Random Letter Generator

Is the random letter generator really random?

Yes: every draw uses the browser's cryptographic random generator (crypto.getRandomValues) with rejection sampling, so each letter in the set has exactly the same chance and no letter is favoured. Math.random is never used, and the page never remembers a 'lucky' letter.

No repeats works like drawing letters from a bag. The set goes into the bag, each draw takes letters out without putting them back, the counter shows how many are left, and when the bag is empty it is refilled and a new round starts. With several letters per draw, a single draw never shows the same letter twice, whether No repeats is on or off.

Random word generator

The Words tab is a random word generator: it picks 1 to 20 random English words, filtered by length, first letter and part of speech (noun, verb or adjective). One click sets the first letter to the letter you just drew, so a letter round can turn into a word round.

The words come from Qrdy common classroom words, about 4,000 common English words tagged noun / verb / adjective, written for this tool and screened for classroom use, released as CC0 1.0 (public domain). The list is a small static file that loads only when you open the Words tab, so the letter tool stays light, and a block list is applied on load as a second check. If a filter combination has no match the tab says so and suggests what to loosen; it never shows an empty result silently.

Looking for the random word generator directly? /tools/random-word-generator opens this page on the Words tab.

Classroom and party games with random letters

A random letter is the start of a dozen quick games: here are six that work with this page, from a two-minute warm-up to a full Scattergories round.

• Scattergories: Draw a letter, start the two-minute timer and name something in each of the twelve categories that starts with that letter; the Scattergories tab does all three.
• Alphabet hunt: Generate one letter and have the class find an object in the room, a word in the text or a country on the map that starts with it.
• Spelling warm-ups: Draw three letters and ask for the longest word that uses all of them, or the most words that start with the first one.
• Pictionary prompts: Switch to Words, set nouns only, and draw the word you get; the Present mode shows it to the drawer only if you turn the screen.
• Name a thing: A letter and a category (animal, food, city) in turn around the circle, with No repeats on so the letter changes every round.
• Handwriting practice: Set the case to Both so each tile shows Aa, and let young writers copy the pair that comes up.

Teaching from Canva slides? Spin Wheel Maker puts a clickable letter wheel inside the design itself, so the class watches the letter land on your slide: try Spin Wheel Maker in Canva. Need a quick yes or no, or teams for the game? Spin the Yes or No Wheel or split the class with the Random Team Generator.

How to play a Scattergories-style round with this page

One letter, one countdown, twelve categories: the Scattergories tab runs the round and leaves the scoring to you.

1. Open the Scattergories tab and press Start round: a letter is drawn with your letter settings (no repeats included) and the countdown starts, two minutes by default; pick 1 or 3 minutes or type your own length.
2. Players write one answer per category that starts with the letter; the twelve categories are shown right under the letter and the timer, Next round keeps the same list (the standard way to play), New list gives twelve others, or paste your own list or pick a pack.
3. The digits turn red in the last ten seconds and a buzzer sounds at zero. Compare answers, then press Next round for the next letter; Present mode puts the letter, the timer and the categories on the projector.

Game night: the same round on everyone's phone

Send one link and every player gets the same letter, the same twelve categories and the same countdown on their own phone, at the table or on a video call, with no room to create, no account and no server. After a round starts on the Scattergories tab, press Share this game: the link holds only a letter seed, the category list and the round length, so each phone works out the same letters for round 1, 2, 3 and on, and Next round on any phone gives the same next letter.

Start for everyone in 15 s adds a start time to the link: each phone counts down to the same moment from its own clock (phones keep network time, so all screens end within about a second). Someone who opens the link late sees the time left; after the end it shows Time's up with the list. On a phone the share sheet sends the link with a 1080 × 1350 "Tonight's list" card; Copy link and Download card do the same by hand.

Under the categories each player has an answer sheet: twelve numbered boxes that stay on that phone, in that tab only. At time's up the boxes lock and any answer that does not start with the letter (ignoring a, an and the) gets a small check-letter flag. Read out then shows one category at a time in huge type (Space and the arrow keys, or Next and Back), the group goes round the table, and each player taps Someone else had it to strike a duplicate; a private running score counts one point per answer kept.

The host keeps the scoreboard: add the players, type each player's round score after the read-out, watch the running totals, and Finish game night shows the winner with a little confetti (none with reduced motion). The last ten game nights and up to ten named category lists are kept in this browser, next to three packs we wrote: Holiday table, Kids (age 6+) and Grown-ups. Names and scores never go into the link, the card or analytics.

Splitting a big family into teams first? Use the Random Team Generator, then start a round and share the game.

Is anything I type saved or uploaded?

Nothing is uploaded: the letters, words, your custom set and your categories stay in this browser. Drawing happens on your device, the settings and the last results live in this browser's local storage under one key, and the analytics record only settings and counts (how many letters, which case, which set type, whether No repeats was on), never a letter, a word or a custom set.

Because the data is local, it does not follow you to another device, and clearing site data removes it. If your browser blocks storage, the generator still works, only without saved settings and history.