Category Wheel: Spin a Random Category

Category wheel with 16 categories, from animals to musical instruments. Spin a category for a word game, a quiz or a quick class warm-up.

Word games
Class warm-ups
Car games

On this wheel

Animals
Foods
Countries
Sports
Movies
Colors
Things at school
Fruits
Cities
Jobs
Kitchen things
Cartoon characters

Why use a category wheel

Sixteen categories are on the wheel. Spin one, then everyone names as many things in it as they can in a minute. Spin the random letter wheel too and only words starting with that letter count.

Play a category word game
Spin a category and a letter, then race to write five answers.
Start a lesson with a warm-up
Teachers can spin a category and go round the room for one answer each.
Pass the time on a car ride
Spin a category and take turns naming one thing until someone gets stuck.

This wheel wears the Wheel-ementary theme: crayons on a chalkboard, push pins and a gold-star arrow. Your own copy keeps it, or pick another wheel theme.

How to use the category wheel

Click the wheel to spin it.
Wait for it to slow down and stop on a random entry. The winner pops up on screen.
Click “Hide & Respin” to take the winner out and spin again, so nothing is picked twice.
Click “Create your own category picker” to save your own copy, change the entries, and share or embed it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What letter should we use?

Spin the random letter wheel for one, or skip letters for younger players and just name anything in the category.

Is the wheel really random?

Yes. Every entry has a slice of the same size, and where the wheel stops is picked with your browser’s cryptographically secure random number generator (crypto.getRandomValues), so nobody can predict or rig the result.

Can I change the entries on this wheel?

Yes. Click “Create your own category picker” to save your own copy. You can then add, remove or rename entries, change the theme and spin settings, and share or embed your wheel.