Pick a number 1-80 with a spinning wheel
This page is a random number generator 1-80: eighty equal slices on a wheel, one spin and one number. Use it to pick a number between 1 and 80 for a party game, a classroom activity, a large draw or any list that has outgrown a die.
It is free, runs in your browser and needs no account. The wheel opens ready on 1 to 80, so you can press Spin and a window shows your number.
How to pick a number between 1 and 80
- Decide what the numbers mean. Tickets, people, cards, questions or squares.
- Press Spin. You can also click the wheel or press Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) plus Enter.
- Read the number in the result window. The Results tab lists every spin, newest first.
- Draw several different numbers by switching on No repeats. Each picked number comes off the wheel until you put them back.
Odds on an eighty-number wheel
Each number has a one-in-eighty chance, exactly 1.25%, on every spin. The number is picked by your browser’s secure random number generator before the wheel starts moving, and then the wheel is steered to stop on it. The animation is only there to watch and cannot change the result. For the full explanation, see how WheelSpinny picks.
A repeat arrives sooner than you might guess. With No repeats off, the chance that a number has come up twice reaches one in two after about eleven spins.
Keno-style party games
Keno uses a pool of eighty numbers, and each round draws twenty of them. You can play a friendly version at home without any money involved. Hand out cards where each player circles ten numbers from 1 to 80, switch on No repeats, spin twenty times, and count how many circled numbers were drawn.
Copy on the Results tab lists the twenty numbers drawn, which makes checking easy. If you are thinking of playing keno for money, remember that a wheel on a website has no link to any casino and cannot improve your chances. Games of chance involving money should be played responsibly, under the rules of the venue.
More ideas for a number up to 80
- Large lecture groups. Number the register and spin to call on a student.
- Trivia nights. Number eighty questions and let the wheel choose the next one.
- Prize draws. Sell tickets 1 to 80 and draw winners with No repeats on.
- Reading challenges. Pick a page from an eighty-page booklet or a pamphlet.
- Photo walks and scavenger hunts. Number eighty items on a list and spin to choose the next one to find.
- Maths practice. Spin for a number to round to the nearest ten or to find a multiple of.
Guess the number from 1 to 80
A guessing game with eighty numbers is long enough to reward a plan. A random guess is right one time in eighty. A player who always guesses the middle of what remains can find any number in seven guesses or fewer, because seven halvings cover up to 128 numbers.
To play, one person spins and keeps the number secret. The others guess in turn, and the spinner answers “higher” or “lower”. Count the guesses and see who finds the number in the fewest.
Other ways to pick from eighty
If you want a log of winners with names, use the raffle generator. To put names on the wheel, use the random name picker. Need a different size? Try 1 to 75 or 1 to 90.
You can change the range on this page by editing From and To, or open the general random number generator to count in steps or leave numbers out.
Drawing twenty of eighty, the careful way
Drawing several numbers from a pool is different from picking one number several times. If No repeats is off, the same number can come up twice, and a draw of twenty would give you fewer than twenty different numbers. Switch on No repeats first, and every spin takes a new number off the wheel.
With No repeats on, each spin picks evenly among the numbers still on the wheel, so the first draw has a one-in-eighty chance for each number, the second has one in seventy-nine, and so on. That is the same way balls are drawn from a machine without being put back.
Copy on the Results tab gives the draw in the order the numbers came up. If you want them in order from lowest to highest, paste them into a spreadsheet and sort the column.
Keep it a game
The best use of an eighty-number wheel at home is a game with prizes that do not cost anything, such as choosing the film or the first slice of cake. Everyone circles their numbers on a card, you draw the twenty, and the player with the most matches wins. It takes about five minutes, and it works for any age.
Good to know
- The wheel holds the numbers 1 to 80, 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 informal draws, not for gambling or regulated lotteries.