Wheel of fortune
Type in the options, press the button — the wheel spins and stops on a random one. A full-screen mode is included for projectors and live streams.
Click the wheel or press space to spin. Up to 200 options; labels hide above twenty-four.
What came up
Why it is fair
The winner is picked before the spin
This is not a quibble about wording but a structural difference. The draw is made by the cryptographic generator the moment you press the button, and only then does the wheel rotate to that sector. The animation is decoration, not the decision mechanism.
If the outcome were decided “wherever the wheel happens to stop”, it could be steered: nudge the duration or the friction and the pointer predictably drifts to the desired sector. That is exactly how wheels work in games where the payout is controlled.
The sectors carry no hidden weights: every option has the same width and the same probability. Easy to verify — untick “remove the winner” and spin thirty times: the options come up roughly evenly.
Where it helps
What a spinning wheel is for
A draw in front of an audience. Full-screen mode strips everything away and leaves the wheel filling the display — good for a conference projector, a stream or an office party. Viewers see the process, not a finished number.
Several prizes in a row. The “remove the winner” option drops the sector after it stops, so the next spin runs without it. No need to edit the list by hand.
Order and assignment. Who presents first, who is on duty, who takes which topic — the wheel settles it faster than an argument.
Small everyday choices. Where to eat, which film to watch, who does the dishes. Not a serious task, but the one such wheels get spun for most often.
When a wheel is not enough
More than a hundred participants — use the winner picker: it has reserves and a permanent link. Need teams or pairs — try splitting into groups.
Common cases
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Is the result truly random, or is the animation rigged?
The winner is picked before the spin starts by the cryptographic generator, and the wheel simply rotates to that sector. That is the correct way round: if the result were decided at the moment of stopping, it could be steered by the animation. Sectors carry no hidden weights — every option is equally likely.
How many options can the wheel hold?
Up to 200. Labels are hidden above twenty-four options, otherwise the text turns to mush, and the winner is announced by the banner anyway. For long lists the winner picker is more convenient: it offers a permanent link and provable fairness.
How do I show the wheel on a big screen?
Press the full-screen button above the wheel: the settings panel hides and only the wheel and the spin button remain. It works for projectors, streams and office parties.
What does “remove the winner” do?
After the spin that sector is dropped from the wheel and the next spin runs without it. That is how several prizes are drawn in a row, or a running order is built, without editing the list by hand.
Can I prove the draw was fair to viewers?
The wheel stores nothing and runs entirely in the browser, so it cannot serve as proof. If outsiders need to verify the outcome, run the draw through the winner picker: there the list is committed before the results and anyone can recompute them from the published formula.
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