Beat Rule 5 in the Password Game: Tips & Tricks for Success

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Beating Rule 5 is simple with these number combos

Co-authored by A.J. Jacobs and Hannah Dillon

Last Updated: August 27, 2025 Fact Checked

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How to Beat Rule 5

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Rule 5 Answers

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Dealing With Future Rules

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Are you playing the Password Game and you're stuck on Rule 5? If so, don't be discouraged—a lot of players have some trouble with this level. Thankfully, the solution is pretty simple! In this article, we go over how to beat Rule 5, some of the number combinations you can use, and how to deal with future rules that might mess up the number you write for Rule 5.

Beating Rule 5 in the Password Game

To beat Rule 5 in the Password Game, you need to include digits in your password between 1 and 9 that add up to 25. Some options include 55555 and 997. Simply typing 25 won't work, because "2 + 5 = 7." You might need to change this number later in the game to accommodate future rules.

Section 1 of 3:

How to Beat Rule 5

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The numbers in your password must add up to 25. This means that you can't just put "25" as this would be read as "2 + 5 = 7." Instead, you must type out a number of digits that add up to 25 total.^{[1]
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- While you can technically write up to twenty-five 1s in a row to beat this rule, it's not recommended. It can become confusing later on in the game, once you get to the later rules.
- Only numbers that are one digit long will work (so numbers 1-9). That's because this rule specifically calls out the "digits" and doesn't ask you to simply write "25". This means you can't also write something like 10105, as this would be read as "1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 5 = 7" instead of "10 + 10 + 5 = 25."

Section 2 of 3:

Rule 5 Answers

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55555 Starting with five 5s is a good starting point when beating Rule 5. You'll learn that you might need to adjust your numbers later, so something simple like 55555 is a good starting point because it's simple to add and subtract from. However, it is a little bit long and might make your password lengthy and unwieldy in later parts of the game.
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997 Another good starting point is to type 997. This combination still adds up to 25, of course, but it's fewer digits than 55555. However, you might find it difficult to do the math later in the game when more numbers are introduced to your password.
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Other solutions Technically, you can write any combo of numbers between 1 and 9 that add up to 25. There are a lot of solutions, but here are a few others (though we don't necessarily recommend using some of the longer ones!):
- 9871
- 9691
- 889
- 4444441
- 1111111111111111111111111

Section 3 of 3:

Dealing With Future Rules

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Rule 10 In Rule 10, you'll be required to type out a CAPTCHA to add it to your password. Oftentimes, these CAPTCHAs will have numbers in them. There are two ways to deal with this rule:^{[2]
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- Refresh the CAPTCHA until you get one without numbers. There's a little arrow button next to the CAPTCHA that you can use to refresh it.
- Type the CAPTCHA as is, then adjust the numbers you wrote to satisfy Rule 5. For example, if you wrote "55555" to complete Rule 5, but the CAPTCHA has an 8 in it, you'd want to rewrite the number for Rule 5 to be "5552," since "5 + 5 + 5 + 2 + 8 = 25."
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Rule 15 In Rule 15, you must include a leap year in your password. There are two ways to deal with this rule:
- Choose the year 0. This won't affect your answer for Rule 5, since adding a 0 won't change your answer from a total of 25.
- Choose any other leap year, then adjust your answer for Rule 5. For example, if you choose the year 2020 but your answer for Rule 5 was "55555," you'd want to change it to "55551." This is because "5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 2 + 0 + 2 + 0 = 25."
  - Don't forget to factor in any numbers you adjusted for in Rule 10.
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Rule 16 In Rule 16, you must add the best chess move for a provided chess scenario using algebraic chess notation. Algebraic chess notation will always include one number, so you'll need to adjust for whatever solution is best.
- To learn how to solve Rule 16, check out our guide.
- There's no way to skirt around this rule like you can with Rule 10 and Rule 15. You'll just need to subtract the number from the digits you've already chosen for Rule 5.
  - For example, if you started with "55555" to satisfy Rule 5 and the ideal chess move for Rule 16 is "Bxf4," you'll need to subtract 4 from your answer for Rule 5 to get "55551." This is because "5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 1 + 4 = 25."
  - Don't forget also to factor in any numbers you adjusted for in Rule 10 and Rule 15.
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Rule 24 To satisfy Rule 24, you must include a URL to a YouTube video that matches the length of time specified by the game. There are a couple of ways to do this:
- Pick a URL that has no numbers. This is the ideal way to go about it, since dealing with numbers in the URL will potentially severely mess up Rule 5—it could even cause you not to be able to proceed, since your numbers chosen for other steps could cause the digits in your password to add up to more than 25.
  - Ideally, the URL won't have any capital letters either, to avoid messing up some of the other rules in the game.
- Subtract the numbers from your numbers chosen for Rule 5. If you have to pick a URL with a number, pick one with only one number in it, ideally a smaller number. You'll just need to subtract that from the numbers you chose for Rule 5, while also maintaining the numbers for Rules 10, 15, and 16 (if necessary).
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Rule 28 You must include a hex code for a color in your password to complete Rule 28. There are two ways to go about this:
- Refresh the color picker until you get a hex code without any numbers in it. This is the preferred method, since hex codes can have a lot of numbers in them that will throw off the rest of your password and might cause the digits to add up to more than 25.
- Subtract the numbers in the hex code from the numbers you chose for Rule 5. If you have to use a hex code with a number, choose one that only has one number, and ideally, a lower one like 1 or 2. You'll just need to subtract that from the numbers you chose for Rule 5, while also maintaining the numbers for Rules 10, 15, and 16 (if necessary).
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Rule 32 You must add the length of your password to the password to continue. There's unfortunately no way to get around this one; you'll need to simply add the length of your password, then subtract those numbers from the digits you wrote down for Rule 5. Don't forget to still accommodate the other number changes you've made for other rules.
To beat Rule 35, you must include the current time in your password. Once again, there's no real way to get around this rule, but one tip is to start playing the game just before 1:00 (AM, or PM if you use the 12-hour clock) in your time zone. Then, wait until 1:00 to finish the game, since the next few steps are a rapid finish to the end. You'll still need to factor the "1" digit into your answer for Rule 5, however.