Ladder Lottery (Ghost Leg)

Builds a ladder lottery, also called ghost leg or amidakuji, from a list of players and outcomes. Use it to hand out prizes, forfeits, duties or roles at random.

How to use

1. Type 2 to 20 names in "Players (one per line)". You can paste a column from a spreadsheet.
2. List the same number of entries in "Outcomes". If some are missing, the fill button under the lists puts "Nothing" in every empty outcome.
3. Tap a name at the top of the ladder; that player's path is drawn in colour down to an outcome. Press "Show all results" to see every path at once.
4. Traced paths are collected in the "Results" table. Press "Make a new ladder" to start again.

How it works

• The matching is decided first with cryptographic randomness when the ladder is made, and the rungs are then placed to produce it. Every possible matching therefore has the same chance.
• At first the middle is covered so the rungs cannot be seen. "Uncover" opens it and "Cover the middle" hides it again. Two neighbouring rungs never meet at the same height.
• "Full screen" shows the ladder large, and on a phone it shrinks to fit the screen. The lists are saved on this device.

Questions and answers

Can two players end up with the same outcome?

No. A rung only swaps two neighbouring paths, so each starting point always leads to a different outcome. With 5 players, each of the 5 outcomes goes to exactly one player.

Is a ladder lottery fair?

A ladder with rungs drawn at random tends to send players to an outcome near their starting point. Here the matching is drawn evenly first and the ladder is built from it, so every starting point has the same chance.

What happens if there are more players than outcomes?

Missing outcomes are shown as "–", and extra outcomes are not used. The page shows the number of players and outcomes below the lists.