Name Spinner
Who goes next? Settle meeting, team and game order in one spin
Every team has the same small arguments: who speaks first at stand-up, who takes the notes, who presents first on demo day, whose turn it is to pick lunch. Put the names on the spinner and let it decide. Load one of the lists below and swap in your team, or paste names one per line.
- Priya
- Marcus
- Elena
- Tom
- Aisha
- Jonas
- Mei
- Diego
How to set the order with the name spinner
1. Add your team
Type each person once, or paste a column straight from your team spreadsheet. Save the wheel and bookmark the link, so next week the same team is one click away.
2. Turn on elimination mode for an order
In Settings, switch on elimination mode. Each spin removes the person picked, so spinning until the wheel is empty gives you the full speaking or presenting order, with nobody picked twice.
3. Spin where everyone can see
Share your screen on Zoom, Teams or Meet, or put the wheel on the meeting-room TV. A visible spin settles "why am I always first?" before it starts.
4. Keep a record if it matters
For on-call rotas or who owns a task, use Share result in the winner popup to get a link with the pick, the list and the time. Paste it into the ticket or chat thread.
Ways teams use a name spinner
Daily stand-up order
Spin to choose who starts, then go clockwise, or use elimination mode for a fully random order. It stops the same two people always going first and the quiet ones always going last. Running it remotely? See picking names in virtual meetings.
Meeting roles
Load "Meeting roles" and spin a role for each person, or put names on the wheel and spin once per role. Rotating the note-taker and timekeeper this way spreads the chores fairly over a month.
Presentation and demo order
For sprint demos, pitch practice or a class of presentations, an order everyone watched being drawn removes any hint that the schedule favored someone.
Splitting into groups
Need groups rather than one name at a time? The random team generator splits a list into balanced teams in one click.
Game nights and who goes first
Board games always start with "who goes first?" Spin the players, or spin once to pick the first player and go around the table from there.
Rotas and on-call
For weekend cover or kitchen duty, spin through the team with elimination on to build the rota, then save the result link so nobody disputes it later.
Why a spinner beats "who wants to go first?"
Fair, and seen to be fair
Every name has the same chance on every spin, from your browser's cryptographically secure random generator. The fairness test spins it 100,000 times to show it.
Fast
A spin takes three to five seconds. It is quicker than negotiating, and it ends the silence after "any volunteers?"
Private
Names are kept in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to save a wheel or share a result.
Name spinner questions
How do I get a full order instead of one name?
Turn on elimination mode in Settings and keep spinning until the wheel is empty. The order the names come up is your order, and nobody can come up twice.
Can I use the name spinner in a video call?
Yes. Share your screen and spin, or save the wheel and post the link in the chat so anyone can open the same list.
Can someone skip a turn without being deleted?
Yes. In Settings, click the eye icon next to their name to hide them from the wheel for now. Their name stays in your saved list for next time.
Can I import my team from a spreadsheet?
Yes. Click Import CSV / Excel above the names, then paste a column from Excel or Google Sheets or upload a .csv or .xlsx file, and choose the column with the names. The file is read in your browser and never uploaded.
Is this different from the classroom name wheel?
It is the same fair wheel, set up for teams: the lists and tips here are about meetings, rotas and turn order, while the classroom name wheel is set up for calling on students.
Is it free?
Yes. There is no sign-up, no limit on names or spins, and it works on phones, tablets and computers.