👑 Randomizer

A tiny web app that picks one thing at random from a list, rolls up to five 3D dice or flips a coin, with a spinning name reel, tumbling dice, confetti and sound effects.

Try it: https://neckfors.github.io/randomizer/

It installs on your phone like a normal app, works offline, and remembers your lists.

What can it be used for?

Anything where you need a fair, random pick:

• 🎮 Who starts the game: board games, card games, video games
• 🍕 Where to eat: put your usual restaurants on the list and stop arguing
• 🎬 What to watch: movies, series or that ever-growing "watch later" list
• 🧹 Who does the chore: dishes, taking out the trash, walking the dog
• 🚗 Who drives or who picks the music in the car
• 🏫 Who answers next: pick a student, or who presents first in a meeting
• 🎁 Giveaways and raffles: pick from the participants
• 🍳 What's for dinner: add the meals you know how to cook
• 📚 What to read or play next from your backlog
• 🏃 Which workout today: run, gym, yoga, rest day…
• 🤔 Any tough decision: when you just can't choose, let it choose
• 🔢 A random number: roll dice for a board game, play dice games where you keep some dice and reroll the rest (Yahtzee-style), pick a raffle ticket, or any number between two values
• 🪙 Heads or tails: flip a coin to settle it

How it works

1. Choose a list: tap the list button under the Pick! area to see all your lists (🎲 Game night, 🍳 Who makes dinner, 🍕 Where to eat, …) and tap one to switch. Each list keeps its own options, so the names in one list never show up in another.
2. Add options using the field under the list (the Add button lights up once you type something). Add several at once by separating them with commas (Sam, Ben), or paste a list with one option per line. The field's example (e.g. Sam, Ben, Pizza, Burger) shows as many of those as fit the screen.
3. Tap an option to leave it out for now (someone isn't here, the restaurant is closed…). Tap it again to bring it back.
4. Tap Pick! Your options spin past on a slot-machine reel, big and blurred at speed, then slow down with clicks. The name in the middle, between two gold pointers, wears the gold badge, and the names around it shrink and fade like on a turning drum. When it stops, that badge is the pick, with a 👑 and confetti. The reel works like a wheel: each spin shuffles your names into a new random order that goes round and round, so every name shows once before any comes back. Like the dice, the pick is chosen first and the wheel just turns far enough to stop on it, so the result is still completely random. Tap the picked name, or swipe across the name area, to pick again.
5. Rename an option with its ✎: the row turns into a field with a green Save button. Type the new name and tap Save or press Enter (Esc cancels). Tapping somewhere else saves too.
6. Remove an option for good with ✕: it turns into a red Delete button in the same spot, with Cancel next to it. Tap Delete to remove it, or Cancel (or anywhere else) to keep it.

Every pick is completely random. Each option in the draw has the same chance every time, even if it was picked last time.

Pick each only once: switch this on for a list when you want to go round instead, like taking turns on chores. Whatever gets picked sits out automatically, and when everything has been picked, the button turns into ↺ Start over to put everything back. The setting is saved per list, so Game night can allow repeats while Who makes dinner takes turns.

Recent picks: under the options and the short tip about them, 🕘 Recent picks (centered, tap to open) keeps the last 100 picks for each list, handy for "who did the dishes last time?". It shows the newest 10; tap Show all to see the rest.

Rolling dice 🎲

Switch to 🎲 Dice at the top to roll dice, or any random number, instead of picking from a list. It works just like a list, except each row is a range of numbers:

1. Add a range with the From, To and Name (optional) fields and Add. The Add button stays greyed out until From and To are whole numbers. Any whole numbers work, even 1 to 1,000,000. You start with the dice d4 (1 to 4), d6 (1 to 6), d12 (1 to 12), d20 (1 to 20) 2d6 (2 dice, each 1 to 6, added up) and 5 dice (for dice games where you keep some dice and reroll the rest, like Yahtzee), which you can rename, change or remove.
2. Tap a range to choose it. It gets a ✓.
3. Choose how many dice it rolls with Dice 1 2 3 4 5 above the ranges. With several dice, each die is rolled on its own and they're added up, just like real dice: with 2d6 a 7 comes up six times as often as a 2 or a 12. The row then reads 2 dice, each 1 to 6, and the hint uses the range's name, like Tap Roll! to roll “2d6”.
4. Tap Roll! (or shake your phone). The dice tumble, slow down, and come to rest showing the face they rolled. No number shows while they spin; when they land, the result appears in the gold badge. With several dice, the badge shows the total with the dice under it, like 4 + 5. See How the dice work below.
5. Change a range with its ✎: the row turns into From, To and Name fields with a green Save button. Change what you like and tap Save or press Enter (Esc cancels). Numbers are put in order if you swap them, and a range you already have is not added twice. ✕ removes a range (tap the red Delete to confirm, or Cancel).

Roll each number only once: switch this on for a range when the same number must not come up twice, like drawing raffle tickets. Numbers already rolled sit out, the switch shows how many have been rolled, and when every number has been rolled the button turns into ↺ Start over. The setting is saved per range, and works with one die.

