Fair picks in the browser
Everyday decisions and tabletop games need unbiased randomness: a coin toss, a six-sided die, a custom die, or a shuffled list. The Random family provides small, transparent generators that run locally so you can resolve ties, deal turns, or scramble ordered lines without a remote “randomness API.”
For a quick binary choice, open coin flip and treat heads/tails as a fair virtual toss.
What “fair” means here
These tools aim for uniform outcomes over the stated sample space: two faces for a coin, six faces for a d6, N faces for a custom die, and every permutation equally likely (in principle) for a shuffle of distinct lines. Implementation uses the browser’s cryptographically strong or high-quality PRNG facilities exposed to the page—suitable for games and informal decisions, not for high-stakes prize draws, cryptographic key material, or regulated drawings that require audited entropy sources.
If you need secrets (API keys, passwords), use dedicated secrets generators—not dice toys.
Coin flips
Coin flip returns heads or tails with equal probability. Classic uses:
- Break a tie between two options.
- Assign who goes first in a casual game.
- Demonstrate Bernoulli trials in teaching.
A single flip is not a statistical proof of fairness; long sequences will show variance. Do not use coin flips to make medical, legal, or financial decisions that deserve deliberate reasoning.
Dice: d6 and custom
Roll d6 produces an integer from 1 through 6, matching a standard cubic die used in countless board games.
Roll custom lets you choose a face count from 2 to 1000—covering d20, d100, and odd polyhedral counts for homebrew systems. Faces are numbered in the usual 1…N convention unless a specific game defines otherwise. A “d100” in some tabletop traditions uses percentile dice; this tool’s custom roller is a single uniform draw on 1…N, which is the straightforward digital analogue.
Dice tools do not enforce game rules (advantage/disadvantage, exploding dice, modifiers). Apply modifiers after the roll in your head or character sheet.
Shuffling lists
Shuffle list randomizes the order of non-empty lines using a Fisher–Yates shuffle—the standard algorithm for an unbiased permutation. Practical uses:
- Randomize speaker order in a meeting.
- Scramble a playlist of study topics.
- Reorder candidates for a blind review queue (still keep ethics and privacy in mind).
Empty lines are ignored so accidental blank rows do not consume slots. Duplicate lines remain duplicates; shuffling does not unique them—use Text utilities’ unique lines first if you need a set.
Choosing a subtool
| Need | Tool |
|---|---|
| Two outcomes | Coin flip |
| Classic board-game die | Roll d6 |
| d20 / d100 / custom faces | Roll custom |
| Reorder many items | Shuffle list |
Probability intuition (brief)
Independent rolls do not “owe” you a result. After five heads, the next coin flip is still about 50/50 under a fair model. Dice faces are mutually exclusive outcomes of one trial. Shuffles rearrange existing items; they do not invent new ones or guarantee a particular item lands first more often than others across many independent shuffles of the same list.
Limitations
- Not audited draw entropy. Do not run raffles that require certified RNGs solely on these pages.
- Not cryptography. Dice output is not a secure key.
- UI convenience. Results are for humans playing along; persist them yourself if a campaign log matters.
- Accessibility of fairness. If participants cannot see the screen, agree on a witnessed process.
Related tooling
For pet names or person fixtures, use Pets and People instead of inventing randomness with dice.
Summary
Random tools cover coins, dice, and Fisher–Yates list shuffles for games and casual fair picks. They are uniform over small discrete spaces and run in the browser—great for play, unsuitable as cryptographic or regulated prize-draw sources.