Magic 8 Ball: Ask a Question, Spin or Shake for an Answer

1. 1Ask your question. Type it into Ask your question, up to 120 characters. It is optional. The wheel does not read it. It only shows above the answer on the result card and in your results list. A question that a yes or no can answer works best, such as "Should we play one more round?"
2. 2Pick a view. Wheel shows the 20 answers on a wheel. 8 Ball shows a black ball that you shake. Both views draw from the same list.
3. 3Press Spin. In the 8 Ball view the button says Shake, and clicking the ball does the same.
4. 4Read the card. "The 8 Ball says" appears with your question and the answer inside the ball's triangle. Spin again asks again, Remove winner takes that answer off the wheel, and Share result sends the answer, your question and a link through your device's share menu, or copies them to your clipboard.

The question box and the two view buttons sit at the top of the panel beside the wheel. On screens narrower than 1,024 pixels that panel is hidden, and they sit under the Spin button instead.

If you get "Reply hazy, try again.", decide before you start whether a non-committal answer is final or a free re-shake. Without that rule it is easy to shake until you hear the answer you wanted, and then the ball has decided nothing.

The two views use the same 20 answers and pick an answer in the same way. They differ in what you watch.

• Wheel view. The wheel turns and stops with one slice under the pointer. A turn takes about 5 seconds. Under Spin length in the Spin tab (on a phone, Settings in the bottom bar and then Spin), Fast is about 3 seconds and Slow about 7.
• 8 Ball view. A black ball with a white 8 replaces the wheel. Shake makes it rock for about 1 second, then the 8 gives way to a dark window with a blue triangle and the answer printed in it. After you close the card the ball keeps showing that answer until your next shake. Spin length does not apply here, and if your device is set to reduce motion the ball does not rock and the answer comes up sooner. The ball does not react to shaking your phone, so press Shake or tap the ball.

The wheel starts with the 20 answers that the Magic 8 Ball toy is known for, in the toy's split of 10, 5 and 5. Each answer fills one slice, and all slices are the same size.

A single answer has a 5% chance on any spin. Over 20 spins you would expect about 10 yes-type, 5 non-committal and 5 no-type answers, but a real run varies. Ask five questions in a row and the chance of hearing at least one non-committal answer is about 76%, so a "Reply hazy" in a short run is ordinary.

Open the Entries tab (on a phone, the Entries button in the bottom bar) and press Mystery result under Options. After a spin, the card shows the 8 on the ball and a Reveal answer button instead of the answer. The results list, the last-result line in the panel and the winner sound all wait until you press it, so nothing gives the answer away early.

In a group, one person asks, someone spins, everyone guesses, and then the answer is revealed.

The 20 answers are ordinary entries in the Entries tab, so you can change them.

• Edit the list. Edit or delete any answer, duplicate it, drag it to a new place, add one in Add an answer, or paste a whole list into Bulk edit. One wheel holds up to 1,000 entries and needs at least 2.
• Change the odds by changing the list. Delete the five non-committal answers and the wheel gives a yes-type answer 2 times in 3 (10 of 15). Add three more copies of "Very doubtful." and the no-type share rises from 25% to 8 of 23, about 35%.
• Weights. The Weights button gives an answer a bigger or smaller share of the spins. It is off until you turn it on.
• Elimination. In the Spin tab, Mode can be set to Elimination. Each answer then leaves the wheel after it comes up, so no answer repeats, and the 10, 5 and 5 mix shifts as the wheel gets smaller.
• Remove winner. On the result card, this takes that answer off the wheel for the following spins.

Short custom answers read best in the 8 Ball view. Inside the ball's triangle the type shrinks in steps as an answer gets longer.

• Party and sleepover games. Take turns asking a question, and pick who asks next with the Random Name Picker. Turn on Mystery result to add a pause before each answer.
• Streams and group chats. Type a viewer's question into the box, so it shows on the card and in the results list, and shake once for each question.
• Class warm-ups and story games. Students ask the ball a question about a character in a story, such as "Will the fox share the grapes?", and have to explain why the answer fits or does not.
• Tabletop and solo role-play. Use it as a yes or no oracle for a question such as "Does the guard hear the noise?" Because the default wheel leans yes, delete or add answers if your game needs a different balance.

It is a poor fit for decisions about money, health, school or work. A random answer says nothing about which option is better. For a tie between two small choices, use a wheel with an even chance instead.

• Save and share, at the top of the panel, can save the wheel as a link, download a PNG of the wheel, or give you an embed code. The link includes your entries and colors. The question box and the 8 Ball view are not part of it.
• Results lists your last 50 spins, newest first, with your question in front of each answer. Copy results puts the list on your clipboard and Clear empties it.
• Customize, Sound and Fullscreen (the arrows button at the top of the panel) change how the wheel looks and sounds. Themes and slice colors apply to the wheel view. The ball itself stays black.

• For an even yes or no, use the Yes or No Wheel.
• To compare your own options and see each one's chance, use the Decision Wheel.
• For a draw from any list you write yourself, use Spin the Wheel.
• For a two-way answer with a coin animation, use the Coin Flip.