Pick a number 1-10 with a spinning wheel
One to ten is the range people reach for first. This page is a random number generator 1-10 that shows ten equal slices on a wheel, picks one at random and spins to land on it. It is a number wheel 1-10 you can use for guessing games, ratings, top-ten lists and quick choices.
It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. The wheel opens ready on 1 to 10, so press Spin and a window shows your number.
How to use the 1 to 10 wheel
- Decide what the numbers mean. A score, a position in a list, a guess or a person.
- Press Spin. You can also click the wheel or press Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) plus Enter.
- Read the result in the window. The Results tab lists every number from your visit, newest first.
- Draw several different numbers by switching on No repeats. Each picked number comes off the wheel until you put them back.
Is the 1-10 wheel fair?
Yes. Each number has a one-in-ten chance, exactly 10%, on every spin. Your browser’s secure random number generator picks the number before the wheel moves, and the wheel is steered to stop on it. The spin is for watching and never decides the outcome. The how WheelSpinny picks page explains the method.
Random does not mean evenly spread. Spin ten times and you will probably see some numbers twice and a few not at all. A number is never due because it has been missing, and one that just won has the same chance next time.
Guess-the-number games
The classic use is a guessing game. One person spins and keeps the number secret, and everyone else guesses. A random guess is right one time in ten. With “higher” or “lower” hints, a good player can always find the number in four guesses or fewer: guess 5, then halve what is left each time.
That makes it a nice first lesson in strategy for children. Ask them to guess the middle of what remains, and show that it beats guessing at random. Once they have it, switch to the 1 to 100 page, where the same method needs at most seven guesses.
More ways to use a number between 1 and 10
- Ratings out of ten. A random score for a party game, a mock contest or a joke review.
- A pick from a top-ten list. Number any top ten of films, songs or books, and spin for tonight’s choice.
- Pick a player. In a group of ten, number everyone and spin for who goes next.
- Classroom warm-ups. Pick a number for a maths drill, a page, or a student to answer.
- Pick a day in the next ten. Decide which of the next ten days to start a project.
- Dice for a d10. Tabletop games use ten-sided dice, and this wheel stands in for one (treat a 10 as 0 if your game does).
Why people struggle to pick randomly
Ask people for a number from 1 to 10 and many say 7. People avoid the ends of the range, steer clear of numbers that feel too obvious, and tend to avoid repeating themselves in a series. Those habits make a human a poor random number generator.
A wheel has none of them. It treats 1 and 10 exactly the same as 7. When the pick matters, such as a prize draw among friends or a fair turn order, let the wheel choose.
Change the range or switch tools
Need even numbers only? Open the general random number generator and set the step to 2 from 2 to 10. To use a different range of your own, edit From and To beside the wheel. For names on the wheel instead of numbers, use the random name picker. For a larger version of the same wheel, try 1 to 20 or 1 to 100.
A quick draw from ten tickets
Ten is a good size for a small raffle: a class prize, a family contest or a team lunch. Hand out numbered tickets from 1 to 10, then spin once for each prize with No repeats on, so a ticket cannot win twice. The Results tab shows the winning numbers in the order they were drawn.
For a bigger event, or one where you want a winner log with names, the raffle generator is built for it. For a quick fair pick among ten, this page is faster.
Whatever you use it for, say the rule before the spin: what each number stands for, how many spins there will be, and whether a repeat counts. Once the wheel has chosen, the result stands.
Ten spins, ten different numbers
With No repeats on, ten spins give each number once. Copy on the Results tab puts them on your clipboard in order, so you can paste a random ranking into a message or a document straight away.
Good to know
- The wheel holds the numbers 1 to 10, with both ends included.
- Your range and settings are saved in your own browser, and the Results tab lasts until you close or reload the page. Nothing is sent to a server.
- It works on phones, tablets and desktop browsers, and with a keyboard. The result is announced to screen readers.
- A device set to reduce motion skips the long spin.
- It is for games and everyday decisions, not for security or regulated draws.