โ–ถ Play now

Using a computer ยท Every game

Which Password Is Stronger?

Two passwords side by side. One of them is much harder to guess, and it is usually not the one with the symbol in it.

โ–ถ Play this game

What it teaches

What actually makes a password hard to guess. Length beats punctuation: a long password of plain words is harder than a short one full of symbols, and children are usually taught the opposite โ€” that a password is strong because it has a % in it.

It also names the passwords that are guessed first, which is more useful than any rule: 1234, qwerty, the word "password", this year, and your own name.

How it works

Two passwords appear and the child picks the stronger. The reason is given once the answer is right, and it is a reason rather than a rule โ€” "keys in a row on the keyboard are the second thing tried".

What to look for

The pairs are chosen so the clever-looking one loses. That is deliberate and it is the misconception worth breaking.

Three plain words stuck together is a genuinely good password and a child can remember one. That is worth saying at the same time.

โ–ถ Play this game