Settle a decision with a coin flip

Use this virtual coin flip for tie-breakers and first-turn choices—plus accessible nonvisual outcomes.

Agree on what Heads and Tails mean before you flip, then press Flip coin once. Re-flipping because someone dislikes the result is a social choice, not a tool feature.

This expanded guide ties house rules to the actual controls: animation, speech, auto-flip, and Recent flips.

Before the flip

State the stakes in plain language—who picks first, which side takes an extra chore, or which activity wins.

Make sure everyone can see or hear the result path you will use (screen, speech, or live region read by a facilitator).

Turn Coin animation Off if the group is impatient or motion-sensitive.

Accessible outcomes

Enable Speak result when one device serves people who cannot see the coin clearly.

The live region reports Heads or Tails as soon as the flip is decided—test once with animation Off so listeners know what to expect.

Recent flips helps recount if someone joins late; it is not a legal transcript.

Auto-flip and classrooms

Auto-flip on timer can run repeated demos; set Flip timer high enough that students can call out results.

Pause auto-flip before discussing tallies so new flips do not overlap conversation.

Compare counts manually—there is no built-in statistics chart.

Limits hosts should mention

There is no best-of series mode—run multiple flips yourself if rules require it.

Do not use this flip for regulated wagers or official lotteries.

Coin artwork is stylized, not currency—avoid implying monetary value.

Group norms and repeat flips

Write Heads and Tails meanings on a whiteboard before the first Flip coin so bystanders can referee without reopening debate. If your house rules require best-of-three, run three separate flips and record outcomes in Recent flips rather than expecting an automatic series mode.

When animating for children, preview Coin animation Off once so they know the label appears instantly if someone toggles it mid-session.

For mixed hearing and sight participants, nominate a facilitator to read the live region result even when Speak result is enabled, in case one output fails on a particular device.

Meetings and remote teams

Share screen on the coin stage only, not the entire browser profile, before flipping for meeting tie-breakers.

Record the spoken live region result in meeting notes when decisions affect project priority.

Disable Auto-flip during formal votes so nobody thinks flips continued after the decision was made.

Teaching probability follow-ups

After ten flips, ask students whether counts look close to half—connect to sample size, not guaranteed fairness on small runs.

Compare Coin animation On versus Off timing when discussing reaction time, not odds.

Clarify that Recent flips is a convenience list, not a statistical report with confidence intervals.