The classic list
All 20 magic 8 ball answers
The classic magic 8 ball has 20 answers: 10 affirmative, 5 non-committal and 5 negative. Every answer has the same 1 in 20 chance, so half of all shakes lean yes.
| Type | The answers | Odds on one shake |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative Yes |
| 50%10 of 20 answers. Each one is 1 in 20 (5%). |
| Non-committal Maybe |
| 25%5 of 20 answers. Each one is 1 in 20 (5%). |
| Negative No |
| 25%5 of 20 answers. Each one is 1 in 20 (5%). |
- 50%Leans yes10 of the 20 answers
- 25%Says "ask again"5 non-committal answers
- 25%Leans no5 negative answers
- 1 in 20Any one answer5% on every shake
Classic 20 is the set the ball starts with. The list matches the 20 answers given in the Wikipedia article on the toy.
Quick start
How to ask the magic 8 ball a question
Pick a set, type your question and shake. It runs in any browser, with nothing to sign up for or install.
Choose an answer set
Classic 20 is ready to go. Fortune style, Kids, Work and Sassy (clean) swap in different wording, and the split under the buttons shows how each one leans.
Type a yes-or-no question
Up to 140 characters. Questions that start with “Will”, “Should”, “Is” or “Can” fit the answers best.
Shake the ball
Press Shake, press Enter in the box, press Space anywhere else, or click the ball itself.
Read the window
The answer floats up on a triangle. It also appears under the ball with a Yes, Maybe or No label, and lands in the History card.
The question box is optional: an empty box still gets an answer. History saves your question, the answer and the time. Copy puts the list on your clipboard, and Clear empties it, with an Undo button in case you clicked by mistake.
Need a question?
Questions to ask the 8 ball
Tap a question to drop it into the question box, then shake. Every one is a clean yes-or-no question for friends, family or a class.
Just for fun
Friends and parties
School days
Games and sport
The question goes into the box; type over it any time.
Questions the ball can answer well
- Make it closed. “Will it rain on Saturday?” works. “What will the weather be?” gets a reply like “Outlook good”, which says nothing about rain.
- Keep it about one moment. “Will we win tonight?” reads better than “Will we win this season?”, because you find out soon.
- Decide what “maybe” means first. A non-committal reply such as “Ask again later” could mean shake again or keep things as they are. Agree before anyone presses Shake.
- Keep it kind. At a party, ask about the evening and the games, not about people in the room.
Answer sets
Five answer sets, from classic to sassy
The ball holds 5 answer sets with 84 answers in all. Classic 20 is the traditional list. The other 4 sets, with 64 answers, were written for this site and reuse none of the classic wording.
Fortune style
Our own fortune-teller wording: half yes, a quarter maybe, a quarter no. Sample: “Yes, clearly”, “Too foggy to tell”.
Kids
Short, silly answers for younger players. Sample: “Yes, high five!”, “Ask me after a snack”.
Work
Office-flavored answers for meetings and team chats. Sample: “Ship it”, “Circle back next week”.
Sassy (clean)
Cheeky answers with attitude and no rude words. Sample: “Obviously, yes”, “Ugh, ask again”.
| Set | Yes answers | Maybe answers | No answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortune style | Yes, clearly · Absolutely · The answer is yes · Very likely · Go for it · That's a firm yes · Odds are in your favor · I'd bet on it · Yes, and soon · Looks like a yes | Too foggy to tell · Shake me again · Can't say yet · Try me in a minute · The answer is hiding | Not likely · That's a no · I wouldn't bet on it · Doubtful at best · Not this time |
| Kids | Yes, high five! · Totally! · You bet! · Super duper yes · Yes, yes, yes! · Yep, for sure! | Ask me after a snack · My brain is buffering · Try again in a silly voice | Nope! · Not today · Sorry, that's a no |
| Work | Ship it · Green light · Approved · Yes, put it on the calendar · Worth a try · Yes, with a follow-up email | Circle back next week · Needs more data · Ask after the next meeting · Sleep on it · Run it past the team · Add it to the agenda | Not this quarter · Park it for now · Out of scope · That's a hard no |
| Sassy (clean) | Obviously, yes · Yes. You're welcome. · Did you even need to ask? Yes. · Fine, yes · Yes, and you knew that · Big yes, tiny drama | Ugh, ask again · I'm on my break · Not answering that today · Ask me after coffee | In your dreams · Nope, next question · Hard pass · Absolutely not · That's a no from me · Not even close |
The ball remembers the set you picked on this device. The “See all answers” list under the set buttons shows the same answers with their labels.
Odds
Magic 8 ball odds for each answer set
Every answer in a set has the same chance, so the odds of a yes, maybe or no equal that type's share of the set. A single exact answer is 1 in 20 in Classic 20 and Fortune style, 1 in 12 in Kids, and 1 in 16 in Work or Sassy (clean).
Streaks and repeats in Classic 20
Three yes-type answers in a row is 50% × 50% × 50% = 12.5%. At least 1 yes in 3 shakes is 100% − 12.5% = 87.5%.
Repeats come sooner than most people guess. With 20 answers, 6 shakes show the same reply twice 56.4% of the time. Seeing all 20 answers takes about 72 shakes on average, more than the 50 the history keeps.
Sets also differ in how often they say no. Sassy (clean) gives a no 37.5% of the time, against 25% for Work, because Sassy has 6 no answers out of 16 and Work has 4. Fortune style matches Classic 20 at 50% yes.
