Finger chooser: pick a random player by touching the screen

How to use it

1. 1Put the phone in the middle. Lay the phone flat where everyone can reach it.
2. 2Everyone touches the screen. Each player puts one finger on the screen and keeps it there. A marker appears under every finger.
3. 3Wait for the countdown. Once nobody has joined or let go for two seconds, the chooser picks.
4. 4See who was chosen. The chosen fingers light up in pink and the phone vibrates. Lift all fingers to start over.

Is a finger chooser fair?

Yes. The pick is made with your browser’s secure random number generator, and it ignores where on the screen a finger is and when it arrived. With n fingers and one winner, each player has a 1 in n chance. With k winners, each player has a k in n chance.

The countdown restarts whenever a finger joins or leaves, so nobody can time their touch to the last moment. Moving a finger doesn’t restart it.

Picking more than one

Set the number of winners in the settings, from 1 to 4. At least one finger is always left unchosen, so with three fingers and three winners you get two.

• 1 winner: who goes first, who deals, who chooses the film.
• 2 winners: two team captains, or a pair to clear the table.
• 3–4 winners: a team out of a bigger group.

How many fingers fit?

It depends on the device. Most modern phones and tablets track at least five touches at once, and many track ten. A tablet gives everyone more room. On a computer without a touchscreen, click to place markers and click a marker again to remove it.

Finger chooser or coin flip?

A coin only has two sides, so it suits two players or two teams. For three or more people, the finger chooser picks one person directly without elimination rounds. See fair ways to decide who goes first for a comparison.

Frequently asked questions