The story behind the spin
About Potluck Wheel
A small, free tool and a set of practical guides for the moment someone asks, “Who’s bringing what?”
Potluck Wheel turns a guest list into a balanced set of potluck assignments. Choose appetizers, mains, sides, desserts, and drinks, set optional target counts, then spin. The result is organized by category and ready to copy, print, or share. Alongside the tool, the site has planning guides written for real hosts: how to plan a potluck, how much food to bring, dish ideas that travel well, office logistics, and general food safety and allergy habits.
Why it exists
Sign-up sheets work. They can also end with five desserts and no main dish. The first few people to sign up pick the easy categories, the last few are left with whatever is missing, and the organizer spends the week before the event nudging people to change. I wanted a quick way to share the planning load at office lunches, school events, neighborhood gatherings, and family meals, one that felt fair and took a few seconds.
A random, balanced assignment solves most of that. Nobody chose the hard category for someone else, and the table ends up with a sensible mix. The wheel makes the assigning a small part of the fun instead of a chore. People can still trade among themselves afterward, which they usually do happily once the starting point is fair.
What makes the assignment fair
The tool fills any target counts you set first, then hands out the remaining people one at a time to whichever category has the fewest, and shuffles both people and slots. There is a full explanation on how it works, written from the actual code, so anyone in your group who wonders whether the wheel is rigged can read exactly what it does.
Why the guides
A balanced list of categories is only one part of a good potluck. Hosts keep running into the same questions: how big a dish should people make, what to do about a shared office fridge, how to keep cold dishes cold at an outdoor event, how to make it easier for guests with allergies. The guides collect practical answers in one place. They try to be specific and honest about uncertainty: portion numbers are labeled as rough guidance, and food safety advice points to official sources rather than pretending to replace them.
Who runs it
I’m Damion, an independent maker in Indiana. I build small, focused web tools for everyday group logistics. Potluck Wheel is free and works on a phone or computer without an account. Questions, corrections, and feedback are welcome through the contact page or at damion-2156@agentmail.to.
Sharing and privacy
Assignments are made in your browser. A share link contains the names and assignments in its URL hash, so anyone with that link can see the same table. Read the privacy page for more about hosting, advertising, and the tip widget.
Keeping it free
An optional Ko-fi tip helps support the site. The site uses Google AdSense, so ads may appear on the home page and content pages. Neither tipping nor ads is needed to use the wheel, and there is no paid version.
Corrections
If something in a guide is unclear or wrong, I would rather know. Send a note with the page and the issue, and I will review and update it. Each page shows when it was last updated.
Last updated October 10, 2026.