Random name picker and wheel spinner

A random picker helps when several choices deserve a chance. Here are a few ways to put your wheel to work:

• Classroom participation: choose the next student to answer a question, read aloud, or lead an activity.
• Giveaways and prize draws: pick a name from your eligible participant list and keep a record of the result.
• Meetings and teamwork: choose a speaking order, assign a small task, or pick an icebreaker.
• Games and parties: select a challenge, choose who goes first, or decide on a game.
• Everyday decisions: pick dinner, a movie, a workout, or the next item on your to-do list.

For a giveaway, agree on eligibility and repeat-winner rules before spinning.

1. Add your entries. Type or paste one name per line in the editor. You can also import a TXT, CSV, or JSON file, or preview entries from a viewable Google spreadsheet.
2. Make it yours. Open Customize to choose a palette, change the spin duration, or turn sounds on or off.
3. Click SPIN. Use the center hub, click the wheel, or press Space when you are outside an input field.
4. Use the result. Copy the winner, spin again, or remove that entry. Undo restores an entry you removed.

Results appear after the wheel stops. The fixed pointer and the winner announcement refer to the same selected entry.

• Flexible entry lists: shuffle, sort, reverse, duplicate, remove repeated names, and undo edits.
• Weighted choices: give entries different chances and see the corresponding slice sizes.
• Multiple saved wheels: keep up to 20 wheels in this browser and switch between independent lists.
• Your own style: choose from ten palettes, switch between light and dark themes, and adjust spin time.
• Results and insights: review recent winners, export history, and compare observed frequencies with expected probabilities.
• Draw settings: create balanced teams in Groups or choose multiple winners in Settings, both beside Entries.
• Useful extras: use Random Rank to shuffle a list, or open Tools to roll dice, flip a coin, or generate a number.

Winner selection uses your browser’s Web Crypto random values rather than Math.random(). Rejection sampling avoids the bias that can occur when a random integer is mapped directly onto a list of a different size.

With equal weights, every active entry has the same chance. The animation then lands on the selected entry; it does not pick a different winner as it slows down.

Why can the same name win twice?

Each draw is independent. A previous win does not reduce an entry’s next chance. To prevent that entry from winning again, remove it after the draw or enable automatic winner removal in Customize.

Try 10,000 simulated draws to compare observed frequencies with expected chances. Simulation results stay separate from your actual spin history. Variation is normal, and a simulation is not a certification of randomness.

A weight controls an entry’s share of the total chance. Open Edit weights to set a whole-number weight from 0 to 10,000 or disable an entry.

The formula is entry weight ÷ total active weight. Slice sizes follow the same ratio. Entries with weight zero or a disabled status do not participate.

Repeated names are separate entries, so adding a name twice gives that name two chances when both entries have equal weights. Use Remove duplicate names if each person should appear only once.

Your lists, settings, and recent results are saved automatically in this browser. You can return on the same browser without creating an account.

• Keep a backup: export JSON to save a wheel’s entries, weights, and settings. Import it to reopen a copy.
• Move a list: export names as TXT, or names and weights as CSV.
• Share a copy: Share creates an editable wheel link. Changes to that copy do not sync with the original.
• Save your results: export history separately from the Results panel. Each wheel retains up to 500 recent results.

Shared links contain readable names and settings in encoded form. Browser storage is not cloud backup: clearing browser data can erase your wheels. Long links may be truncated by messaging apps; use a JSON file for large lists.

Presentation mode hides the editor and navigation so the wheel takes center stage. It works well for a classroom display, a meeting, or an event screen.

For OBS or Streamlabs, capture the browser window displaying the wheel. Open the site in that browser, enable presentation mode, and keep control of the wheel from your computer.

• Press Space outside form fields to spin.
• Press Escape to leave presentation mode.
• Turn sounds off if you want to use your stream’s audio.

This version does not connect to chat, collect viewer entries, or offer a remote streaming control panel. If the hosted site requires sign-in, a separate streaming browser source also needs access.