Random game picker

Getting the most out of the random game picker

The picker takes a plain list and chooses one entry at random. It is set up for video game backlogs, but it works for anything you can write as a list: board games, party games, maps, game modes or challenge rules for a run.

How to use it

1. Clear the example list and type or paste your own games into the box, one per line. Extra spaces are trimmed and blank lines are ignored, so a list copied from a note or a spreadsheet column usually works as it is.
2. Click Pick a game for me. The result box flicks through random entries for about a second before settling on a final choice.
3. Click again for another pick. Each pick is independent, so the same game can come up twice in a row.

The quick shuffle is only for show; the final result is a separate random draw in which every line has the same chance. Nothing is saved, so keep a copy of your list elsewhere if you want to reuse it.

Weighting the odds

Because every line counts equally, you can give a game better odds by listing it more than once. With one game written three times and four other games written once, that game has a 3 in 7 chance (about 43%) instead of 1 in 5. This is handy when you want variety but still want a favourite to come up more often. The flip side: check for accidental duplicates when you want an even draw.

Fair picks for game nights

• Agree on the list first. Everyone should see the full list before anyone clicks, so nobody can say it was rigged afterwards.
• Only include games everyone can play. Remove anything that needs more controllers, copies or players than you have, or that will not fit in the time available.
• Set re-roll rules in advance. A common approach is one veto per person per night; when a game is vetoed, delete it from the list and pick again.
• Remove games once played if you want to rotate through everything before anything repeats.

Once a game is chosen, the random team generator can split players into sides, and a tournament bracket helps when the night turns into a competition.

Using it on stream

Show the list on screen before picking so viewers can see what is in the pool. Let chat suggest entries, then lock the list before you click. If you run "chat decides" segments regularly, saying beforehand whether you will honour the result or allow one re-roll keeps things transparent. For giveaways or anything involving prizes or money, use a proper draw process that can be verified, not a casual picker like this one.

Beating backlog paralysis

A random pick works best when the list is already short and realistic. Instead of pasting your whole library, build a list for your current situation: games you could finish in a weekend, games that suit a short evening, or games you genuinely want to return to. If a pick disappoints you, that tells you something too: the game you were hoping for is probably the one to play, and anything you feel relieved to skip can come off the list.

Common mistakes

• Putting several games on one line separated by commas. The picker treats the whole line as a single entry.
• Re-rolling until the "right" game appears, which defeats the purpose. Decide on the rules before you click.
• Leaving the six example games in the box and pasting your own list underneath, which mixes them into the draw.