Random Number Generator 1-10: Spin to Pick a Number

To pick a random number between 1 and 10, spin the wheel once. The page opens with all ten numbers on the wheel and Numbers per spin set to 1, so nothing needs setting first.

1. 1Spin. Press Spin, tap the wheel or press Space. Ctrl and Enter also work (Command and Enter on a Mac).
2. 2Wait for the stop. The wheel turns for about 5 seconds and stops on one slice. In the Spin tab, Fast takes about 3 seconds and Slow about 7.
3. 3Read the card. A card headed Your number shows the result in large type. Spin again closes the card and spins at once, and Copy number copies the number.

Both ends count: 1 and 10 each have a slice. Space spins the wheel only while no button has focus, so after you tap a tile, Space presses that tile again. Use Spin or Ctrl and Enter instead. On a phone, the tiles sit under Numbers at the bottom of the screen.

Six buttons above the tiles choose which numbers stay on the wheel.

The wheel changes as soon as you tap, and the odds line under the tiles changes with it. Prime has four numbers because 1 is not a prime number. A smaller set also gives bigger slices that are easier to read.

To leave out one number, tap its tile. It is struck through and comes off the wheel, and a second tap puts it back. Once you change a single tile, none of the six buttons stays lit, because the wheel no longer matches any of them. At least 2 numbers must stay on the wheel, and the page says "Keep at least 2 numbers on the wheel." if you try to remove more.

A 1 in 10 chance is 10%, which is the same as odds of 9 to 1 against. It is not rare. Over many spins, a given number comes up about once in every ten. With repeats allowed, the wheel also lands on the same number twice in a row about once in every ten spins.

It is not guaranteed either. This table shows the chance that a number you chose before spinning has come up at least once after a given number of single spins, with all ten numbers on the wheel and repeats allowed.

Ten spins do not promise your number. The chance is about 65%, so about one time in three it is still missing. It takes 7 spins to pass an even chance and 22 spins to reach 90%.

For comparison, three heads in a row on a fair coin has a 12.5% chance and four in a row has 6.25%, so a 1 in 10 event sits between the two. Repeats also arrive early. With repeats allowed, the chance that some number has already come up twice is about 50% after 4 spins and about 70% after 5.

Yes. Equal chances do not give equal counts, least of all in a short run. After 10 single spins, a given number has not come up at all about 35% of the time, and on average 3 or 4 of the ten numbers are still missing. After 100 single spins, each number averages 10 appearances, and any given number lands between 7 and 13 about three times in four.

The bars under the tiles count every draw since you opened the page, including each number in a multi-number draw. New round clears the colors but keeps the counts, and Clear tally resets the counts. The Results tab lists the last 10 results with a Times drawn count.

None of this means the wheel is biased. Every slice is the same size, and the browser's secure random number generator picks the winning slice before the wheel starts to turn, so the spin only shows the result.

• Higher or lower. A simple pick-a-number game: spin once, then ask each player whether the next number will be higher or lower. After a 5, higher is 50%, lower is 40% and the same number is 10%. After a 1, higher is 90%. Agree beforehand what a repeat counts as.
• The classic guessing game. One player secretly picks a number from 1 to 10 and the others guess, with "higher" or "lower" as hints. A guesser who always tries the middle of what is left finds any number in 4 guesses or fewer. The wheel shows its number on the slice, so it cannot keep the secret, but it can choose who thinks of the number if you number the players.
• A raffle or a lottery-style game. Number ten tickets from 1 to 10 and set Numbers per spin to 3 for three different winners, in the order drawn. If only 7 tickets were sold, tap tiles 8, 9 and 10 first so they come off the wheel. In a lottery-style game where players pick 3 different numbers and the order does not matter, there are 120 possible sets, so one ticket has a 1 in 120 chance. These suit classrooms and parties. A regulated lottery or sweepstakes has its own rules.
• A list of ten, such as names. Number any list of ten from 1 to 10, such as players, chores or topics, then spin and take the item at that number. For a list of names of any length, use the Random Name Picker.
• Classroom practice. Use Even and Odd and ask students to say which before each spin, or Prime to practice 2, 3, 5 and 7. For a probability lesson, set Numbers per spin to 5 and spin six times for 30 draws in about a minute. Each number is expected about 3 times, yet the bars will not be level, and the class can see why. The Fullscreen button above the tabs fills the screen for a class display.

• It stays at 1 to 10, in whole numbers. For another range, negative numbers or your own list, use the Any Range wheel. For 1 to 100 there is the Random Number Wheel 1-100. For decimals, Custom mode on the Any Range wheel lets you type numbers such as 2.5 or 7.5 onto the wheel. It picks only from the numbers you type, so it is not a generator of any decimal between 1 and 10.
• Numbers per spin offers 1, 2, 3 or 5. For 4 or 10 different numbers, switch on Draw each number once and spin one number at a time.
• It cannot hide the result. The number is printed on the slice where the wheel stops, so it suits open draws, not secret ones.
• It has no weights. You can switch numbers off, but you cannot make one number likelier than another.
• It does not save anything. Reloading the page clears the tally, the colors, any tiles you switched off and the last 10 results.
• It is a wheel, not a die. For a rolled ten-sided die on screen, the Dice Roller has a d10 that runs from 1 to 10. Each face has the same 1 in 10 chance.
• It is not for passwords or regulated draws. The wheel suits games, classrooms and informal raffles. Passwords, security keys and legally regulated lotteries need tools built for them.