What is ‘The Password Game’ on neal.fun, the Internet’s newest viral browser game?

Neal Agarwal has done it again. Though his name may not be familiar, the creative coder has been capturing attention for his wonderfully weird computer games for years. Just like his previous viral games, The Password Game is mercifully straightforward to learn but incredibly difficult to overcome. Based on Agarwal’s Tweets, he didn’t think his latest interactive website could be beaten.

What is The Password Game and how do I play it?

The Password Game, which appears first on a page with Agarwal’s other absurdist games, starts off pretty docile. The premise of browser game is simple enough. All you have to do is follow the game’s prompts to make the most uncrackable password known to man. Questions one through four are standard password fare, but things quickly start to spiral. The prompts quickly change from the expected “add a special character” to “make sure your Roman numerals equal a certain amount” and the more absurd like “include one of our sponsors” or “guess what country this image is from” and “find the Algebraic notation for this specific chess move.”

As the game progresses, your early answers start to gum up the works, and even worse you’ll have to do some internet sleuthing to discover some of the more elusive answers. If you plan on trying to beat the game, you may have to try it several times as it relies on some randomized CAPTCHA prompts, so keep your research tabs open and know that if you intend to take a break and come back tomorrow several of your answers will have to be updated. We didn’t make it past the Algebraic notation for the sake of time but we did collect some resources for anyone attempting the challenge.

Who made the Password game?

The password game is out now! Good luck 👹
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— Neal Agarwal (@nealagarwal) June 27, 2023

The Password Game is just the latest brainchild of Neal Agarwal, the man behind Neal.Fun — a website that will give any internet surfer over the age of 25 an outrageous dose of nostalgia and a longing for the Flash games of yesteryear. The creative coder has been interested in programming since he was ten years old and has a deep love for what he calls the “Weird Web”, the desktop Flash games from the early days of the internet.

Agarwal is pushing for more URL-based games like those he creates and he isn’t the only one. Multiple creators have been making free-to-play, relatively simple in premise, and beyond entertaining browser games like Town of Salem and Agar.io. Though Flash is dead and gone, many programs have become more accessible to beginners and Agarwal is hopeful that this new boom will allow for more creatives to start, well, creating and begin the slow flip from social media obsession back to the often-zany early internet creations.

Agarwal believes that the self-learning trend is booming and that the “Weird Web 2.0” will combine interactive entertainment with education. A quick look at some of his past projects showcases his love of learning. Simple interactive games that give a visualization of the vastness of space, the depth of the ocean, what happens every second, or even how long it would take to spend all of Bill Gates’s money are just a few of his educational visual games.

Agarwal has been featured in The New York Times for his Wonders of Street View game as well as Business Insider, Fast Company, and TNW for his educational games. He relies on Patreon subscriptions, and sponsorship to make a living and even has a section on his website for fans to send a coffee his way.