Random Hobby Generator

Enter a number from 1 to 10 and press Generate Hobby. You get that many hobbies drawn at random from a list of 80, each shown as a card with its name and a picture. The list runs from the obvious (Reading, Cooking, Chess, Gardening) to things most people have never tried (Cardistry, Campanology, Aquascaping, Conlanging). It's for anyone who has free evenings and no idea what to do with them, and for the "what's your hobby" question that's hard to answer when you don't have one yet.

What you can set and what you get

One input: how many hobbies to draw, between 1 and 10. Every result is a name plus a photo pulled from our image set, so you can see what the hobby actually looks like before reading up on it. There is no category filter. If a batch doesn't appeal, generate again; with 80 entries and up to 10 per draw, you'll have seen most of the list after a handful of clicks.

What's in the list

The 80 hobbies skew toward things you can start at home with a small budget. Grouped roughly:

• Crafts and making: Knitting, Crocheting, Cross-stitch, Embroidery, Clothesmaking, Candle Making, Ceramic, Engraving, Diorama, 3D Printing, Electronics, Airbrush, Calligraphy.
• Art and media: Drawing, Painting, Digital Art, Animation, Photography, Filmmaking, Creative Writing, Blog, Cosplay, Anime, Coloring book.
• Food and drink: Cooking, Baking, Breadmaking, Cheesemaking, Candy Making, Confectionery, Coffee Roasting, Beer Sommelier.
• Games and puzzles: Chess, Board game, Card Game, Crossword, Cardistry, Cryptography, E-Games, Fantasy Sport, Cue Sports, Bowling.
• Movement: Dance, Walking, Diving, Acroyoga, Aerial Silk, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.
• Music and performance: Disc Jockey, Djembe, Beatboxing, Barbershop Music, Drama, Acting.
• Odd ones: Campanology (bell ringing), Conlanging (inventing languages), Amateur Radio, Book Restoration, Feng Shui Decorating, Couponing, Astrology.

The list is heavier on crafts, arts and food than on team sports; there's no soccer or basketball in it. If you want a physical activity picked for you, the Random Activity Generator is the better draw, and the Random Yoga Pose Generator covers one hobby in depth.

Ways people use a hobby randomizer

• Try one thing a month. Generate a single hobby on the first of the month and give it four weekends. Cheap ones like Walking, Drawing and Crossword cost nothing to test; Coffee Roasting or 3D Printing need a small purchase.
• Filling a character sheet. Writers and tabletop players use it to give a character an interest that the author wouldn't have thought of. "She does campanology on Sundays" tells a reader more than "she likes music."
• Icebreakers. Draw five hobbies, and each person in the group says which one they'd try and which one they'd refuse.
• Gift ideas. Generate ten and see which one fits the person you're shopping for; a starter kit for Embroidery or Candle Making is an easy present.
• Breaking a rut. If your free time is all screens, let the generator pick and commit to the first hands-on result it shows.

Picking a hobby you'll actually keep

A random pick is a starting point, not a commitment. Three questions worth asking about whatever comes up: can you do a first session in under an hour with what you already own, is there a version of it you can do alone on a weeknight, and is there a local group or an online community for it when you get stuck. Knitting, Chess and Drawing pass all three. Diving and Aerial Silk don't, which is why they tend to stay on the wish list.

For more random picks in the same spirit, the Random Topic Generator gives you something to talk or write about, and the Random Thing Generator hands you an everyday object. Everything of this kind is listed under all fun, party and decision tools.