Recent rolls: under the ranges and the short tip about them, 🕘 Recent rolls (centered, tap to open) keeps your last 100 rolls across all ranges. Each result shows in a small gold badge, with what was rolled next to it, like 2d6: 4 + 5 or 10 to 30. It shows the newest 10; tap Show all to see the rest.

Your ranges are remembered and included in backups. https://neckfors.github.io/randomizer/#dice opens straight in Dice mode (older #number links still work).

How the dice work

Which die a range gets. Every range is rolled with a real-looking 3D die whenever a real die can do it fairly. Otherwise it gets the magic die:

Range	Die	Faces
4 numbers	d4	each number once
1 number	d4	the same number on every face
2 numbers	d4	each number twice
6 numbers	d6	each number once (dots for a plain 1 to 6)
3 numbers	d6	each number twice, like a real d3
8 numbers	d8	each number once
10 numbers	d10	each number once
5 numbers	d10	each number twice
12 numbers	d12	each number once
20 numbers	d20	each number once
anything else (7, 9, 15, 37, 100, 1,000, …)	magic d20	twinkling symbols

The faces always show the range's own numbers, so 5 to 9 is a d10 with 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9 on it twice, and 95 to 100 is a cube with 95 to 100. The numbers must fit on the faces: up to 2 characters on the small triangles of the d4, d8 and d20, and up to 3 on the bigger faces of the d6, d10 and d12 (a minus sign counts). Longer numbers, like 1001 to 1020, also get the magic die.

Like real dice, opposite faces add up to the same total (1 and 6, 2 and 5, 3 and 4 on a d6), and 6 and 9 are underlined so they can't be mixed up.

The magic die ✨ is a purple, glowing d20 for ranges no real die can roll. Symbols swap on its faces while it tumbles, and it lands on a face just like the other dice, then its number flies out into the gold badge. The sparkles around it keep twinkling as long as it is on screen.

How a roll works. The number is chosen first, completely at random. Every number in the range has the same chance, using the browser's secure random numbers (crypto.getRandomValues). The die's tumble is then worked out to fit: from exactly where the die rests, it turns about one axis, a few whole turns plus the turn that brings up that face, and slows down until it stops with the face pointing straight at you. That axis always leans at an angle, never straight sideways or up and down, so the die tumbles at a slant instead of just rolling forward. When the turn to the face would be straight (as it always is for a d6), the die spins about a leaning axis instead. The small extra turn it still needs is spread evenly over the whole roll, so the tumble drifts a little but never turns toward the number at the end. It simply rolls to a stop, like a real die. With several dice, each one spins about its own axis, at least 26° away from every other die's, so no two tumble alike. When a number is on a die twice, one of its faces is picked at random. The animation only shows the result; it never decides it.

Several dice are each rolled on their own and added up, just like real dice. So with 2d6, a 7 (six ways to make it) comes up six times as often as a 2 or a 12 (one way each). Each die lands on its own number, shown under the total, like 4 + 5.

The result. Nothing shows under the dice while they spin, so no made-up numbers flash past. When the dice land, the result appears in the gold badge: the number for one die, or the total with the dice under it for several. Screen readers hear the result once it lands.

Reroll one die. After rolling several dice, tap a die to roll just that one again and keep the others, like in Yahtzee-style dice games. The total, the dice under it and Recent rolls update. A small Tap a die to reroll it under the total reminds you. To roll them all again, tap Roll again or swipe across the dice. (With one die, tapping it is just a new roll.)

Fitting the screen. The more dice you roll, the smaller they are, so up to five fit side by side. On a narrow phone, or with the phone's display zoom turned up, they shrink a little more to fit, and they resize when you turn the phone.

Sounds. Each die knocks on the table every quarter turn as it tumbles: quick at first, then further apart and softer as it slows, with a deeper knock when it comes to rest. The magic die twinkles instead.

Flipping a coin 🪙

Switch to 🪙 Coin at the top and tap Flip! (or shake your phone, tap the coin itself, or swipe across it). To flip again, tap Flip again, the coin, or the Heads or Tails badge. The result shows as Heads or Tails, and each side comes up half the time. Under the card, a tally counts how many heads and tails you've flipped; Reset starts it over. https://neckfors.github.io/randomizer/#coin opens straight in Coin mode.

The coin is a big 3D coin seen from above, lying on a table: gold on heads with a raised crown, and silver on tails with a raised star, so you can tell the sides apart at a glance, even mid-flip. Each side has a raised rim around a slightly sunken middle, with a ring of raised dots, and the ridged edge is half gold, half silver. The raised parts are lit on one side and shadowed on the other, and the metal catches the light as it turns.

