A fortune teller’s ball for fun decisions
Gazing into a crystal ball is one of the oldest fortune-telling images there is: a glass sphere, a little mist and a mysterious reply. This online version keeps the fun and leaves out the mystery tricks. Type or simply think of a question, tap the ball, and after a moment of swirling mist an answer appears in the glass.
There are 24 replies, written in the voice of a playful fortune teller: 12 hopeful, 6 undecided and 6 that advise against it. Each one is chosen with your browser’s cryptographic random generator, so every reply has the same chance – the ball doesn’t read your question, and your question never leaves your device.
How to use
- Think of a question that can be answered with yes or no – or type it in the box.
- Tap the crystal ball or press Ask the crystal ball.
- Watch the mist swirl and read the answer that appears in the glass.
- Your questions and answers are listed in the history until you close the page.
Ideas for using it
- Party fun. pass the phone around and let everyone ask the ball one question.
- Small decisions. pizza or pasta tonight? Let the mist decide.
- Storytelling. ask what your characters should do next and build the plot around the answer.
- Classroom warm-up. a playful way to practise forming yes-or-no questions in a foreign language.
What are the odds?
With 24 equally likely replies, the maths is easy: a hopeful answer appears 12 times in 24 (50%), an undecided one 6 times in 24 (25%) and a “no” 6 times in 24 (25%). So the ball sounds optimistic more often than not – that is built into the mix of replies, not into your question.