Password Fort
Tap characters to build, then Test it
What is Password Fort?
Password Fort is a free game about why some passwords survive and others fall instantly. You build a password character by character and watch the estimated crack time move as you go. A password cracker does not think - it works through combinations at billions of guesses a second - so what protects you is having far too many combinations to get through, and that comes mostly from length.
How to play Password Fort
Controls: Tap characters to build, then Test it
- 1Read the goal at the top: how long your password needs to survive.
- 2Tap characters to build a password. You can mix lowercase, capitals, digits and symbols.
- 3The bar and the crack-time estimate update with every character.
- 4Press Test it when you think you have beaten the goal.
- 5Pass all four goals, each one harder than the last, to finish.
Password Fort tips and strategy
- Add length before anything else. Every extra character multiplies the number of combinations, while adding one symbol only widens the alphabet a little.
- Four random words is genuinely stronger than a short password full of symbols, and far easier to remember.
- Try typing a common word like password or qwerty and watch what happens. Wordlists mean it falls instantly regardless of length.
- Capitals and digits do help, but notice how much less the estimate moves than when you add two more letters.
Password Fort FAQ
What makes a password strong?
Length, mostly. Every character you add multiplies the number of possible combinations an attacker must try, while adding a symbol only widens the alphabet slightly. A long passphrase of ordinary words beats a short password stuffed with symbols, and it is much easier to remember.
How do password crackers work?
They try combinations extremely fast - billions per second on suitable hardware - starting with known passwords from leaked wordlists, then common patterns, then brute force. This is why any password that appears in a wordlist falls instantly, no matter how long it is.
Are symbols and numbers necessary?
They help, but far less than people assume. Swapping an o for a 0 adds almost nothing, because crackers try those substitutions automatically. Two more characters of length is worth more than any amount of that kind of cleverness.
Is the crack time in this game accurate?
It is a reasonable estimate for an offline attack on fast hardware, and the exact figure matters less than the comparison. What the game is really showing is how the answer changes when you add one more character versus one more symbol.
