How to use
- In the players box, write the names, one per line. From 2 to 12 players are allowed, and names joined with commas are split into one person each. Example names are filled in at first, so you can try them as they are, or delete them and write your own.
- In the results box, write as many results as there are players, one per line. For example, with 4 players write "Win, Lose, Lose, Lose". For a bet on who pays for lunch, you can change them to "Pays, Free, Free, Free".
- Click "Draw the ladder" and the vertical lines and rungs are drawn. The results are hidden with "?", and nobody knows yet who will arrive at which result. If the numbers do not match, the screen tells you the numbers currently entered.
- Click a name tag at the top and a character shaped like that person walks down the ladder over about 5 to 9 seconds. It walks steadily at first and slows down toward the end, with footsteps, a sound each time it crosses a rung and a heartbeat that speeds up. When it arrives, the result appears with a matching sound. Turn off "Sound effects on" if you do not want sound. While one person is walking, the other name tags cannot be clicked. The same information also piles up below the ladder as text like "name → result". Clicking a name that is already revealed changes nothing.
- Instead of opening results one at a time, click "Show all results" and every path is drawn at once. To play again, click "Draw the ladder" once more. The rungs are placed anew each time, so the shape of the ladder changes.
About Ladder Game (Amidakuji)
The ladder game is a popular way to decide who gets which role: a lunch bet, cleaning duty, handing out prizes. Each player picks one vertical line, goes down from the top and crosses to the next line whenever they meet a rung. The result at the bottom where they arrive is theirs. In this tool, when you click a name tag, a character walks down that very path to show you.
The ladder is drawn anew every time. The positions of the rungs are chosen with your browser's secure random numbers, and neighboring rungs at the same height are not allowed to overlap. That way no one's path jumps across two lines at once, and two different people never arrive at the same result. Everyone receives a different result, one each, so no pair overlaps or goes missing. Ladder paths tend to end near the line they start from, so if the results stayed in the order you typed them, someone who knows that order could pick a favorable spot. That is why this tool shuffles the order of the result slots once more when it draws the ladder. However you typed the names and the results, every player has the same chance of each result. It is still not a certified drawing device, so it is better not to use it for anything with a lot at stake.
Revealing the name tags one at a time builds suspense, and "Show all results" opens them all at once and saves time. Revealed results also pile up below as "name → result" text, not only in the picture, so you can read the whole thing even when a name or result is long and looks cut off.
From 2 to 12 players are allowed, and more than that makes the ladder too narrow, so it is not accepted. Up to 6 players, the ladder is drawn to fit the width of the screen, and from 7 players the ladder area can be slid left and right so the name tags do not get narrow. The players and results boxes are independent inputs that do not share names with the other game tools, so names you edit here do not move to the other tools.
Frequently asked questions
What if the number of results differs from the number of players?
The ladder is not drawn, and the numbers currently entered are shown. If you see something like "4 players, 3 results", fill in the missing box or delete the extra line and try again.
Do the results change if I redraw the ladder?
They can. The rungs are placed again and the result slots are shuffled again each time, so even the same name can arrive at a different result. The results stay hidden with "?" until someone arrives, so you only learn which slot holds what by opening it.
Doesn't the order I type the results in matter?
No. The order of the result slots is shuffled when the ladder is drawn, so writing "Win" first does not put it under line 1. Whoever decided the order of names or results, each player has the same chance of each result. Agreeing beforehand not to redraw the ladder once results are out keeps things clean.
What happens if I click a name that is already revealed?
Nothing. The path and the result that were drawn stay as they are and do not change until you make a new ladder. To start over, press "Draw the ladder" again.
Can two people have the same name?
Yes. Each one counts as a different player and gets a separate line. It can be confusing to tell them apart in the results, though, so it helps to add A and B after the names.
How are long names or results shown?
The name tags and result slots have a fixed width, so long text is shortened with "…". Hover over a name tag to see the full name, and revealed results appear in full in the list below the ladder.
Can I use it for 13 or more people?
A ladder can have up to 12 players. To split more people, you can also use the team splitter or the order picker, or split into groups of 12 or fewer and run it several times.