FLAMES Calculator

FLAMES is the classic name game: it "predicts" the nature of a relationship between two people using nothing but their names. It has been a playground staple for generations — a fixture of schoolyards and sleepovers — and it is pure fun. Treat the result as a joke, not destiny.

Where it comes from

FLAMES began life as a children's game, passed down by word of mouth long before calculators or apps existed. Different regions play slightly different variants, but the core idea — crossing out shared letters and counting off the survivors around a circle of six outcomes — has stayed remarkably consistent. It survives today precisely because it is cheap, playful and endlessly repeatable with different names.

The rules

1. Write both names, ignoring spaces.
2. Cross out every letter that appears in both names.
3. Count the letters that remain unmatched.
4. Step around the FLAMES circle (F · L · A · M · E · S) and remove the letter at each n-th position, until one letter is left.

Worked example

Names RAM and SITA:

RAM:  R A M
SITA: S I T A

'A' appears in both, so cross it out. Remaining letters: R, M, S, I, T → 5 unmatched.

Starting at the beginning of FLAMES and counting off every 5th letter:

F L A M E S  →  remove E
F L A M S    →  remove M
F L A S      →  remove S
F L A        →  remove L
F A          →  remove A

The last letter is F → Friends.

A second worked example

Try JOHN and JANE. The shared letter is J; the 'N' appears in John but not in Jane spelled with an E, so it stays. Removing the common J leaves O, H, N and A, N, E — but crucially the count is about all unmatched letters, so compare carefully. Two names that share several letters (like Anna and Amanda) quickly shrink the "count", which shifts how many steps you take around the circle and can land on a different letter than you might guess.

The six results

Why the result can feel random

The fewer common letters, the larger the "count" — and the more steps it takes around the circle. Because the count changes with every shared letter, tiny differences in how you spell or abbreviate a name can flip the outcome entirely. Try using full names, nicknames, or just first names, and compare the results — a great way to see how sensitive the method is.

A note on honesty

While it is entertaining to see your letters match up, FLAMES has no connection to psychology, astrology or any measurable factor of human relationships. Enjoy the moment, laugh at the coincidence, and treat a "Lovers" result as a conversation starter rather than a prophecy — and an "Enemies" result as a joke rather than a verdict.