FLAMES test

The names have changed. Select Play FLAMES to calculate this pair.

What does FLAMES mean?

FLAMES is a name game with several versions. This page uses six fixed labels:

These are labels from the game, not descriptions of the two people. A result does not tell you whether to date, marry, stay together or end a relationship.

How this version works

1. Prepare the spelling. We ignore case, ordinary spaces, straight (') and curly (’) apostrophes, and these hyphens: -, ‐, ‑. Accents that separate from A–Z letters are removed, so José becomes JOSE and Muñoz becomes MUNOZ. This is a game rule, not a rule about how a name should be written. We reject unsupported characters rather than silently discard part of a name. Names such as Øystein need an A–Z spelling you choose. Each entry has a limit of 160 characters before processing and 60 letters afterwards; line breaks and other spacing characters are not accepted.
2. Pair matching letters. Work from left to right. For each letter in the first name, cross out the first matching letter still available in the second name. Each letter can be used once. In ANNA and ANA, two pairs of A and one pair of N cancel; one N remains.
3. Count what remains. Add the unpaired letters from both names. If the count is 0, this version returns no letter.
4. Eliminate around FLAMES. Start at F and count it as 1. Count up to the remaining-letter total, wrapping around as needed, then remove the letter you reach. Start again at 1 on the next surviving letter. Use the same total each time and skip removed letters.
5. Keep the final letter. Stop when one letter remains. No extra score, random draw or hidden adjustment is added.

For John and Jane, J and N pair up. OH and AE remain, giving 4. The eliminations are M, L, F, A, S, leaving E. Open the calculation to see where each count starts.

The same two spellings always give the same result in this version. Swapping the names leaves the result unchanged. A nickname or a different spelling can change the count; it does not make the game more accurate. Rule version: OARAN-FLAMES-1.

Different words in India and the Philippines

You may remember different words for the same letters. An India-focused guide by Saranghae lists Friendship, Love, Affection, Marriage, Enemy and Sister/Sibling. A 2008 school-day recollection on Wapsicle Popsicle, with Filipino discussion in its comments, uses Friends, Lovers, Anger, Married, Engaged and Sweethearts. FOX 11’s interview feature about the Filipino group BINI also describes a version with Anger and Sweethearts, but with Enemies for E.

These are examples of different uses, not one official word list for each country. A can mean Affection or Anger; E can mean Enemies or Engaged; S can mean Siblings or Sweethearts. The Wapsicle account also counts crossed-out letters, which is a different counting rule from this page.

On oaran, the result words are always the six listed above, wherever you play. We count unmatched letters and eliminate five letters. Changing only the meaning of a letter would not change the calculation; changing the counting rule can.

FAQ

Can FLAMES tell whether someone likes me?

No. It processes spelling and counts letters. Love does not confirm shared feelings, and Enemies does not reveal a problem. Every result is just for fun.

How do repeated letters and identical names work?

We cancel letters one pair at a time. If one name has three A’s and the other has one, only one pair cancels. If nothing remains in either name, including when the names are identical or rearrangements of each other, this version returns no FLAMES letter.

Why is my result different from the game I remember?

Some versions count the letters that were crossed out, some stop after one count, and some use different words for A, E or S. This page uses the published rules above. Different rules or different spellings can produce a different result.

Sources and scope

The elimination method follows the version explained in TrueLoveCalc’s step-by-step guide. The regional word examples come from the three pages linked in “Different words in India and the Philippines”. They document ways of playing and naming the results; they do not establish that the game predicts relationships.

oaran sets the input limits, supported spelling rules and zero-count handling, and writes its own result explanations. Sources checked on 11 September 2026.