How a flip works. Like the dice, the side is picked first (with secure random numbers), and the whole flip is worked out to end on it:

1. A thumb flicks it: the coin dips a little, ready to fly.
2. With a whoosh, it flies up out of the card and comes back down, getting bigger as it comes toward you. Its shadow stays on the table, shrinking and fading as the coin rises. It turns end over end at a steady speed, leaning a little so you see its edge, with a faint shimmer each time a face catches the light. While it's fast it leaves a faint smear behind (a quick motion blur that stays smooth on phones), and it's sharp again as it comes down.
3. It lands flat with the picked side up, with a clink, and bounces once.

It never turns over at the end to show the right side; the toss is planned so it lands that way.

Managing lists

In the list panel:

• + New list makes a new list.
• ✎ renames a list, gives it an icon (pick one, or type any emoji from your keyboard), shares it or deletes it.
• Drag ⠿ to put your lists in the order you like.
• Select lets you tick one or more lists and delete them all at once (it asks first, and always keeps at least one list).

Each list's own address

Every list has its own address, for example https://neckfors.github.io/randomizer/#game-night. Opening it starts Randomizer straight on that list, and the address bar follows whichever list you're on. Copy it with ✎ → 🔗 Copy this list's address, and bookmark it if you like. The address only opens your copy of the list on that device. To give a list to someone else, use Share below. If you rename a list, it gets a new address, and the old one keeps working.

Sharing a list

Tap ✎ on a list, then ⤴ Share this list. You get a link to send to anyone. When they open it, Randomizer asks whether to add the list, with all its options, to their own lists. The list travels inside the link itself, so nothing is uploaded anywhere.

Focus mode ⛶

Tap the ⛶ button at the top to show only the picker: the Pick!, Roll! or Flip! card in the middle of the screen, with everything else hidden. Where the phone allows it (Android), it also goes fullscreen. Leave with the ✕ in the corner, the phone's back gesture, or Esc on a keyboard. Handy on a table at game night.

Settings ⚙️

• Shake to pick (on by default on phones): give your phone two quick shakes instead of tapping Pick!, Roll! or Flip! The hint in the Pick! card then reads Tap Pick! or shake your phone. On iPhone, a 📳 Tap to turn on shake to pick button shows first, because Safari asks for motion access once. Tap No thanks next to it if you don't want shaking. You can switch it on or off here any time.
• Spin time: how long a pick, roll or flip spins before it lands, from Instant to 3 seconds (the default).
• Theme: Auto (the default) follows your phone's light or dark mode. Light and Dark stay that way whatever the phone uses, and Black is a pure black dark mode, easy on the eyes in a dark room and on phone batteries with OLED screens.
• Backup: Save backup downloads a file with all your lists. Restore loads such a file and replaces your lists with it. Use it to keep your lists safe, or to move them to a new phone.

Install on your phone

• iPhone: open the link in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
• Android: open the link in Chrome and tap Install app (also in the ⋮ menu).

On Android the installed app opens fullscreen, without the status bar. (iPhone always keeps the status bar for home screen apps.) Swiping up from the very bottom edge to bring back Android's bar doesn't scroll or tap anything in the app.

Screen readers hear each result once it has landed, like Picked Sam, Rolled 9: 4 + 5 or Heads, instead of every flicker of the spin.

Sound: the 🔊 button at the top turns the sound effects on or off. On iPhone, the silent switch also mutes them.

Updates: the app checks for a new version whenever you open it or come back to it, and every half hour while it stays open. When one has downloaded, a bar with New version available and an Update button appears at the top. The new version waits until you tap Update, so nothing is cut off halfway. Your lists and ranges are kept. Settings shows which version your phone is running.

Used to be Pick One: the app was called Pick One and lived at neckfors.github.io/pick-one/. Old links, bookmarks and installed copies are sent to the new address automatically, and your lists come along. If you had installed the old app, install it again from the new address and remove the old icon.

Tech

Plain HTML, CSS and JavaScript, with no build step or dependencies.

File	Purpose
index.html	The whole app: layout, styles and logic
manifest.json	App name, icons and colors, so it can be installed
sw.js	Service worker that caches the files for offline use
icon-192.png, icon-512.png	App icons
screenshots/	The pictures in this README

• Your lists are stored in the browser's localStorage on your device. Nothing is sent anywhere.
• Shared lists are encoded in the link after #list=, which never reaches the server.
• The sounds are generated with the Web Audio API, so there are no audio files. The audio starts on your first touch (phones take a moment to start it), and sounds timed to an animation are scheduled early by the phone's own audio delay, so you hear them as you see them.
• The random pick uses crypto.getRandomValues.
• The 3D dice and the coin are drawn on a <canvas> by a small built-in 3D renderer. Each die shape is only its corner points, and the faces are worked out from them. The knocks, clinks and whooshes are filtered noise, also generated on the fly.
• The earlier dice look (spinning cubes with sliding dots that shrink away) is kept as the git tag classic-dice.

Making changes

Edit the files and push to main. GitHub Pages publishes automatically. Increase VERSION in sw.js every time (for example 108 → 109), otherwise installed copies keep showing the old version and the update bar never appears.

Support

If you like the app, you can support the author on PayPal. Thank you!