Pick a student to answer
Fair, visible and fun for a class. Leave removal off so anyone can be picked again.
Names Amira, Ben, Carla, Dmitri, Esi, Farouk, Grace, Hana
Wheel of Names
Paste your names, one per line, and spin. The wheel picks a winner at random, with every slice equally likely. Use it to choose a student, a teammate, a prize winner or who buys lunch, then remove winners as you go to work through the whole list.
8 names
Press Space to spin
Winners so far
How to use the wheel of names
- Add your names. Type or paste them into the box, one per line. The wheel redraws as you type, with one slice per line. Blank lines are ignored.
- Choose your options. Tick "Remove winner after each spin" if each name should only win once, which is handy for running orders and turn-taking. Leave it off for a plain draw where anyone can win again.
- Spin. Press the button, click the wheel or press the Space bar. The wheel turns for about five seconds, slows down and stops on the winner, who is also shown in large text underneath. Switch Sound on first if you want a tick as each slice passes the pointer and a short fanfare for the winner.
- Show it to the room. Full screen mode enlarges the wheel for a projector, a classroom screen or a stream.
Your chance of winning
Every slice is the same size, so the chance for each line is one divided by the number of lines. A name entered twice has two slices and double the chance.
| Names on the wheel | Chance for each line |
|---|---|
| 2 | 50% |
| 5 | 20% |
| 10 | 10% |
| 20 | 5% |
| 100 | 1% |
| 500 | 0.2% |
With "Remove winner" on, six names give an order in which each of the 720 possible orders is equally likely.
Worked examples
Four common ways to use it. Press "Load this example" to fill the wheel and spin straight away.
Who pays for lunch
One spin and the argument is over.
Names Sam, Priya, Wei, Jordan, Lena
Set the speaking order
Turn on Remove winner and keep spinning. Each spin picks the next speaker, and nobody goes twice.
Names Nadia, Tom, Aisha, Luca, Mei, Omar / Remove winner on
Give some entries better odds
Repeat a line to give it more slices. Here Team Red has two of the four, so it wins half the time.
Names Team Red, Team Red, Team Blue, Team Green
Tips for getting more from it
Keep names short. Short names stay readable on the slices. Past about 60 names the labels are hidden because the slices get too thin, so rely on the winner banner for long lists.
Use the same spelling each time. Each line is its own slice, so "Sam" and "sam" count as two different entries.
Shuffle before a long list. The Shuffle button mixes the order of the lines. It has no effect on who wins, but it stops people reading too much into where they sit on the wheel.
Announce the rules first. Say whether winners are removed before you spin, so the result feels fair to everyone watching.
Why the pick is fair
The winner is chosen with crypto.getRandomValues, the secure source browsers use for encryption, using rejection sampling so no slice is favoured by rounding. The pick is made before the wheel starts to turn, and the spin is only an animation that lands on it. How hard you click, or when, changes nothing.
Your list stays in your browser. It is saved on your own device so it is there next time, and it is never uploaded.
Wheel of names questions
How do I add names to the wheel?
Type or paste your names into the box, one per line. The wheel redraws instantly with one slice per name.
Can I remove a name after it wins?
Yes. Turn on "Remove winner" and each chosen name drops off the wheel before the next spin, so you can work through a whole list.
Is every slice equally likely to win?
Yes. The winner is chosen with a secure random draw before the animation starts. The spin just shows the result, and speed or where you click has no effect.
How many names can the wheel hold?
Up to 500. Past about 60 names the labels get too small to read, so the winner is also shown in large text below the wheel.
Can I use it in a classroom on a projector?
Yes. Full-screen mode enlarges the wheel and the winner banner so the whole room can see the result.
Will my list be saved if I close the page?
Your list is kept in your own browser for your next visit. It's never uploaded, and you can clear it with one click.
Why did the same name win twice in a row?
Each spin is independent, so the wheel has no memory of the last winner. With 8 names, any given name wins two spins running 1 time in 8, which happens often enough to look suspicious but is perfectly normal. Turn on "Remove winner" if you want nobody to repeat.
Does the wheel have sound?
Yes, and it is off by default. Switch Sound on and you hear a click each time a slice passes the pointer, a whoosh as the wheel starts and a short fanfare for the winner. It is generated in your browser, nothing is downloaded, and the choice is remembered on your device.
Can I add the same name twice to give it better odds?
Yes. Each line is its own slice, so a name entered twice has double the chance of winning.