Wheel of Names
Wheel of Names
Enter options, spin the wheel, and watch it land. This wheel of names works as a random picker wheel; add item*number for a weighted spin.
Entry mode
Weighted roulette guide
- Enter one item per line to create wheel slices.
- To use weights, add *number after an option. Example: Movie*3
- Higher weights make larger slices and increase the chance of winning.
Omitted weights are treated as 1. Use the item*number format to avoid confusion.
Result
Spin the roulette wheel to show the result.
Purpose
Make one random choice while showing the selection process in a clear visual way.
How to use
- Enter the options for the wheel.
- Use item*number if an option should have a larger slice.
- Press the spin button.
- Check the selected result after the wheel stops.
Weights change the segment and the odds together
Options do not have to be equally likely. Add an asterisk and a number after an option and its segment grows, with the odds rising in exactly the same proportion. Weight one option at three against two unweighted ones and the total is five, so the odds are sixty, twenty, and twenty percent.
Because segment size is the probability, you barely need to explain the rule at all. That makes it ideal when a fully equal split feels wrong but stating a preference outright feels worse. Push it too far, though, and an option covering eighty percent makes the spin read as theatre.
Why the pointer always matches the result
Some wheel tools stop the animation in one segment and announce a different winner. It only has to happen once for people to stop trusting the tool entirely.
This wheel decides the outcome first using weighted randomness, then works backwards to compute a rotation that lands the pointer in the exact centre of that segment. Deciding first can sound like rigging, but the outcome itself comes from unbiased randomness and the animation exists only to display it accurately.
How many options to put on it
The technical limit is twenty-four, but segments thin out and labels start overlapping well before that. Five to eight is the range that stays readable when a group is watching from across a room.
With more than ten candidates, split the decision into two stages. Spin for a broad category first, then spin within it, so every segment stays large. The point of a wheel is a fast decision rather than an optimal one.
Running it in front of a group
Enter and confirm every option before you share your screen. Adding one mid-session reads as interference whatever the reason. Letting a participant press the button rather than the organiser is the clearest demonstration that the organiser holds no decision-making power.
Full screen mode scales the wheel to fill the display, which matters when projecting to a classroom or meeting room where people are sitting some distance back.
Decisions that do not belong on a wheel
A wheel is for choices where you can live with any of the options. If any outcome would make you say not that one, it should not have been on the wheel in the first place.
That makes filtering the candidates the real decision. Narrow the list until you genuinely mean any of these is fine, then spin. For anything carrying responsibility, it was random is not a justification.
Examples
- Pick an activity
- Choose a snack
- Create a penalty wheel
- Select a meeting starter
Notes
- Weighted options change both slice size and selection probability.
- Keep the number of options reasonable so the wheel remains readable.
- Important decisions still need agreement outside the tool.
FAQ
How do I add weights?
Use the item*number format, such as Movie*3.
Does the displayed result match the selected slice?
Yes. The wheel is aligned to the internally selected result.