diff --git a/src/texteff.cpp b/src/texteff.cpp
index 98a7e85794..01dca6087c 100644
--- a/src/texteff.cpp
+++ b/src/texteff.cpp
@@ -43,7 +43,11 @@ TextEffectID AddTextEffect(StringID msg, int center, int y, uint8_t duration, Te
 	if (_game_mode == GM_MENU) return INVALID_TE_ID;
 
 	auto it = std::find_if(std::begin(_text_effects), std::end(_text_effects), [](const TextEffect &te) { return te.string_id == INVALID_STRING_ID; });
-	if (it == std::end(_text_effects)) it = _text_effects.emplace(std::end(_text_effects));
+	if (it == std::end(_text_effects)) {
+		/* _text_effects.size() is the maximum ID + 1 that has been allocated. We should not allocate INVALID_TE_ID or beyond. */
+		if (_text_effects.size() >= INVALID_TE_ID) return INVALID_TE_ID;
+		it = _text_effects.emplace(std::end(_text_effects));
+	}
 
 	TextEffect &te = *it;