Yes or No Wheel

Spin this yes or no wheel when you want a quick random answer. Each spin is a fair pick between Yes and No. You can add Maybe as a third answer, play best of 3 or best of 5, and keep a tally of your spins.

How to use the yes or no wheel

• Think of a question that a yes or a no can settle.
• Press Spin. The wheel turns, stops on one answer and shows that answer near the wheel.
• Switch on Add Maybe if a third answer would help.
• Choose Best of 3 or Best of 5 if you want several spins to count as one round.
• Read the tally and the last spins to see how the answers have come up, and clear the tally when you want to start again.

The chance of each answer on a yes or no wheel

With Yes and No on the wheel, each answer has a 1 in 2 chance on every spin. With Maybe added, each answer has a 1 in 3 chance. The slices are the same size, and your browser's secure random numbers pick the answer before the wheel starts to move.

Earlier spins change nothing. After five Yes answers in a row, the next spin is still 1 in 2. That makes the wheel a handy way to show chance in a classroom: spin 20 times, read the tally and see how close it comes to half.

Best of 3 and best of 5

One spin can feel too quick when you care a little about the choice. Best of 3 and best of 5 count several spins as one round, and the answer that comes up most takes the round. The chance on each spin stays the same, so a longer round only means the result rests on more than one spin. With Maybe on, a round can end in a tie, such as one Yes, one No and one Maybe. Then no answer takes it, and you can spin another round.

Questions the wheel is good for

It works best when either answer would be fine and you only want to stop going back and forth: should we order food tonight, do I go first in this game, should we watch a movie, do we take the long way home.

This is chance, not advice

The wheel does not read your question and it cannot tell what will happen. Treat the answer like a coin toss. Do not use it for choices about your health, your money, your safety or the law: for those, ask a person you trust or someone qualified.

Questions

Is this yes or no generator really random?

Yes. Each spin uses your browser's secure random numbers rather than a pattern, and each answer has the same chance every time. You can check it with the tally: over many spins, the answers come out close to even.

What is the chance of getting yes?

1 in 2 when the wheel holds Yes and No, and 1 in 3 when Maybe is on. Past spins do not change it.

What does best of 3 mean?

Up to three spins count as one round, and the answer that comes up most takes the round. Best of 5 does the same with up to five spins. With Maybe on, a round can end in a tie, and then no answer takes it.

Can I change the answers on the wheel?

Not on this page: it holds Yes and No, plus Maybe if you switch it on. For answers of your own, use Spin the Wheel, where you can type any list of names or choices.

Can the wheel tell me what will happen?

No. It picks an answer by chance and knows nothing about your question. Use it to break a tie on a small choice, not to find out what comes next.

Is my question saved or sent anywhere?

There is no box to type your question in, so nothing you ask reaches us. Your tally stays on this page only and clears when you leave or reload.

Is the yes or no wheel free?

Yes. It works in your browser on a phone or a computer, with nothing to install and no sign-up.

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