- A yes-type answer on one shake50%
- At least 1 yes-type answer in 3 shakes87.5%
- The same exact answer twice in 6 shakes56.4%
- 3 yes-type answers in a row12.5%
- The same exact answer twice in a row5%
Each answer is drawn by your browser's crypto.getRandomValues the moment you press Shake, and the ball never reads your question. See how the site's random picks are tested.
Reading the reply
Magic 8 ball yes or no: what each reply means
Every magic 8 ball reply is a yes, a maybe or a no in different words. “Signs point to yes” and “Outlook good” both mean yes. “My sources say no” and “Very doubtful” both mean no.
The 5 non-committal replies, such as “Reply hazy, try again”, are the ball's way of saying not now. Shake again if you like: each shake is a fresh draw from all 20 answers.
You don't have to translate anything here. Under the ball, each answer carries a Yes, Maybe or No label, and the History card keeps a running count, such as “So far: 4 yes, 1 maybe, 2 no.”
Fun, not advice
The magic 8 ball is a game of chance, so its answers say nothing about the future or what you should do. Two people asking the same question at the same moment can get opposite answers. Use it for fun or to break a tie between 2 equally good options. For choices about health, money or school, talk to someone you trust. For a plain yes or no with a running count, the yes or no wheel keeps a tally. A decision wheel handles more than 2 options.
History
Who invented the magic 8 ball?
Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman invented the toy in 1946, according to Wikipedia, and Mattel makes it today. Carter based it on a spirit-writing device used by his mother, a clairvoyant in Cincinnati.
| Year | What happened |
|---|---|
| 1944 | Carter files US Patent 2,452,730, “Liquid filled dice agitator”, on September 23. A sealed tube of cloudy liquid holds a floating cube, and turning the tube end for end brings a face up to a clear end wall. |
| 1946 | Wikipedia dates the invention to this year. Carter's patent filing goes to a company named Alabe Crafts, which sells the device as a cylinder called “The Syco-Slate”. |
| 1948 | The patent is granted on November 2, after Carter's death. The same year, Bookman puts the device inside a crystal ball. |
| 1950 | Brunswick Billiards commissions a version shaped like a black-and-white pool 8 ball, the look the toy still has. |
| 1964 | US Patent 3,119,621, filed by Bookman on January 2, 1962, for Alabe Crafts, is granted on January 28. It describes a round die with flat faces floating in dark liquid behind a window. Raised markings on each face can be read when it rests on the window. |
| 1971 | Bookman sells Alabe Crafts to Ideal Toys. |
| 1987 | The rights are sold to Tyco Toys. |
| 1997 | Mattel buys Tyco Toys and becomes the maker. |
Inside today's toy, a white 20-sided die floats in about 100 ml of alcohol dyed dark blue, with one answer on each face. Sources: the Wikipedia article and the two patents on Google Patents. Magic 8 Ball is a trademark of Mattel. Wheel Spinning is not affiliated with Mattel and uses the name only to describe the kind of toy.
Toy vs online
The toy and this online ball, side by side
In Classic 20 mode, this magic 8 ball online gives the same answers as the toy. It adds more sets, a record of every answer and a fair draw you can check.
| The toy | This page | |
|---|---|---|
| How you ask | Ask, then turn the ball over | Type, then press Shake, Enter or Space |
| Answers | 20, one on each face of the die | The same 20, plus 64 more in 4 sets |
| How an answer is picked | The die floats up to the window | A secure random draw, 1 in 20 for each classic answer |
| Record of answers | None | The last 50 answers, with your question and the time |
| Where it works | Wherever the ball is | Any phone, tablet or computer with a browser |
Play
Party and classroom games with the 8 ball
An answer ball turns any question into a quick group game. Pick the set that suits the room.
Prediction party
Each guest asks 1 question about the evening. At the end, read the history aloud and see which answers came true.
Story starter
Ask a question about a character, such as “Does the dragon keep the gold?”, then write the next scene to match the answer.
Classroom warm-up
Students ask about a character from the class book, then explain whether the answer fits the story.
Team chat icebreaker
Take turns asking silly work questions, such as “Should the team get a mascot?”, and copy the history into the chat.
For a group game with dares as well as questions, the truth or dare wheel has its own prompt bank. To choose who asks next, the spin the bottle game points at a player at random. The random card generator draws playing cards from a shuffled 52-card deck.
FAQ
Magic 8 ball FAQ
How many answers does a magic 8 ball have?
20. 10 are affirmative, 5 are non-committal and 5 are negative. This page also has 4 extra sets of its own.
Is the magic 8 ball online free?
Yes. All 5 answer sets and the history are free, with no account or download.
Does the 8 ball read my question?
No. The answer is drawn without looking at your words, so every answer in the set has the same chance whatever you ask.
Why did I get the same answer twice?
Each shake is independent, so an answer can repeat right away. In Classic 20, the chance of the same answer twice in a row is 1 in 20.
What is the liquid inside a magic 8 ball?
Alcohol dyed dark blue, about 100 ml of it, according to Wikipedia. A white 20-sided die floats in it.
When was the magic 8 ball invented?
In 1946, by Albert C. Carter and Abe Bookman. The 8-ball shape followed in 1950, for Brunswick Billiards.
Are my questions saved or sent anywhere?
Your questions stay in your own browser. The history is stored on your device only, and Clear deletes it.
Is this the official Magic 8 Ball?
No. Wheel Spinning is an independent site and is not affiliated with Mattel, which owns the Magic 8 Ball trademark.
Last updated · Written and tested by Melissa T. Brown