Spin the Wheel

Spin the Wheel: Random Decision Spinner

Can't decide what to eat for dinner? Need a random name picker for a classroom activity? Want a fair way to assign tasks in your team? Our Spin the Wheel tool lets you add any list of options and spin a colourful animated wheel to pick a winner instantly. It's completely customisable. Add as many options as you like, from two to twenty or more.

Popular Use Cases

• Dinner spinner. "What should I eat tonight?" Add: Pizza, Sushi, Tacos, Burgers, Pasta, Salad and let fate decide.
• Random name picker for teachers: Add student names and spin to cold-call fairly, without appearing to favour anyone.
• Team task assignment: List team members and spin to assign chores, tasks, or who presents next.
• Giveaway wheel: Add entrant names for a live, visual prize draw on stream or at events.
• Movie or game night picker: Can't agree on what to watch? Add your shortlist and spin.
• Scrum / standup icebreaker: Spin to decide who speaks first in your daily standup meeting.

Using Spin the Wheel for Giveaways and Live Streams

The spin the wheel format is uniquely suited to live contests and prize draws. Unlike a silent random number draw, a spinning wheel gives your audience something to watch. The suspense builds as it slows, and the moment it stops is a genuine reveal. Here is how to run a clean giveaway with it:

• Paste your entrant list. Copy names from chat, a comment section, spreadsheet, or sign-up form. One name per line. The wheel rebuilds automatically as you type.
• Spin on camera. Share your screen on Twitch, YouTube, or Discord so your audience can watch. The winner is predetermined by crypto.getRandomValues() before the animation starts, so there is no way to influence the outcome after you press Spin.
• Multiple prizes? After each spin, delete the winner's name from the list and spin again. Each subsequent draw is a fresh independent random event from the remaining pool.
• Transparency. Because the tool runs entirely in your browser with no server involvement, your community knows no external system is influencing results. Showing the full entrant list on screen before spinning is your proof of fairness.

For a deeper guide on running fair contests, including how to document results and the legal basics of sweepstakes, see our How to Run a Fair & Transparent Giveaway guide.

How to Use the Wheel

1. Type your options in the text box below the wheel, one per line.
2. The wheel updates automatically as you type: You can see your segments appear in real time.
3. Click Spin! or click directly on the wheel to start the spin.
4. The winner banner appears with the selected option after the wheel slows to a stop.
5. Spin again as many times as you like, each spin is an independent, fair random event.

Fair Randomness Behind the Wheel

The winning segment is determined by crypto.getRandomValues(), a cryptographically secure random number generator, before the spin animation begins. The animated wheel spin is visual only: it will always land on the pre-selected winner. This means every option has an exactly equal probability, regardless of the spin speed or duration. There is no way to influence the result after you press Spin.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is the wheel spin truly random?

  Yes. The winning segment is decided using crypto.getRandomValues() before the animation starts. The spin animation is cosmetic. Every option has an equal probability of being selected on every spin.
• How many options can I add?

  There's no hard limit. The wheel renders up to as many segments as you provide. Text is automatically truncated to fit. For best readability we recommend 2–16 options. Beyond that, segments get narrow but still work correctly.
• Can I use this as a classroom name picker for teachers?

  Absolutely. It's one of the most popular uses. Add all your students' names, one per line, and spin whenever you need to cold-call fairly. The wheel gives every student an equal chance and makes the selection visually exciting.

Further reading

For running fair contests and the legal basics of sweepstakes, see our How to Run a Fair & Transparent Giveaway guide. For raffle rules, tools, and legalities, read our Ultimate Guide to Hosting a Digital Raffle.

Other Decision Tools

For simple yes/no decisions, try our Yes or No Generator or Coin Flipper.