Who starts? A 3-second call, no arguing

You open the box, everyone sits down, you read the rules. Then, silence.

"So, who starts?"

Someone says "youngest first", another says "whoever won last time", and five minutes later nobody has touched a card. The game hasn't started and the mood is already tense.

The real issue isn't randomness

The "youngest first" rule isn't the problem. The problem is that the rule wasn't agreed on before the box was opened. Each person subconsciously defends whichever rule works in their favor. You're not choosing a first player; you're negotiating.

The fix is to take the decision away from the group. No vote, no "I propose that". An external tool that decides, visibly, and nobody can complain.

Three formats that work

Fingers on the screen

Everyone places a finger on the screen. After three seconds, a circle lights up around one finger. Done. Physical, immediate, uncontestable.

The wheel

Every name on the wheel, one click, watch it spin. The animation is just long enough to build a bit of suspense without wasting real time.

The quick pick

A name scrolls, it stops, you have a winner. Useful for large groups or when you want to chain several picks (who deals, who starts, who keeps score).

Why the result gets accepted

Two reasons. First, visibility: everyone sees the same animation, so nobody thinks it was rigged. Second, the pre-agreed pact: say out loud, before the pick, "we launch, we accept, we play". That single line kills the "let's redo it".

Scale with the group

For two players, don't bother with a wheel — rock-paper-scissors does the job. From three players a visual tool becomes useful. From six upward, it's essential, because manual negotiation just eats too much time.

For games with many rounds (Catan, 7 Wonders, Ticket to Ride), pick the full turn order in one go, not just the first player. That saves you the "and who's after me?" question every single round.

The habit that changes everything

Before you even open the box, tell the group "we'll use Hazdy to pick who starts". The rule is set before the problem shows up. Nobody can push back because they agreed to it while the stakes were still zero.

Small habit, big impact. You stop losing the first five minutes to negotiation, and you start the evening in a playing mood, not a meeting mood.

Try it on your next game night: spin the Hazdy wheel or drop fingers on the chooser. By game two, nobody argues about it anymore.