Random Direction Generator

A compass point with its bearing, or a plain left, right, up or down, to say which way next.

Random Direction Generator

  1. DownToward the bottom of the page or screen, or toward the ground.
All 24

Next step Draw a spot on the mapDraw a place to go

How it works

Each press names one direction: a compass point such as east-southeast, a turn, or up, down, left or right. Compass cards carry the abbreviation, the bearing in degrees and the opposite point. Use it for map games, drawing prompts and story dice.

Read the full guide

Choose the set that fits

After the first draw a dropdown under the button holds six sets. Compass: 4 points draws north, east, south or west. 8 points adds northeast, southeast, southwest and northwest. 16 points adds the eight between those, such as north-northeast. Left or right draws a turn: left, right, straight ahead or turn around. Up, down, left, right suits a page, a grid or a screen. Six ways is the four compass points with up and down, for block-building games.

Tips
  • Compass practice: draw from 16 points, face that way with a compass, then check the bearing on the card.
  • Drawing wind, a river or a glance? Draw from 8 points and sketch it going that way.

Questions and answers

What are the 16 compass directions?

North, north-northeast, northeast, east-northeast, east, east-southeast, southeast, south-southeast, south, south-southwest, southwest, west-southwest, west, west-northwest, northwest and north-northwest. Each is 22.5° from the next.

What bearing is each direction?

Bearings count clockwise from north. North is 0°, east 90°, south 180° and west 270°. Northeast is 45°, southeast 135°, southwest 225° and northwest 315°.

What is the opposite of northeast?

Southwest. Opposite points are 180° apart: north faces south, east faces west and north-northeast faces south-southwest. Every compass card names its opposite.

Can it pick a turn and not a compass point?

Yes. Choose Left or right and the draw comes from four turns: turn left, turn right, straight ahead and turn around.

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All 24 directions

The four cardinal points 4

  • East E on a compass, bearing 90°. The opposite way is west.
  • North N on a compass, bearing 0°. The opposite way is south.
  • South S on a compass, bearing 180°. The opposite way is north.
  • West W on a compass, bearing 270°. The opposite way is east.

The four intercardinal points 4

  • Northeast NE on a compass, bearing 45°. The opposite way is southwest.
  • Northwest NW on a compass, bearing 315°. The opposite way is southeast.
  • Southeast SE on a compass, bearing 135°. The opposite way is northwest.
  • Southwest SW on a compass, bearing 225°. The opposite way is northeast.

The eight half-winds 8

  • East-northeast ENE on a compass, bearing 67.5°. The opposite way is west-southwest.
  • East-southeast ESE on a compass, bearing 112.5°. The opposite way is west-northwest.
  • North-northeast NNE on a compass, bearing 22.5°. The opposite way is south-southwest.
  • North-northwest NNW on a compass, bearing 337.5°. The opposite way is south-southeast.
  • South-southeast SSE on a compass, bearing 157.5°. The opposite way is north-northwest.
  • South-southwest SSW on a compass, bearing 202.5°. The opposite way is north-northeast.
  • West-northwest WNW on a compass, bearing 292.5°. The opposite way is east-southeast.
  • West-southwest WSW on a compass, bearing 247.5°. The opposite way is east-northeast.

Turns 4

  • Straight ahead No turn: keep going the way you are facing now.
  • Turn around A half turn: face the way you came from.
  • Turn left A quarter turn to your left from the way you are facing now.
  • Turn right A quarter turn to your right from the way you are facing now.

Up, down, left and right 4

  • Down Toward the bottom of the page or screen, or toward the ground.
  • Left Toward the left edge of the page or screen.
  • Right Toward the right edge of the page or screen.
  • Up Toward the top of the page or screen, or toward the sky.
How this list was compiled

A closed list of 24 directions. The 16 compass points, their abbreviations and their bearings were read on 2026-09-30 in the table of compass points at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Points_of_the_compass and checked against it by script: north is 0 degrees, each of the 16 points is 22.5 degrees from the next, and the eight half-winds are named there as north-northeast (NNE) to north-northwest (NNW). The four cardinal directions are north, east, south and west: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardinal_direction , read the same day. The point opposite each compass point is worked out by the script (eight places round a rose of 16). The four turns and the four page directions are plain words and need no source. The six ways of a cube are the four cardinal directions with up and down. Nothing here is a route or an instruction for a real journey. Licence: own work