Spin the Wheel

How to use the wheel

Add your entries. Type one per line in the list, or paste a whole column from a spreadsheet. The wheel updates as you type.
Spin. Click the wheel or the Spin button, or press Ctrl + Enter (⌘ + Enter on a Mac).
Read the result. The winner pops up in a big card. Choose Done to keep it on the wheel, or Remove from wheel to take it out for the next spin.

That’s all you need for a quick decision. The rest of the features are there when you want them.

Tip: In a classroom, turn on full screen and choose Remove from wheel after each pick. Everyone gets exactly one turn, and nobody gets picked twice.

A wheel of names for class, games and giveaways

The wheel opens with a list of names because that’s what most people spin it for. Swap in your own: a class list, your friends, raffle entrants or your team at work. Paste a whole column from a spreadsheet and every row becomes its own slice.

Used as a random name wheel, it works the same as drawing names from a hat, with two things a hat can’t do. Every spin is logged in the Results tab with the time, so you have a record of who was picked and when. And Remove from wheel takes each winner out for the next spin, so you can draw a first, second and third place, or go round the whole class, without repeats.

What else the wheel can do

Elimination rounds. Remove each winner after it’s picked and the wheel shrinks spin by spin until one entry is left. Removed entries stay in your list with a line through them, and a single click puts them all back.

Weighted odds. Type a number and a comma before an entry, like 3, Pizza, to give it a bigger slice. You can also tick Weights and set the numbers in the list view, which shows each entry’s exact chance. Good for raffles where people have more than one ticket, or for nudging the odds toward an option you’d secretly prefer.

Your own colors. Tick Custom colors to pick a color for each slice, or choose one of six color sets in Settings.

Results and scores. Every spin is logged in the Results tab with the time. Switch to Scores to see which entries came up most, which is handy when you spin several times and go with the overall winner.

Mystery mode. In Settings you can hide the entries on the wheel (every slice shows a question mark) or keep the result hidden until you click Reveal. Both add suspense in a classroom or on a stream.

3, 2, 1 countdown. Turn it on in Settings and a big countdown plays over the wheel before every spin. It gives the room a second to lean in before a draw.

Spin time and sound. Set the spin anywhere from 1 to 30 seconds, change the speed, turn on a stop button, or mute the clicking.

Full screen. Make the wheel fill the screen for a projector, a TV or a live stream.

Share and embed. The Share button gives you a link that opens a copy of your wheel, plus a code snippet to put the wheel on your own website.

Is it fair?

Each spin’s result comes from the same kind of random number generator your browser uses for security keys. The winner is picked first and the animation is built to land on it, so nothing about the spin itself can be gamed. Without weights, every slice has exactly the same chance. With weights, the chance matches the slice size you see.

If you shuffle or sort your list, the slices move around, but the odds stay the same.

Ideas for using a spinning wheel

Classroom: pick who answers next, choose a reading group, or decide the order of presentations. Elimination mode makes sure everyone gets a turn.
Giveaways and raffles: paste entrant names, spin on camera, and keep the results list as proof of the draw.
Family and friends: settle what to eat, which movie to watch, who does the dishes, or where to go on Saturday.
Games and challenges: truth-or-dare prompts, workout moves, drawing prompts, or forfeits for a game night.
Work: choose who runs stand-up, pick a random winner from survey responses, or break a tie in a meeting.

Keyboard shortcuts

Space: spin the wheel (anywhere on the page, as long as you aren’t typing)
Space while spinning: stop the wheel, when the stop button is turned on in Settings
Ctrl + Enter (⌘ + Enter on a Mac): spin, even while you’re typing in the list
Esc: close the result

Questions people ask

Is the picker wheel really random?

Yes. The result is chosen before the wheel starts turning, using your browser's cryptographic random number generator. The spin animation then lands on that result. How hard you click, how long the spin is, and the order of your list do not change the odds.

How do I remove a name after it gets picked?

When the result pops up, choose Remove from wheel. The entry leaves the wheel but stays in your list, so you can put it back later with one click. This is how you run an elimination round where nobody gets picked twice.

Can I make one option more likely than the others?

Yes. Type the weight before an entry, like 3, Pizza, or tick Weights under your list and give each entry a number. An entry with a weight of 3 gets a slice three times as big as an entry with a weight of 1, and it is three times as likely to win.

How many entries can the wheel hold?

Up to 10,000. Past a few hundred the labels get too thin to read, so the name under the pointer is also shown below the wheel while it spins.

Can I use this as a wheel of names?

Yes. That's what it opens with. Replace the example names with your own, one per line or pasted from a spreadsheet, and spin. Choose Remove from wheel after each pick so nobody is picked twice.

Will my list still be here tomorrow?

Yes, on the same device and browser. Your entries, settings and results are saved in your browser automatically. Clearing your browser data removes them.

Can I use the wheel for a giveaway?

Yes. Paste your entrants, spin, and keep the Results tab open as a record. For a public draw, use full screen and share your screen so viewers can watch the spin.

Wheel settings