How to Beat the Password Game (neal.fun): Method Guide

Unofficial fan guide for Neal Agarwal's Password Game at neal.fun. We describe rules in our own words and are not affiliated with neal.fun. Done with all 35? Our original 30-directive game is a fresh gauntlet.

The Password Game on neal.fun starts as a joke about signup forms and ends as a live juggling act. Rules stack, they never expire, and later rules attack the text you already wrote. You cannot brute-force it. You need a method for each phase and a plan for the timed finale.

Phase 1: the form-parody rules

The opening stretch mimics real password requirements: minimum length, a number, an uppercase letter, a special character. Then the parody kicks in. One rule requires your digits to add up to a specific total, another demands a month name, another a Roman numeral, another a sponsor brand name.

Method for this phase: keep the password short and deliberate. Every character you add now is a character you must protect for the next hour. Handle the digit-total rule with a compact combo like 997 and note that total somewhere, because later rules will add more digits. See the digits rule guide for recount tactics.

Phase 2: the lookup rules

The middle of the game asks for facts you will not know from memory. A chess position wants the best move in algebraic notation. One rule wants today’s Wordle solution. Another wants a CAPTCHA transcribed. Another wants a YouTube URL for a video of an exact random length. Two chemistry rules involve element symbols and atomic numbers.

Method: open a second monitor or a second window with your lookup tools ready. A chess engine, a periodic table, a Wordle answer source, and YouTube. Work each lookup in a scratch document first, then paste into the game. Dedicated guides: chess move, Wordle answer, periodic table rules, YouTube video length.

Watch for collateral damage. A YouTube URL adds letters and digits. A chess move can add a capital letter that accidentally forms an element symbol. After every paste, rescan your older rules.

Phase 3: the stateful late game

This is where the game stops being a checklist and becomes upkeep.

Paul. A rule puts an egg in your password. The egg hatches into a chicken named Paul. You must never delete Paul, and once he hatches you must keep a small stock of caterpillar emoji in the password as food. Paul eats on a fast cadence, roughly three caterpillars a minute, so one disappears every fifteen to twenty seconds. Method: keep three caterpillars in the password and top up the moment one vanishes. Three is the ceiling, not a target range: four or more at once overfeeds him and that is fatal too. Glance at his food supply every twenty seconds, not every minute, because he can clear the whole stock inside a longer interval.

The fire event. At one point flames appear inside your password and spread character by character. Speed matters more than precision here. Delete every burning character the moment you see fire, even if it wrecks other rules. A broken rule can be repaired. A fully burned password cannot. After the fire is out, walk your rule list top to bottom and rebuild.

Formatting rules. Late rules require bold and italic styling on certain characters and specific font sizes on digits. Handle these with the toolbar carefully and check that the styling survived any edits you make afterward.

The final timed retype

The last challenge asks you to retype your entire password from memory within a time limit, and it hides the original while you do. Plan for this before you trigger it.

Method: copy your final password into a notes document the moment every rule shows green. Read it out loud once. Break it into chunks of five to eight characters and note where the emoji, styled characters, and digits sit. Emoji and formatting are the usual failure points, so rehearse those spots. Only then advance to the final step.

General tips that save runs

• Play on desktop. You need fast selection, fast deletion, and a second window.
• Keep a notes document open the whole run. Store your digit total, your atomic number total, and a backup copy of the password after every major rule.
• Recount digits every single time anything adds a number: dates, URLs, chess moves, atomic requirements.
• Do not rush new rules. Read each one twice, decide where the new characters will go, then type.
• Expect to lose a run or two to Paul or the fire. Treat early runs as scouting. Randomized rules change per run, but the structure and the method stay the same.