# Matching answers

> How StreamArena matches guesses loosely, so typos, capital letters and 'the' never cost a viewer the round.

StreamArena matches guesses loosely on purpose: a viewer who types `the lion kng!!` for "The Lion King" got it right. Every guess is normalized, then compared word by word with a small typo allowance that grows with the length of the answer.

## What matching ignores

- Case and accents: `AMÉLIE` matches "Amelie".
- Punctuation and a leading "the".
- Filler words, like "is it", "i think", "maybe" or "my answer".
- Small typos, including two swapped letters.

A guess that lists several titles at once, like `matrix dune frozen`, does not match.

## Typo allowance

| Answer length | Typos allowed |
|---|---|
| Up to 4 letters | 0 |
| 5 to 7 letters | 1 |
| 8 to 12 letters | 2 |
| Longer | 3 |

## In your game

`text.matches(answers)` is true for a match, and `text.isClose(answers)` for a near miss. Outside a round, `Playcade.match()` does the same:

```js
Playcade.match('the lion kng', ['The Lion King']).ok   // true
```