Password Game Digits Rule: Making Numbers Add Up to 25

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.

Early in the Password Game, one rule requires all the digits in your password to add up to a specific total: 25. Passing it once is trivial. Keeping it passed is the real problem, because at least four later rules can inject digits into your password and silently break the math. This guide covers the initial solve and, more importantly, the recount method.

The initial solve

Every Arabic digit in your password counts, wherever it sits. Letters, symbols, and Roman numerals contribute nothing. So you want the fewest digit characters that reach 25, which keeps your password short and your mental math easy.

Best openers:

• 997 (three characters, sums to 25)
• 988 (same idea, one alternative)
• 55555 (five characters, easier to remember, more to retype at the end)

Prefer the three-character options. Every extra character is one more thing to protect during the fire event and one more thing to retype in the timed finale.

Quick table: digit combos that sum to 25

Combo	Characters	Notes
997	3	Shortest practical option
988	3	Equally short
799	3	Same digits, different order
9880	4	The 0 is free padding
6667	4	Easy to remember
55555	5	Memorable, longer
99700	5	Zeros pad without changing the sum
4444441	7	Only if you like typing

Zeros are useful. They add nothing to the sum, so you can use a 0 as a spacer when some other rule forces a digit into an awkward spot.

The recount method

Treat 25 as a budget, not a checkbox. Write your current digit total in a notes document, then update it every time anything adds a number. The usual offenders:

1. The Wordle answer: safe, letters only. See the Wordle rule guide.
2. The chess move: algebraic notation almost always contains a digit for the destination square, like the 4 in Nf4. That 4 comes out of your budget. See the chess guide.
3. The YouTube URL: video IDs frequently contain digits, and you cannot choose which ones. This is the biggest disruption. See the YouTube length guide.
4. The atomic number rule: it does not add digits itself, but fixing it may tempt you to type numbers. Never type atomic numbers into the password. Use element symbols, which are letters. See the elements guide.
5. Any rule involving a year or time: some runs surface rules where a digit sequence is the natural answer. Count those digits before you commit.

The recount routine after every paste:

1. Read the new characters one by one and add up any digits among them.
2. Add that to your running total.
3. If you are now over 25, lower your original solver digits. Went from 25 to 29 because a URL added a 4? Change your 997 to 957.
4. If a paste pushes you over by more than your solver digits can absorb, swap one solver digit for a 0 and rebalance the rest.

The one-way trap: you can always lower your dedicated digits, but if the forced digits alone exceed 25, you are stuck. A YouTube video ID with digits summing past 25 is unusable. Pick a different video with a cleaner ID rather than fighting it.

Common mistakes

• Counting the Roman numeral rule against your total. Roman numerals are letters and cost nothing.
• Forgetting that a pasted URL contains digits. Always read a URL character by character before pasting.
• Fixing an overshoot by deleting a forced digit, like one inside the URL. That breaks the rule the digit belongs to. Always adjust your own dedicated digits instead.
• Recounting from memory. Count from the actual password text on screen. After a fire event or a frantic edit, the text rarely matches what you think it says.

Keep the budget in your notes, recount after every change, and this rule stays green from minute two to the final retype.