The Wheel Of List Blog
Game theory, probability and the psychology of chance â the ideas behind fair decisions, good games and honest randomness. Written by the maker of the Wheel of List tools.
The Prisoner's Dilemma at Your Game Night
The most famous problem in game theory isn't locked in a textbook â it's at your table every time someone decides whether to betray an alliance.
Nash Equilibrium, Explained with Party Games
A Nash equilibrium is when no player gains by changing strategy alone. Sounds abstract â until you notice it deciding who does the dishes.
How to Win Rock-Paper-Scissors (More Often)
RPS is a fair game only if both players are random â and humans are terrible at random. The stats, the tells, and the counter-strategies.
I Cut, You Choose: The Game Theory of Sharing Fairly
The oldest fairness algorithm in the world needs no referee, no trust and no math degree â and it generalizes to inheritances, chores and roommates.
Who Goes First? A Surprisingly Deep Question
First-move advantage is real, measured and bigger than you think â in chess, Monopoly, Catan and even rock-paper-scissors. Here's what to do about it.
Dice Probability 101: Why 7 Rules the Table
One die is flat, two dice make a pyramid, and that pyramid quietly runs Catan, Craps and Monopoly. The essential numbers, no math degree required.
The Birthday Paradox: 23 People, Even Odds
In a room of just 23 people there's a 50% chance two share a birthday. It feels wrong, it's mathematically airtight, and it even breaks cryptography.
The Gambler's Fallacy: Why Streaks Lie
In 1913, black hit 26 times in a row at Monte Carlo and gamblers lost fortunes betting red was 'due'. The bug in their heads is still in yours.
The Monty Hall Problem: Always Switch
Three doors, one car, one opened goat â and the most argued-about probability puzzle ever. Switching doubles your odds, and here's the version that finally clicks.
How Computers Fake Randomness (and Why It's Fine)
Computers are deterministic machines, yet they shuffle playlists and run lotteries. PRNGs, seeds, entropy and the difference between fake-good and fake-dangerous.
10 Ways Teachers Use Random Pickers in Class
Cold-calling without dread, fair groups without politics, vocabulary games without prep â classroom-tested ways to put a random picker to work.
How to Run a Giveaway Nobody Calls Rigged
Clear rules, a visible draw, and proof you can point to afterwards â a practical playbook for raffles and giveaways that end without drama.
Decision Fatigue: Let Chance Do the Small Stuff
You make thousands of choices a day and most don't deserve your brainpower. The psychology of choice overload â and randomness as a productivity tool.
A Short History of Dice: 5,000 Years of Rolling
From sheep anklebones to loaded Roman dice to the d20 â how a tiny cube carried divination, gambling and game night across five millennia.
Streaks Are Normal: The Law of Large Numbers
Fair coins produce six heads in a row all the time â and casinos profit on a 1% edge. How randomness behaves in the short run versus the long run.