Roman numerals in The Password Game
The chart, the two rules that ask for numerals, and the two later rules that quietly break them.
| Numeral | Value | What it does to your run |
|---|---|---|
| I | 1 | Also the element symbol for iodine, so it counts for Rule 18. |
| V | 5 | Also the element symbol for vanadium, so it counts for Rule 18. |
| X | 10 | Not an element symbol. Safe to use around Rule 18. |
| L | 50 | Not an element symbol. 50 does not divide 35, so it breaks Rule 9. |
| C | 100 | Also the element symbol for carbon, so it counts for Rule 18. |
| D | 500 | Not an element symbol. 500 does not divide 35, so it breaks Rule 9. |
| M | 1000 | Not an element symbol. 1000 does not divide 35, so it breaks Rule 9. |
The short version
The Password Game asks you to build one password that satisfies every rule at once, and the rules keep arriving. Two of them are about Roman numerals, and they are the pair that most often ends a run, because the first one is easy and the second one punishes how you answered it.
- Rule 7: your password must include a Roman numeral. Any of I, V, X, L, C, D or M clears it. Full answer to Rule 7.
- Rule 9: the Roman numerals in your password should multiply to 35. The answer is V and VII. The worked reasoning for Rule 9.
If you solve Rule 7 by typing V and VII rather than a lone X, Rule 9 is already green when it appears, and you never have to unpick your password to fix it.
The rule everyone gets wrong: capitals
The game reads uppercase letters as Roman numerals and ignores lowercase ones. VII is seven. vii is three ordinary letters. Everything else about the numeral rules follows from this.
It cuts both ways. It means your lowercase prose is safe, but it also means every capital you type for some other reason joins the multiplication. A capitalised name, a chemical symbol, a month, all of them can contribute a stray I, V, X, L, C, D or M. When Rule 9 goes red and you have not touched your numerals, the culprit is almost always a capital you added for a different rule.
The fix is usually the same: drop the offending letter to lowercase. Most rules in the game are not case-sensitive, so a lowercase version still satisfies whatever asked for it while disappearing from the numeral count.
Two glyphs, two runs: keep your numerals apart
Written next to each other, VVII reads as one run of letters rather than as V and VII. Separate the two numerals with a lowercase letter or a full stop, for example V.VII, so the game evaluates two values and multiplies them, instead of trying to parse a single malformed numeral.
Rule 18: your numerals are also chemistry
Rule 18 asks that the elements in your password have atomic numbers adding up to 200. Three of the seven Roman numeral letters are also element symbols: C is carbon, I is iodine and V is vanadium. So the V and VII you added for Rules 7 and 9 are, from Rule 18's point of view, one vanadium and one iodine already sitting in your total.
The two rules therefore fight each other, and the resolution is the case trick again: element symbols are case-sensitive too. Where you need a letter to count as a numeral but not as an element, or the reverse, the capitalisation decides. X, L, D and M are not element symbols, so they never disturb Rule 18. They will, however, wreck Rule 9, since 10, 50, 500 and 1000 do not divide 35.
Rule 25: do not sacrifice a letter you need
Rule 25 makes you pick two letters you can never use again. If your Rule 9 answer is V and VII, then V and I are load-bearing: sacrificing either one ends the run there and then. Before you choose, look at your password and pick two letters that appear nowhere in it and nowhere in your numerals.
Reading the numerals themselves
If the numerals rather than the game are what you came for, the full Roman numeral chart lists every value, the rules guide explains the subtractive forms like IV and IX, and the converter reads any numeral back to a number. To check a single value, each numeral has its own page, for example the numeral VII or 35 in Roman numerals.
Frequently asked questions
Which rules in The Password Game involve Roman numerals?
Two rules ask for them directly. Rule 7 says your password must include a Roman numeral. Rule 9 says the Roman numerals in your password should multiply to 35. Two later rules interfere with them without mentioning numerals at all: Rule 18 counts chemical elements, and C, I and V are element symbols, while Rule 25 makes you sacrifice two letters you can no longer use.
Which Roman numerals does the game recognise?
The seven value-carrying letters: I, V, X, L, C, D and M. They must be uppercase. Lowercase versions of the same letters are ignored, which is what lets ordinary words sit in your password without breaking the numeral rules.
Why does my Roman numeral total keep changing on its own?
Because the game counts every capital numeral letter in the password, not just the ones you added on purpose. A capital I in a name, the C in a chemical symbol you added for Rule 18, or the M in a month, all join the multiplication. When Rule 9 turns red for no apparent reason, scan the whole password for stray capitals.
Should I sacrifice Roman numeral letters at Rule 25?
Sacrificing two letters means you can never type them again, so avoid giving up letters your existing numerals depend on. If your password relies on V and VII, sacrificing V or I ends the run. Pick two letters you use nowhere, such as J and K, and check them against your numerals first.
Is 35 in Roman numerals the answer to Rule 9?
No, and this is the most common misreading. 35 itself is XXXV. Rule 9 does not want you to write 35, it wants the numerals already in your password to multiply to 35, which V and VII do.