Pointless Form

Online forms are a convenient mechanism to incorporate into puzzles. Enter the correct code to get the information needed for the next box or room. As soon as players see a form, they will inevitably look for clues for the right answers to get past the form.

But here is the trick of the puzzle. There is no answer to the form. Instead, players must see a link in a subtle part of the page to take them to the “right” page.

Here is a straightforward example of a (fake) online login form. The username is filled out and the players “obviously” need to find the correct password.

Players may try to guess the password or infer it from clues, but none will work. The page will just say that the password is invalid.

In fact, the users are never expected to find a password. The trick is to notice there is a link at the bottom of the form to reset the password. The players just need to find and click this link to get to the solvable form.

This example was created with online Google tools. The form itself is a simple Google form with a validation that fails for most anything. Unfortunately, you cannot place the “reset password” link directly in a Google form. Instead, I had to use a Google site in which I embedded the form and added the link below.