- Is every letter equally likely?
- Yes. With all 26 letters on, each one has exactly a 1 in 26 chance, about 3.85%, on every pick. The randomness comes from your browser's crypto.getRandomValues, the same source password generators use, not Math.random. A 32-bit random number can't be split evenly into 26 parts: 22 of its 4,294,967,296 possible values are left over. Those 22 values are thrown away and a new number is drawn, so no letter gets even a tiny head start. That's called rejection sampling.
- Why do I keep getting the same letter twice?
- Because repeats are normal when every pick is independent. Pick 5 letters from all 26 and there's a 33.6% chance at least two match. By 7 letters the odds of a repeat pass 58.7%, and by 10 letters they're 86.4%. It's the birthday problem with a 26-day year. If a repeat would ruin your game, turn on No repeats. Letters then come out of a bag, and none shows up again until every letter has been drawn.
- How does No repeats work across clicks?
- The bag stays between clicks. Pick one letter at a time and you'll get 26 different letters over 26 presses. The Drawn strip lists them in order and counts what's left, like Drawn: K Q A · 23 left. When the bag is empty the button reads Start over, and pressing it refills the bag and picks right away. If you ask for more letters than the bag holds, you get only what's left. Changing Letters, Exclude or No repeats refills the bag. Changing the case or How many doesn't.
- Is Y a vowel or a consonant here?
- Y counts as a consonant. Vowels are A, E, I, O and U, and Consonants are the other 21 letters. Y works as a vowel in words like gym, so if you want it in your vowel set, pick All and exclude the consonants you don't want.
- Which letters should I exclude for Scattergories or Stop?
- Most groups drop the letters that start very few words. Q, X and Z are the usual ones, so typing qxz into Exclude is a good start. Some people also skip K, V and Y. Exclude is case-insensitive and ignores anything that isn't a letter, so q, x, z works the same as QXZ. With Q, X and Z gone, each of the remaining 23 letters has a 4.35% chance per pick.
- What does Both do to the case?
- Both flips a fair coin for every letter, so each one comes out uppercase or lowercase with a 50/50 chance, independently of the others. It's handy for handwriting practice, where kids need to know that b and B are the same letter. With No repeats on, a and A count as the same letter, so you won't see both in one round.
- Can I use it without a mouse, say on a classroom projector?
- Yes. Press Space or Enter anywhere on the page to pick a new letter, as long as you're not typing in a field. Space inside the Exclude box still types a space. Every press is a fresh pick with no animation to wait for, so a teacher can run a whole spelling drill from the keyboard.
- How do I copy the letters?
- Press Copy under the display. You get the letters with a single space between them, like K Q A M T, ready for a worksheet, a chat, or a spreadsheet. The button reads Copied for a moment so you know it worked.
