Create a customizable spinning wheel for random selection. Add your own options, colors, and spin to make decisions, pick winners, or choose randomly.
How the Spinning Wheel Works
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Add your options: Enter custom text for each segment of the wheel. You can add as many options as you need.
- Customize colors: Choose unique colors for each segment to make your wheel visually appealing and easy to read.
- Click "Spin": Press the spin button to start the wheel rotating with realistic physics.
- Watch the animation: The wheel spins with momentum, gradually slowing down before landing on the winning segment.
- View your result: The selected option is highlighted and displayed prominently.
- Check history: Review past spins to track patterns and ensure fairness over time.
Technical Explanation
Our spinning wheel uses cryptographically secure random number generation via the Web Crypto API. When you click spin, the system immediately selects a winning segment using true randomness, then calculates the precise rotation needed to land on that segment. This ensures each option has an exactly equal probability of being selected, regardless of wheel position or timing.
The wheel animation uses advanced physics simulation including momentum, friction, and easing functions to create a realistic spinning experience. The rotation speed starts high and gradually decreases, mimicking real-world wheel behavior. The visual presentation is purely cosmetic—the winner is determined instantly for fairness.
Customization Features
- Unlimited segments: Add as many options as needed for your specific use case
- Color customization: Choose from millions of colors to match your brand or theme
- Spin duration: Adjust animation speed from quick spins to dramatic slow reveals
- Sound effects: Enable realistic spinning and landing sounds for engagement
- Celebration effects: Choose from fireworks, confetti, balloons, and more
- Fullscreen mode: Present the wheel in fullscreen for maximum visibility
Real-World Use Cases
🎓 Education & Classroom
Student Selection: Teachers use spinning wheels to randomly call on students for questions, presentations, or activities. This ensures fair participation and keeps students engaged, as everyone has an equal chance of being selected. The visual nature of the wheel adds excitement to classroom activities.
Topic Selection: Educators create wheels with discussion topics, essay prompts, or project themes. Students spin to receive their assignment, making the selection process fun and removing any perception of favoritism. This works excellently for creative writing prompts, debate topics, or research subjects.
Group Formation: Create wheels with student names or numbers to randomly assign group leaders, partners, or team members. This promotes social mixing and prevents students from always working with the same friends.
💼 Business & Marketing
Giveaways & Contests: Businesses use spinning wheels for promotional giveaways, prize drawings, and contest winner selection. The visual element creates excitement and transparency, as participants can see the selection process is truly random. This works great for social media contests, trade show booths, and customer appreciation events.
Decision Making: Teams use wheels to make group decisions about project directions, meeting topics, or brainstorming focus areas. When multiple valid options exist, the wheel provides an unbiased selection method that everyone can accept.
Customer Engagement: Retail stores and restaurants use digital wheels for "spin to win" promotions, where customers spin for discounts, free items, or special offers. This gamification increases customer interaction and creates memorable experiences.
🎉 Events & Entertainment
Party Games: Event hosts create custom wheels for party activities, drinking games, truth or dare challenges, or icebreaker questions. The spinning animation builds anticipation and keeps guests engaged throughout the event.
Raffle Drawings: Fundraisers and charity events use wheels to select raffle winners in a transparent, entertaining way. The visual selection process builds excitement and ensures participants trust the fairness of the drawing.
Game Night Selection: Friend groups use wheels to choose which board game to play, what movie to watch, or where to eat dinner. This eliminates decision paralysis and ensures everyone's preferences are considered equally.
👨👩👧👦 Family & Personal
Chore Assignment: Families create wheels with household chores to fairly distribute tasks among family members. This removes arguments about who does what and makes chore assignment feel more like a game.
Activity Planning: Parents use wheels to let children choose weekend activities, dinner options, or vacation destinations from pre-approved choices. This gives children agency while maintaining parental control over the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the spinning wheel truly random?
Yes, absolutely. We use the Web Crypto API's cryptographically secure random number generator, which is the same technology used for encryption and security applications. Each segment has an exactly equal probability of being selected, and the outcome is determined the moment you click spin—the animation is just for visual effect. You can verify fairness by checking the history statistics over many spins.
How many segments can I add to the wheel?
You can add as many segments as you need, though we recommend keeping it under 20 for optimal readability. With more than 20 segments, the text becomes small and harder to read during spinning. If you have many options, consider grouping similar items or running multiple rounds of selection.
Does the wheel save my configuration?
Yes, your wheel configuration (segments, colors, and settings) is automatically saved in your browser's local storage. When you return to the site, your previous wheel will be loaded. This data stays on your device and is never sent to our servers, ensuring your privacy.
Can I use this for official contests or giveaways?
Yes, many businesses and organizations use our wheel for official selections. The cryptographically secure randomization meets fairness standards, and the history feature provides an audit trail. However, for legal compliance, check your local regulations regarding random selection methods for contests and giveaways.
Why does the wheel sometimes land between segments?
The wheel is designed to always land precisely on a segment, never between them. If it appears to land between segments, try refreshing the page or adjusting your browser zoom level. The selection algorithm ensures the wheel stops exactly at the center of the winning segment.
Can I share my wheel with others?
Currently, wheels are saved locally to your browser. To share a wheel configuration, you can manually recreate it or take a screenshot of your setup. We're considering adding a share feature in future updates based on user feedback.
Does the wheel work on mobile devices?
Yes, the spinning wheel is fully responsive and works great on smartphones and tablets. The touch interface is optimized for mobile use, and all features (including fullscreen mode) work on mobile browsers. For the best experience on mobile, use landscape orientation for larger wheels.
What are the celebration effects for?
Celebration effects (fireworks, confetti, balloons, etc.) add visual excitement when the wheel stops spinning. They're purely cosmetic and don't affect the selection process. Choose effects that match your event's tone—fireworks for big announcements, confetti for fun occasions, or none for professional settings.