Pinball Picker
Pinball Picker
Name balls fall through a long course with bumpers and moving obstacles. Pick the all-round Classic; Roller Coaster, whose warp portals throw a ball back up; Hourglass, whose time gates hold the whole field and release it at once; Popcorn Plinko, whose pads pop balls rows back up; or Droplet Hell, where balls slosh round glass bowls looking for the hole. The finish order decides the result, and the camera follows the target rank all the way down.
Course
Rails, spinners and boosters in balance
Pinball guide
- Enter 1 to use the first ball to finish as the result.
- Enter the last number to watch the last-place ball.
- Starting positions are drawn again at every start, and each course is mirrored at random, so no spot on the line is better.
Five courses: Classic mixes a bit of everything; Roller Coaster has warp portals that send a ball back up; Hourglass holds the whole field at time gates, then lets it go; Popcorn Plinko pops balls rows back up; Droplet Hell sloshes them round glass bowls looking for the hole.
Starting positions
Drawn again at every start
Classic course
Start pinball to preview the long course, then follow the target-rank ball.
Purpose
Add tension to a random order or rank decision by showing a longer game-like reveal.
How to use
- Pick a course and enter names or items.
- Choose the target rank if needed.
- Start the race; starting slots are drawn as it starts.
- Watch the finish order as the balls arrive.
A physics simulation with a fair outcome
The balls bouncing off obstacles are driven by a real physics engine. Starting slots are drawn afresh at every start, each ball gets a small random push, and the course is mirrored left to right in half of all races. Everything after that follows the physics, so no name starts from a structurally better spot.
The course is laid out with obstacles and boosters, which flips the standings repeatedly. A ball in front can miss a booster and fall back, or the reverse, which is what makes the result genuinely uncertain until the end.
How the five courses differ
Classic mixes slanted rails, spinning bars, sliding bars and boosters. Roller Coaster races down rainbow switchbacks from wall to wall, past warp portals on two of the lower ramps. A portal blinks open only now and then, and a ball that touches it while it is open is thrown back two ramps, so even the leader can drop to the back in a moment.
Hourglass stacks five glass hourglasses. Three of the necks have time gates: while shut they hold every ball that arrives, and when they open the whole pile drops at once, so a big lead is wiped out at the gate. Popcorn Plinko scatters popcorn pads through a dense pin board that pop a falling ball several rows back up, and Droplet Hell sends the balls through three glass bowls, where they slosh round a frictionless floor until they find the small drain.
Every course is equally fair, so pick by mood: Roller Coaster or Hourglass for late comebacks, Popcorn Plinko for bouncing fun, and Droplet Hell for chaos right to the end.
Why the speed matches on desktop and mobile
Stepping a physics simulation once per drawn frame makes it run twice as fast on a 120Hz device as on a 60Hz one. It is a common reason the same tool finishes at different speeds on different devices.
This tool accumulates real elapsed time and advances the physics only in fixed increments. However often frames are drawn, the simulation moves at the same rate, so a phone and a desktop feel identical.
You can choose the speed
Slow, normal, and fast are all available. Slow suits a classroom or a stream where the process itself is the point and you want reactions along the way. Fast suits getting to the result quickly.
Changing speed does not affect fairness. Only the rate at which the simulation advances changes; the same physics is computed either way.
How many entries stay readable
Too many balls overlap and become impossible to follow. When a group is watching and cheering, around eight is where individual balls stay distinguishable.
With a larger group, use it to pick the top few rather than ranking everyone. If you need a full ordering, the order picker is far quicker.
Going full screen
The course is tall, so balls look small at normal size. Full screen mode scales the course to use the whole display, which keeps the balls distinguishable from the back of a room.
For projecting in a classroom or meeting room, full screen combined with the slow speed setting is the best pairing.
Examples
- Choose a winner
- Create a suspenseful order
- Pick a penalty target
- Run a classroom activity
Notes
- The tool uses a browser physics engine, so motion can vary slightly by device.
- Keep the item count within the tool limit for a clear view.
- For formal draws, use a separate verification process.
FAQ
Does the finish order decide the result?
Yes. The order is based on when each ball reaches the finish area.
How are the courses different?
Classic mixes rails, spinning bars and boosters. Roller Coaster races down rainbow switchbacks past warp portals that, when open, send a ball back two ramps. Hourglass has time gates at three necks that hold every ball, then let them all go at once. Popcorn Plinko pops balls rows back up from pads among the pins, and Droplet Hell makes them slosh round three glass bowls to find a small drain. Every course is equally fair.
Does the starting position matter?
Starting slots are drawn afresh at every start, and the course is mirrored at random from race to race, so nobody keeps a lucky slot and no name starts from a better spot.