Spin the Wheel

How to use the wheel

Spin the Wheel picks one entry from your list at random. It settles the small decisions that otherwise eat ten minutes: where to get lunch, who buys the coffee, which name wins the giveaway, who presents first.

1. Type your options in the box, one per line. It starts with a few lunch ideas so you can try it straight away.
2. Press Spin or click the wheel itself. On a keyboard, Space or Enter works too.
3. The wheel coasts to a stop over four to six seconds, and the slice under the pointer at the top wins.
4. From the result card you can Spin again or Share the result to a chat.

Ideas for using it

• Lunch decider — everyone adds one place, you spin, done.
• Who pays — put in the names of everyone at the table. Make a second list of forfeits if you want to raise the stakes.
• Giveaways and raffles — paste the entrants, turn on "Remove the winner after each spin", and draw first, second and third place in a row.
• Classroom and meeting turns — presentation order, cleanup duty, who answers the next question.

How the odds work

The stopping point looks like chance, but the wheel actually decides the winner first. The moment you spin, your browser's cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues) picks one entry, and the spin is then worked out so the wheel comes to rest at a random point inside that slice. That means:

• With n entries, every slice has exactly a 1 in n chance. Six entries is about 16.7% each.
• The same entry can come up twice in a row. Each spin is a fresh draw, so "it's due" never applies.
• How hard or when you click makes no difference, and neither does a slice's colour.

Want to tilt the odds on purpose? Write an entry on more than one line. Two lines of pizza against one of tacos gives pizza a 2 in 3 chance. All of this happens inside your browser; your list is never sent to a server.

Features at a glance

Feature	What it does
Entries	Up to 100, each up to 60 characters
Shuffle	Puts the list in a random order, handy when copies sit together
Clear all	Empties the box so you can start over
Remove the winner	Takes the winning entry off the list when you close the result
Sound	A tick for every slice that passes and a fanfare for the winner; mute it with the speaker button
Fullscreen	Fills the screen, good for a projector or a group round one phone

Your list is saved in this browser automatically, so it is still there next time. Another device or a private window starts with the sample list.

Tips

• Paste straight from a spreadsheet or notes app. A column of names copies across as one name per line.
• Long names are shortened on the wheel when a slice is narrow, but the winner card always shows the full text.
• Past about 30 entries the slices get thin and the labels small; fullscreen helps when the whole room is watching.
• If a result might be argued over, agree before spinning whether it's one spin or best of three. The wheel is fair, but the rules are up to you.

Try something else

Once the wheel has decided lunch, spend the rest of the break on a puzzle: the number guessing game has you crack a hidden number from bulls and cows hints. Want to settle who is quickest instead? Go head to head on the reaction time test or the CPS test.

Spin the Wheel FAQ

Is the wheel really random?

Yes. The moment you spin, the winner is drawn first with your browser's cryptographic random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues), and only then is the spin worked out so the wheel stops somewhere inside that slice. With n entries every slice has exactly a 1 in n chance, whatever came up before and however you click.

Can I give one option better odds?

Type it on more than one line. Each line is its own slice, so an option written twice next to one written once has a 2 in 3 chance. Use Shuffle if you'd rather the copies were not side by side.

How many entries can the wheel hold?

Up to 100, one per line, each up to 60 characters. Long names are shortened on the wheel when the slice is too narrow, but the winner card always shows the full text.

Can I remove the winner and keep spinning?

Turn on "Remove the winner after each spin". The winning entry is then taken off the list when you close the result or spin again, which is handy for picking a running order or drawing first, second and third prizes.

Where is my list saved?

Only in this browser's local storage, so it is still there next time you visit. Nothing is sent to a server: another device or a private window starts with the sample list, and clearing site data removes it.

Does it work on a phone or a big screen?

It runs in any modern mobile browser. The fullscreen button blows the wheel up to fill the screen, which works well for a classroom projector or a group huddled around one phone, and Share sends the result straight to a chat.