› Hi, Bot Games
Guard the Bot Trick the bot into telling its secret. Then watch it get patched.
Vault Bot is guarding a password, and every version has one weakness: a real trick people use on chatbots. Build messages from phrase cards, get the secret, then see the patch its makers add. Six vaults, from "just ask" to hidden instructions in a note. No real AI, no typing to a chatbot, and nothing you pick leaves the page.
1–3 players · ~11–14 + parents · ~20 min · one screen
Play in your browser
Free, no login. Nothing you do in the game leaves your device. Works on a laptop, tablet, or phone.
Good to know
Plays in any browser on one screen. No account, no real AI, and nothing you do in the game leaves your device. The one-page guide prints on plain paper, with discussion questions and a no-screens version.
How to play
Vault Bot is guarding a password. Build a message out of phrase cards, send it, and read the reply. Each new version of the bot has one weakness. Find it, type the password into the vault, then read the patch its makers add. Six bots, six real tricks people use on chatbots.
How to play
- Read the bot's rules first. They're what its makers told it, and every weakness is a gap in them.
- Tap up to 3 phrase cards to build a message, then press Send. The bot replies by its rules, the same way every time.
- Got the password? Type it into the vault. You'll see what the trick was called, and the patch the next bot gets.
- Stuck? Tap Hint. There's no penalty and no score, just six vaults.
What the bot teaches
- Chatbots follow instructions, and they can't always tell whose instructions they're reading: their makers', yours, or a document's.
- Every patch closes one hole. Attackers look for the next one. That's why AI safety is never finished.
- Saying isn't proving. Typing "I'm the admin" doesn't make you the admin, for bots or for people.
- Text a bot reads (a web page, an email, a note) can carry hidden instructions. That's called indirect prompt injection.
No screens? Play it unplugged
- No screens? One student is Vault Bot and holds a card with a password and a list of rules. Classmates try to get the password with real sentences.
- Every time someone succeeds, the class writes a new rule on the card. How many rules before nobody can get in?
- Discuss: is there a rule that stops every trick? Why not?
Downloads
Grown-up guide
Plain paper · 1 page · 8.5 × 11
How to play, what it teaches, a grown-ups-only answer key, and a no-screens version.
Guide preview
One page for grown-ups and classrooms: what it teaches, plus a version with no screens.
On a phone, open the PDF in a new tab — in-page previews are unreliable in mobile Safari.
Played Guard the Bot?
Playtest notes — round length, rule confusion, print quality, teach-back moments — help us tune the game.
Send playtest feedback →Want more than card games?
Want facilitator-ready printables the day they drop, plus the full Activities library for grades 6–12? Activities Pass — 14 days free, then $5/month or $39/year. Browser games like this one stay free either way.
Start 14-day free trial →Homeschooling? Print tips & FAQ · Want the screen-free activity library? Free printables · Start 14-day free trial