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The wheel is the quickest way to settle it, but it isn't the only one. Here are twelve methods people actually use, and how fair each one really is.
Everyone drops a card into a glass or a napkin. Someone shuffles them face down and pulls one out — that card pays the lot. The oldest version of the game and still the most dramatic, because you have to physically hand over your card and watch it get picked.
Fair, but nobody enjoys it when a card gets bent in a pint glass.
Total divided by heads, done. Fast and unarguable, which is why most groups default to it. It falls apart the moment one person has a starter, three courses and a bottle of red while someone else had soup and tap water.
Best for groups who order roughly alike.
Everyone pays for exactly what they ordered, plus a share of the service charge. The fairest method on paper and the slowest in practice — expect ten minutes of squinting at a receipt while the staff wait to clear the table.
Fair to the penny, murder on the evening.
Nobody splits anything. One person pays the whole bill this time, someone else pays next time, and it rotates. Over a year of regular meals it evens out almost perfectly, and it removes the awkward maths entirely.
The best option for groups who eat together often.
Pair everyone off, winners progress, and the last person left standing picks up the bill. Takes about ninety seconds for a table of six and gives everyone a chance to feel briefly competitive.
Fair, and more fun than it has any right to be.
Before the bill lands, everyone writes down what they think it comes to. Closest guess is exempt; furthest guess pays. Rewards paying attention to the menu prices, which is at least a useful skill.
Skill-based, so not truly random — but nobody minds.
Whoever has the next birthday coming up pays tonight, on the understanding that the table covers them when their birthday actually arrives. Simple, and it means nobody pays twice in a row.
Predictable, which is its whole appeal.
A deck of cards or a cards app — everyone draws, lowest card pays. Slightly kinder than roulette because it feels like a game rather than a punishment, and you can do best of three if someone protests.
Genuinely random and easy to re-run.
Agreed in advance in the group chat: whoever turns up last is buying. Remarkably effective at getting people to the restaurant on time, which may be the real point.
Not random at all — that's the idea.
One person poses a question with a numerical answer nobody knows — the population of a city, the height of a mountain. Furthest from the true answer pays. Works well with a table that likes an argument.
Fun, though it needs one honest person with a phone.
If you picked the place, you're covering it. Keeps people honest about dragging the group somewhere expensive, and rotates naturally as different people suggest venues.
Self-correcting over time.
A compromise for tables that can't agree. Split the food evenly, then spin or draw for who covers the service charge. Much lower stakes than the full bill, so it stays friendly.
The gentlest option on this list.
Last updated: 7 August 2026
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