Spinner Wheel
Type a list, spin the wheel, watch the pointer settle.
How it works
Handy for
Frequently asked
Is the result really random?
Can I make one option more likely?
How many names can I add?
Can two spins land on the same name?
Does it work on a phone?
Do you save my list or the winners?
Is it free?
Read more about this tool
The spinner wheel is a decision tool. You type a list of names, press spin, and the wheel turns for about five seconds before the pointer settles on one of them. That is the whole tool. It has its own page rather than living as a line of code because the slow, visible spin does something a plain draw does not: it lets a group watch the result arrive together, so nobody has to take anyone's word for who won.
Teachers use it to decide who reads or answers next, where the point is that the wheel makes the call in front of the class rather than the teacher appearing to single anyone out. Offices spin to settle who makes the coffee run; friends spin to settle where to eat. The common thread is that the decision happens out in the open, so there is nothing to argue about afterwards.
The wheel takes between two and fifty entries. Below two there is nothing to decide, and above fifty the slices get too thin to read, so the input is capped there. The winner is chosen by your browser's random number generator the instant you press spin — the five seconds of spinning that follow are just for show. Where a name sits in the list makes no difference to its chances. By default every entry has the same odds — but you can give one better odds, and a bigger slice, using the plus and minus weight controls under the wheel (or by adding *3 after a name).
How the wheel works
Pressing spin picks the winning slot immediately, using the same kind of uniformly distributed random number your browser provides. The result is fixed at that moment. The animation then runs for roughly five seconds, decelerating onto the slot that was already chosen — nothing about how long it spins or how it slows down changes the outcome.
Unless you weight an entry, the draw is flat — every slot keeps the same probability no matter how often it has won before. Back-to-back repeats are possible, the way a coin can land heads twice in a row. If you want a sequence where no name repeats — picking a reading order, or handing out several prizes — remove each winner from the list before the next spin. To give one name better odds, use the weight controls under the wheel — the plus and minus buttons that grow its slice — or add *3 after the name. (Listing the same name on several lines still works too; the wheel treats every line as its own slice and does not merge duplicates.)
Nothing is saved. When you close or refresh the tab the list is gone, and nothing is sent to a server, so if you need a record of who has already been called or who has won, keep it somewhere else. There is no signup and no account. If the wheel ends up part of a classroom routine or a regular giveaway, we would like to hear about it — the contact email is at the bottom of every page.