The Password Game is so hard, its creator is still trying to beat it

Password GameThis will lead you to the Internet in an attempt to find a password which meets very specific criteria. What is today’s Wordle answer? What is the current moon phase? What is the name of a specific chess play? What are the similarities? Your new password must contain the answers. It must also be a moon phase emoji. Google is your friend in the attempt to meet Neal Agarwal’s increasingly absurd password requirement rules.

Agarwal is released Password Game on his website on Tuesday, where it’s available to play via your browser. Here’s how it works: The game starts on a mostly blank page with an input box: Select a Password. Only five letters are required. The next few requirements are recognizable — include a number, an uppercase letter, a special character. As the requirements pile up, they become more and more bizarre. Password GameFor example, I broke when I was forced to find the best move for a chess board.

Agarwal said to Polygon that it takes two months to manufacture. Password GameHe began developing it in April. “The idea itself has been on my bucket list for years, and as password rules on the internet have gotten weirder, I felt like now was a good time to finally make it,” he said in an email.

Agarwal’s initial tweet on Tuesday has racked up more than 11,000 retweets as players brag in the comments about their accomplishments or lament their inadequacies. (I can say this because I am also inadequate, folks — I only got to rule 16.) Some of the rules had been suggestions from TwitterAgarwal also asked for users’ help in the last month. It’s where the Geoguessr rule came from, for instance.

Password Game got so hard that even Agarwal hasn’t beaten its diabolical rules — he’s only played it up to rule 28. “I love that people are finding ways to beat it. I tried multiple times before giving up,” he said. “I wasn’t really sure if it was even possible when I released it. But if you give the internet a challenge, they will find a way.”

It’s the sort of brilliant game that’s simple on the surface, with lots of secrets stuffed under its layers. Part of the surprise is also in how funny and stupid it is — it’s a comedy set in a user interface. Who knew it? Well, Password GameAgarwal stated that the game has been visited by more than one million people since its release on Tuesday. Many know about it now. The game’s appeal also invokes the likes of Wordle: It’s the sort of thing that’s made for sharing with friends.