Who goes first — fair coin flip for any 2-player game
Settle who plays first in any 2-player game with one fair flip. Set both player names as the labels — your name and your opponent's — and the result picks one cleanly, with cryptographically random 50/50 odds. Works for chess, Uno, Scrabble, dominoes, curling, Monopoly, board-game night, or any tabletop matchup where one person starts. Free fair coin flip for casual decisions — no gambling, no signup, no real-money games. Friday night, the chess board is set up on the kitchen table, and you and your partner have the same argument as last week: "You went first last time." "No I didn't, you did." Open Plinkr, type your two names into the labels, hit Flip. The result names one of you in plain letters. The argument ends in three seconds. The game starts in four. The coin neither of you can accuse of bias gets the credit. Sharing the URL with custom labels means the next pair of players you hand the laptop to opens the page with the same two names already filled in. No app to install. No accounts to create. No ads slowing the page down mid-game. Just the coin — and the names you actually care about, instead of "heads" and "tails" forcing you to remember which side was you.
Frequently asked questions
Why type names instead of just using heads or tails?
Custom labels make the result self-explanatory. "Heads" does not tell you who is first; "Maya" does. With two names typed into the labels, the flip output reads back as a verdict — no need for the side discussion of "OK, you were heads, so heads goes first." This is the difference between a generic coin flip and a tool actually built for the question "who goes first."
Is the flip really 50/50, or does it favor the first label?
Exactly 50/50. The flip uses cryptographic rejection sampling under the hood — each label has the same probability regardless of the order you typed them in, the length of the names, or anything else about the input. The same code base powers every Plinkr random tool, so the fairness guarantee is consistent across the site.
Can I use the same setup for multiple rounds in a single sitting?
Yes. Each tap of the flip button is independent — past flips don't influence future ones. For a best-of-three or a multi-game evening, just flip again before each game. The labels stay set across flips, so you only type the names once at the start of the night and reuse the same setup all evening.
When should I use random-picker instead of coin-flip?
For exactly two options, use coin-flip. The random-picker is built for lists of three or more — picking from a class roster, a giveaway list, or a menu of restaurants. With two options, coin-flip's UI (a single fair flip with custom labels) is the better fit. Three players or more? That's where random-picker shines.
More ways to use the Coin Flip:
← Coin Flip overview