HandyWheelHow to pick a random name
- Add the names. Type a name and press Enter, or open Bulk edit and paste a whole list, one name per line. A column copied from Excel, Google Sheets or your class register works as it is.
- Check “Remove winner after spin”. It is already ticked on this page, so every picked name leaves the wheel. Untick it if the same person can be picked more than once.
- Spin. Press Spin or click the wheel. The name under the pointer is picked and appears large in the middle of the screen.
- Keep going. Spin again for the next name. When only one name is left, you have your full order.
- Save the list for next time. This page remembers your names in this browser. Press Copy share link to keep a list as a bookmark or to open it on another computer.
The wheel is sometimes called a wheel of names or a name wheel. Whatever you call it, the idea is the same: everyone can see the pick happen, so nobody can say it was unfair.
Picking students in the classroom
Teachers use a name picker to choose who answers the next question, who presents first or who gets a classroom job this week. It helps in a few ways:
- Everyone gets a turn. With the winner removed after each spin, you work through the whole class before anyone is picked again, instead of asking the same three keen hands.
- Nobody feels singled out. When the wheel chooses, a student called on to answer knows it was luck, not the teacher picking on them.
- Students stay alert. Anyone could be next, so the whole class keeps thinking about the question.
Keep one share link per class: open it at the start of a lesson and the right names are on the wheel. If you need to split the class into groups instead of picking one name at a time, the team generator does it in one click.
Raffles, giveaways and prize draws
Paste the names of everyone who entered, show the wheel on a big screen and spin once per prize. Because the winner is removed after each spin, nobody can win twice. If some people have more than one entry, for example one per ticket bought, add their name once per entry.
For giveaways where the prizes are on the wheel instead of the names, such as a spin-to-win wheel at a shop counter or a booth, use the prize wheel. It also has tips for running a giveaway that people trust.
Streams, meetings and families
Streamers paste the names of viewers who typed an entry in chat and spin live, in fullscreen. Teams pick who leads the stand-up meeting or takes notes. At home the wheel decides who chooses the film, who clears the table or who goes first in a game. For a full truth or dare game, the truth or dare wheel has ready-made questions and dares.
Is it fair?
Yes. When you press Spin, the name is chosen first with crypto.getRandomValues, the secure random number generator built into your browser, and the wheel then slows down and stops on that name. Every name has exactly the same chance, whether there are 3 names or 100, and nobody, including you, can steer the result. The slices are all the same size, so what people see matches the real odds.
Your names stay on your device. They are saved in this browser's local storage and are never sent to our server. A share link carries the names after the # in the address, a part of the link that browsers do not send to web servers.
Tips for a better name picker
- Two people with the same name? Add a last initial, such as “Emma K.” and “Emma T.”, so you know who was picked.
- Picked someone who is absent? Just spin again. The absent name has already left the wheel if “Remove winner after spin” is ticked.
- Want to undo a removal? Type the name back in, or paste the full list again in Bulk edit.
- Use your own colors. The Colors & effects tab has color themes, and the sound and fireworks can be switched off there for a quiet classroom.
- Only need a yes or a no? Ask the yes or no generator instead, or flip a coin when there are only two people.
For everyday decisions, the main random choice wheel and the wheel ideas have more ready-made wheels, and the food wheel settles what to eat.