families for settling disputes. The visual spectacle of the spin makes the result feel more fun and legitimate than just picking a name from a hat — even though the math is the same.
The wheel supports 2 to 50 entries. The template menu fills the list in one click — yes/no, yes/no/maybe, numbers 1 to 10, 20, 30 or 50, the alphabet, colors or days of the week — and you can edit it afterwards. After each spin a button removes the winner from the list, so in a class nobody gets picked twice. Everything runs in your browser — no entries are sent to a server, and no account is needed.
How to use the wheel in class
- Paste your class list, one student per line. From Excel or Google Sheets you can copy a whole column and paste it as-is.
- Put the screen on the projector and press Spin. The ticking, the slow-down and the confetti let the whole room see the pick happen, which is what makes it feel fair.
- Press "Remove winner from the wheel" after each spin so nobody gets called twice; the wheel redraws with the students still waiting.
- Press "Share this wheel" and bookmark the link. It carries the list inside, so next class the same wheel opens without retyping a name.
Templates and ideas for the wheel
| Template | What it is good for |
|---|---|
| Yes / No | Quick decisions: pop quiz today? Order in or go out? |
| Yes / No / Maybe | The same, with room for a dramatic "ask again later". |
| Numbers 1–30 | Calling students by list number, picking a raffle ticket or the textbook exercise to review. |
| Letters A–Z | The starting letter for word games like Scattergories, or a vocabulary drill. |
| Colors | Games with young kids, team colors, or which card color comes next. |
| Days of the week | Rotating chores, duty days, or which team presents on which day. |
| Your own names | Giveaways, office raffles, who goes first, where to eat. |
Is the wheel fair? How the winner is picked
The animation does not decide anything. Before the wheel starts turning, the page draws a random number from the browser's cryptographic generator (crypto.getRandomValues), throws away the rare values that would give some slices a sliver more weight, and uses it to choose one entry. The spin is then calculated to stop on that slice. With n entries, each one has exactly a 1-in-n chance: with 25 students, 4% each, on every spin, no matter where the last one landed.
Because every line is one equal slice, repeating a line is the honest way to weight the wheel. Blank lines are ignored, and the list tops out at 50 entries, beyond which slices get too thin to read.
Wheel, name picker or group generator: which one to use
| Tool | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Random spinning wheel | You want one winner at a time and everyone watching the spin: a class, a stream, a raffle. |
| Random name picker | You need several winners at once, or a whole list in random order with no repeats. |
| Random group generator | You need to split everyone into even teams or groups. |
FAQ
Is the wheel truly random?
Yes. The winner is selected using the Web Crypto API (crypto.getRandomValues), which provides cryptographically secure randomness — far stronger than Math.random. Every entry has an exactly equal probability of being picked.
How many entries can I add?
Between 2 and 50. The wheel adjusts slice sizes automatically, and long labels are truncated with "..." to fit inside each segment.
Is my data sent anywhere?
No. The wheel runs entirely in your browser. Your entries are never sent to a server or stored anywhere.
How do I stop a name from coming up again?
After each spin, press "Remove winner from the wheel". That line is deleted from the list and the wheel redraws without it, so the next spin can only land on the people still waiting. If a name appears twice, only one copy is removed. To draw everyone in a full random order at once, the random name picker linked below does it in a single click.
Is there a yes/no, number or alphabet wheel?
Yes — the template menu fills the list with Yes / No, Yes / No / Maybe, numbers 1–10, 1–20, 1–30 or 1–50, the letters A–Z, colors or the days of the week. It replaces whatever is in the list, and you can edit the result: delete the hard letters for a word game, or stop the numbers at the size of your class.
Can I make one option more likely than the others?
Yes: type it more than once. With "Pizza" on two lines and "Tacos" on one, pizza gets 2 of the 3 slices, so a two-in-three chance. Each line is one equal slice, and blank lines do not count.
Can I save my wheel for next time?
Press "Share this wheel": it copies a link that carries the list inside the link itself, after the # sign. Bookmark it or send it, and the wheel opens with the same names. That part of the link is never sent to any server, so the list stays between you and whoever you share it with.