Magic Hat Name Picker

Why a hat instead of a wheel

A spinner wheel shows every option at once, which is great for five choices and unreadable for thirty. A hat draw does not care how long your list is: the suspense comes from the pull, not from watching a pointer slow down. That makes the magic hat the better pick for a full class roster, a raffle with dozens of tickets, or any list where the names are too long to fit on wheel wedges.

How to use it

Paste or type your names one per line — commas work too, so you can drop in a list copied from a spreadsheet. Tick "remove the winner" when you are working through everyone in turn, such as calling students up to present or drawing raffle prizes where nobody should win twice. Leave it unticked when every draw should be independent, like picking who answers the next question.

Your list is saved in your own browser, so the same names are waiting tomorrow morning without retyping. Nothing is uploaded, nothing needs an account, and the page keeps working if the classroom Wi-Fi drops mid-lesson.

Fair by design

Every pull uses your browser's random number generator across the full remaining list, so each name has exactly the same chance every single time. There is no weighting, no memory of past winners unless you turn on removal, and no server deciding anything. When a child insists the draw was rigged, the honest answer is that nobody — including us — can influence it.

Pair it with a timer

Draws work best with a clock attached. Pull a name, then start the countdown timer to give that person a fixed sixty seconds, or the visual timer when the group responds better to a shrinking ring than to numbers. Prefer a different theme? Try the mystery box, claw machine or the wall.