About Ball of Names

A free, fun and fair way to pick a winner.

Ball of Names is a free online random name picker with two games: a ball race and a spinning wheel. Put names or photos on balls, send them down a randomly built track of pegs, broken slopes, spinning bars and bumpers, and the first ball across the line wins — or open Customize and spin the same list on a wheel. A host can share one link, set a start timer and run several rounds so a class, team or stream watches the same result together.

Why we built it

A quiet list shuffle is fair but dull. A race lets everyone follow their own ball. A wheel is familiar when you want that classic spin. We built both so the same names work in either game, without copying another site’s wording or layout. Classrooms, streams, stand-ups, giveaways and game nights all need a result that is fun and clearly fair.

How we keep it fair

• We never pick a winner and then animate a fake race or spin.
• Every race and every spin starts with crypto.getRandomValues(), not Math.random().
• A ball race then runs a physics simulation (fixed timestep, many collision substeps). The finish is the outcome of that run, not one number mapped to a name.
• The starting grid is shuffled each race, so list order does not matter.
• Stuck balls get a seed-based nudge so everyone can finish.

Built for watching together

Balls stay hidden in a closed box until kick off, and then everyone watches the random starting grid being drawn. With Go live, a host can share one link so a whole classroom, team or stream audience sees the same race at the same moment on their own devices. Elimination mode turns any list into a knockout tournament, with the first ball across the line sitting out each round until one champion is left.

Your privacy comes first

Ball of Names runs in your browser. The names, photos and results you enter are stored on your own device and are only uploaded if you choose to host a live race, so your viewers can see them. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more, including how our advertising partners use cookies.

Free for everyone

Every feature is free with no account needed. We keep the lights on with a small number of clearly labelled advertisements, which we keep away from the game controls so they never get in the way of a race.

Get in touch

Have an idea, found a bug, or want to tell us how you use Ball of Names? We'd love to hear from you on our contact page.