Pick a number 1-12 on a wheel
Twelve is the number of months in a year, the hours on a clock face and the eggs in a dozen. This page is a random number generator 1-12 that puts twelve equal slices on a wheel, picks one and spins to land on it. Use it to pick a number between 1 and 12 for a month, an hour, a game or a class activity.
It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. The wheel opens ready on 1 to 12.
How to get a random number 1 through 12
- Decide what the numbers mean. Months, hours, players or the faces of a twelve-sided die.
- Press Spin. You can also click the wheel or press Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) plus Enter.
- Read the number in the window. The Results tab lists every number from your visit.
- Draw several different numbers with No repeats on. Twelve spins give each number once.
Odds on a twelve-number wheel
Each number has a one-in-twelve chance, about 8.3%, on every spin. The number is picked by your browser’s secure random number generator before the wheel turns, and then the wheel is steered to land on it. The spin shows the result arriving and cannot change it. See how WheelSpinny picks for the method.
This is different from rolling two dice and adding them. Two six-sided dice give totals from 2 to 12, and a 7 comes up six times as often as a 2. On this wheel every number from 1 to 12 is equally likely, so it matches a single twelve-sided die rather than a pair of ordinary ones.
Months, hours and signs
Twelve numbers line up with the calendar. Call 1 January and 12 December, and a spin picks a month for a trip, a birthday party or a planting day. Switch on No repeats and spin twelve times to put the months in a random order for a year of different projects.
The clock works the same way. Spin for an hour, and you have a random time to start a task or set a reminder. Twelve is also the number of zodiac signs, so a spin can pick a sign for a horoscope game.
More uses for a number between 1 and 12
- Times-table practice. In many schools, the tables run up to 12 times 12. Spin for the number to multiply by.
- Roll a d12. Tabletop games with a twelve-sided die can use this page when the die is missing.
- Pick a juror. A jury has twelve members, so a mock trial can spin for who speaks first.
- Twelve days of Christmas. Spin to pick a day and sing or act the gift.
- A dozen tasks. Number twelve chores or recipes and spin to choose.
- Group games. In a group of twelve, number everyone and spin for who is “it”.
A fair way to pick one of twelve
Twelve is large enough that paper slips become a bother, and small enough that every slice on the wheel is still labelled. That makes it a sweet spot for a classroom or a family: everyone can see the whole wheel, and the result is easy to check.
People are poor at picking randomly. They avoid the ends of a range and stay away from numbers that look too neat. A wheel treats 1 and 12 as exactly as likely as 6. If the pick settles who does the washing-up, nobody can say the person who chose was biased.
Other ways to pick from twelve
To shuffle twelve names or jobs into an order in one click, use the list randomizer. To put words on the wheel instead of numbers, try the random name picker. For a different die, the dice roller covers d4 through d20. You can also try the 1 to 20 page for a bigger wheel.
You can change the range on this page by editing From and To, or open the general random number generator for steps and left-out numbers.
Choosing an order for twelve people
A gift exchange, a round of presentations or a relay team of twelve all need an order. Number the people from 1 to 12, then spin twelve times with No repeats on. Each result is the next person in line, and Copy on the Results tab gives you the full list to paste into a message.
For a smaller group, change To to the number of people so there are no blank slices. For a larger one, the 1 to 20 and 1 to 30 pages work the same way, and the list randomizer shuffles a whole list of names in one click.
Reading the clock
Young children learning to tell the time can use the wheel as a prompt. Spin for an hour, then ask them to show it on a clock face, say it aloud and write it down. Spin twice, once for the hour and once on the 1 to 60 page for the minutes, to build a full time.
Good to know
- The wheel holds the numbers 1 to 12, 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.