Welcome to the Retiroll guide. Whether you’re a teacher building a student name wheel, a PM running a sprint retro, or an emcee hosting a live raffle — you’re in the right place.
1. Quick-Start: Your First Game in 60 Seconds
Getting started takes four steps:
- Pick your mode: Free Sandbox for instant play, or Host Studio → Create to save and customize.
- Add your items:Type or paste names — one per line. Works with 2 items or 2,000.
- Choose an engine: Spin Wheel, Lottery Blower, 3D Dice, Plinko, Slot Machine, Dartboard, Card Draw, Bottle Spinner, or Tournament Bracket.
- Hit spin (or press Spacebar). Watch the physics play out and celebrate with confetti!
2. Roster Management & CSV Import
Nobody wants to type 35 names by hand. You’ve got options:
Paste directly
Copy names from Word, Sheets, Notes, or an email — paste into the roster box. Retiroll auto-parses line breaks and trims whitespace.
Import CSV / Excel
In Host Studio, click “Import CSV / Spreadsheet” and upload a .csv or tab-delimited file. Names are extracted and loaded instantly.
Built for scale
Unlike basic spinners that choke at 50 names, Retiroll handles 10,000+ entries. Past 100 items, the renderer auto-simplifies micro-borders to keep animations at 60fps.
3. Weights, Elimination & Fairness
Weighted items
Assign a weight (1×, 2×, 5×…) to any item. That entry gets proportionally more space on the wheel (or more balls in the drum). The math:
Elimination Mode
Toggle it on and picked items are removed from subsequent rounds. Everyone gets exactly one turn — no repeats.
4. The 9 Decision Engines
Each engine uses real physics tailored for a different vibe:
1. Spin Wheel
Classic carnival wheel with peg collisions and decelerating clicker audio.
2. Lottery Blower
Bouncing numbered balls in a transparent drum — one gets sucked into the chute.
3. 3D Dice Roller
Real Euler rotations (pitch, roll, yaw) with spring-dampened bounces.
4. Plinko Board
Chips bounce off staggered pins into labeled prize slots.
5. Slot Machine
Tri-reel momentum — reels blur to a stop one by one for near-miss drama.
6. Dartboard
A dart arcs across the screen and thuds into concentric score rings.
7. Card Draw
Riffle-shuffled deck — draw singles or multi-card hands for flashcards or role picks.
8. Bottle Spinner
Group sits in a circle; the bottle coasts to a stop pointing at the chosen person.
9. Tournament Bracket
Up to 64 contestants, single-elimination, round-by-round until a champion is crowned.
5. Classroom Playbook
Teachers are our power users. Here’s how they use it:
A. Fair cold-calling
Project the Spin Wheel on the smartboard. Random selection feels fun, not punitive — students accept it because the wheel decides, not the teacher.
B. Group shuffler
Need 7 lab groups from 28 students? Use Card Draw or Lotteryin multi-draw mode — draw 4 at a time to form balanced teams in seconds.
C. PBIS reward wheel
Fill a wheel with privileges: “Sit in the teacher’s chair”, “5 bonus points”, “Homework pass”. When a student hits a behavioral milestone, they get to spin.
D. Review tournament
Before midterms, divide the class into table teams and generate a Tournament Bracket. Teams face off in trivia rounds until a study champion emerges.
6. Events, Standups & Parties
Beyond the classroom:
- Agile standups:Spin the wheel to set speaking order — no more awkward “who goes next?” pauses.
- Charity raffles: Project the Lottery Blower on a banquet screen. Swirling balls create real TV-lottery energy.
- Secret Santa: Use the Bottle Spinner or Card Draw to decide who picks the next gift.
7. Customization: Suspense & Audio
Tweak everything in Host Studio or Sandbox:
- Suspense Duration:2-second quick snap → 10-second nail-biter.
- Spin Strength: Controls initial velocity and deceleration curve.
- Audio:Toggle sound on/off. All effects are generated via Web Audio — zero bandwidth.
- Color Themes: Neon Synthwave, Pastel Dream, Emerald Casino, Sunset Blaze, High-Contrast Mono, and more.
8. Live Sharing with the 6-Digit PIN
Want your audience following along on their phones?
- In Host Studio, open your game and hit “Host Live Game”.
- A 6-digit PIN (e.g.
482-910) and QR code appear. - Participants go to retiroll.online/join and enter the PIN.
- Their screens sync with yours — everyone sees the spin and celebrates together.