I'm a big fan of the almost-identical-but-not-quite rooms, because they're nigh impossible to cheat.
The problem with using any other method- even one with a codeword- is that you cannot win a battle with the browser's back button. There are a finite amount of choices, so you can just hit forward and back until you find the right one. If you're going to skip the effort to make the variable rooms, then you might as well go for the 'if you have...' option. Then you're relying on the reader's honesty, which is what you'd end up doing with codewords anyway. Frankly, I find that codewords are just plain insulting. They insult you by implying that you're untrustworthy, and they insult you by implying that they are an effective barrier.
The problem with using any other method- even one with a codeword- is that you cannot win a battle with the browser's back button. There are a finite amount of choices, so you can just hit forward and back until you find the right one. If you're going to skip the effort to make the variable rooms, then you might as well go for the 'if you have...' option. Then you're relying on the reader's honesty, which is what you'd end up doing with codewords anyway. Frankly, I find that codewords are just plain insulting. They insult you by implying that you're untrustworthy, and they insult you by implying that they are an effective barrier.
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