· Absurd Bureaucracy · Constraints
Password Reset Department: a free game about password rules
The rules arrive one at a time. Cross out the candidates that break them until one password survives.
What is Password Reset Department?
You forgot your password, so the Department hands you a tray of candidates and reads its rules out one at a time: twelve characters, a number, not your name, nothing from the leaked list… and no vegetables. Cross out every candidate that breaks the new rule. One survives.
Password Reset Department is a free game about the most familiar form online: the password reset. The Department hands you a tray of candidate passwords and reads its rules out one at a time.
After each rule, cross out every remaining candidate that breaks it. Earlier rules still apply, so the tray shrinks until one password survives every rule. Most rules are real advice (length, no leaked words, not your name, not an old password); one or two are the Department's own ideas.
At a glance
- Category
- Absurd Bureaucracy
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Play time
- 6 min
- Price
- Free, in your browser, sign-up optional
How to play
- Judge
- +10 per candidate judged right at each rule, +50 for a rule with no mistake.
- Stack
- Earlier rules still apply: crossed-out candidates stay out.
- Three levels
- Beginner, Intermediate or Expert, picked before you play: the content and the clock change, and each level keeps its own best score.
- Satire
- Absurd and warm: every country, office, planet and form is made up, and every run ends on a real admin skill.
Scoring
+10 per candidate judged right at each rule, and +50 for a rule with no mistake.
Win by judging at least 85% of the candidates right.
What it trains
- Constraint juggling
- Applying a new rule while the old ones still hold.
- Password sense
- Length, no leaked words, nothing personal, never reused.
Strategy and tips
- One rule at a time
- Only judge the remaining candidates against the new rule. The crossed-out ones are already gone.
- Count, don't guess
- For the length rule, count the characters. Dashes count too.
- Look inside words
- “Letmein-Forest-Hat-6” contains a leaked word even though it is long.
Why play Password Reset Department?
Real password rules are about length and uniqueness: a long phrase that isn't personal and isn't reused anywhere else. A password manager remembers them for you.
Frequently asked questions
Is Password Reset Department free?
Yes. It is free and runs in your browser, with no download. Signing up is optional.
Should I use these passwords?
No. They are examples printed in a game, so they are not secret any more. Make your own long, unique passphrase or let a password manager create one.
Is the Department real?
No. Every country, office, planet and form in the game is made up. The admin habits it teaches are real.
Are there difficulty levels?
Yes: Beginner, Intermediate and Expert. The content and the clock change, and each level keeps its own best score.