Before dating apps and love calculators, there was FLAMES — a playground game almost anyone who went to school in the 1990s or 2000s remembers scribbling on the back of a notebook. FLAMES stands for Friends, Lovers, Affection, Marriage, Enemies, Siblings — six possible outcomes for what a relationship "really is," decided by a simple counting trick using two names.
How the game works, step by step:
- Write both names down
- Cross out every letter that appears in both names (each matching letter cancels one instance in each name)
- Count the remaining letters
- Use that number to count around the letters F-L-A-M-E-S, crossing off each letter you land on and continuing until one letter remains
- That final letter is your result
For example: "Emma" and "Liam" — cross out shared letters (M, A appear in both), count what's left, then cycle through FLAMES with that number until you land on your answer.
Where FLAMES actually came from. Its exact origin is unclear, but it spread through schoolyards worldwide as a hand-written game long before it became a digital calculator. Part of its charm is that it's simple enough for a 10-year-old to play but produces a result that feels oddly personal.
Why people still play it as adults. FLAMES taps into the same instinct as horoscopes and love calculators — a low-stakes way to ask "what if?" about a crush without actually having to ask them. It's nostalgic, quick, and shareable, which is exactly why it's had a second life online.
Is it accurate? No more than a coin flip dressed up in letters — but that's not really the point. FLAMES is a game, not a prediction engine, and its real value is the laugh it gets out of you and your friends.
Try it yourself: enter two names in our Love Calculator or try the Love Tester to get an instant result — no notebook required.
