How this FLAMES count is done

Each name is lowercased. Anything that is not a letter from A to Z is dropped, so spaces, dots and accents do not count. Letters that appear in both names are removed one for one: two As against one A leaves a single A standing.

The number of letters still standing is the count. Begin at F. Move that many steps around the six letters, strike the one you land on, and start the next count at the following survivor. When one letter remains, that is the result. A remainder of zero, which happens when the names are made of exactly the same letters, has no count, and the page says so instead of inventing a word.

FLAMES is the game Indian classrooms have played on the last page of a rough notebook for decades. F is Friends, L is Lovers, A is Affection, M is Marriage, E is Enemies, S is Siblings. Six endings, and every pair of names lands on exactly one of them.

The count only sees spelling. Rahul and Priya share the letters r and a. Strike those pairs and six letters remain: h, u, l and p, i, y. Counting six around the circle strikes S, then F, then A, then L, then E. M is left, so the word is Marriage. Swap the two names and the same letters are struck, so the word does not change.

Jack and Rose share nothing. Eight letters remain, and the circle ends on A, Affection. A different spelling of either name can move the result, because the game has nothing else to go on. It would give a confident answer for two brands of biscuit. Treat it as the notebook game it is.