How to Use a Random Wheel
A wheel is useful when you have several acceptable options and want to choose one without arguing about the order. The important work is preparing the options, not watching the spin.
Start with a decision you can accept
Suppose four friends are choosing a game for the evening. Ask which games everyone is willing to play before adding entries. A wheel containing Chess, Cards, Charades and Trivia can break a tie between those choices. It cannot make an unavailable game available or settle whether a person wants to participate. Remove unacceptable choices first.
Keep one entry per distinct option when you want equal chances. Two entries with the same game name count as two chances, even if their text looks identical. If you need repetition for a deliberate reason, explain it to the group. Otherwise check spelling and duplicates before your first spin.
Build and inspect the list
Open Wheel and replace the starting entries with your own. Give the wheel a name that describes its purpose, such as Friday games. Names help distinguish local setups in My Wheels, but local wheel names and IDs are not placed in public tool URLs. Selecting a different local item updates the base route for its mode.
Images can make choices easier to recognise, especially on a shared display. Keep a text label for any meaning people need to understand. Orbit compresses uploads for local use, so a tiny image with lots of writing may become hard to read. Use an icon-like picture or a clear photograph instead, and keep the original file elsewhere.
Leave weighted selection off when every entry should have the same chance. If you turn it on, inspect the positive weights. A weight is a relative amount, not a percentage you must make add to one hundred. The guide on weighted selection explains how to calculate the resulting chances.
Spin once, then interpret the result
Press Spin when the list is ready. Orbit uses browser Web Crypto to choose an entry before the animation begins. The wheel moves to that result and varies its final position inside the selected segment. That small landing variation is visual; it does not choose another winner. Initial slow rotation stops at the first real spin and does not return until a new page load.
Decide in advance whether the result stays on the list. For a repeatable game choice, leaving it there is sensible. For choosing several different people, removal after each result avoids choosing someone who has already had a turn. These are different selection rules, so make the rule clear before drawing.
Local history records the result. It helps you review what happened, but it is not a certificate of a public contest or a tamper-proof audit record. You can edit a local setup and clear history. If a group needs a formal record, agree on a separate process before using the tool.
Keep the setup and present it safely
Use fullscreen when the group should focus on the wheel. If the browser refuses native fullscreen, presentation mode remains available. Keyboard controls let you spin without reaching for the mouse; avoid pressing the selection shortcut while you are still editing an input. Reduced motion disables introductory movement and limits reveal animation.
Your wheel remains in this browser. An installed app does not automatically send it to another device. Download a .orbit backup before clearing browser storage, moving computers or making changes you cannot easily recreate. After an online visit activates the service worker, local spinning works offline, but new remote sharing still needs internet.
A share link publishes a separate read-only snapshot of the current wheel and its active images. It does not share your local history or keep updating as you edit. Anyone with the link can view the snapshot or make a local copy. For private group names, a local display may be a better choice than publishing a link.