History Main / FailureGambit

** Hell, the entire trilogy runs off this trope. [[spoiler:Because it also runs off MentalTimeTravel, and it's impossible to get the good endings to any of the games without your character learning information from the bad ones and taking that information back with them.]]
* Sometimes you will want to lose a minigame in ''VideoGame/MarioParty'' on purpose. This may seem counter-intuitive... but if you're teamed up with a player who's on the lead in stars and is just short of coins to buy the next one after the minigame, you might want to make them lose by letting yourself be beaten as well. This way your teammate won't get too far ahead on the lead, which is a pretty neat outcome in exchange for declining 10 coins.

* In ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'', one [[ScriptedEvent scripted entrant]] presents their paperwork as usual, and it's all in order...and then they bribe you with money to stamp their passport with a denial stamp and refuse them entry, as they found better work elsewhere and wants a documented reason to abort their job and come back home.

* In ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'', one [[ScriptedEvent scripted entrant]] presents their paperwork as usual, and it's all in order...and then they bribe you with money to stamp their passport with a denial stamp and refuse them entry, as they found better work elsewhere and wants a documented reason to abort their job and come back.

* ''VisualNovel/ZeroEscape'' Trilogy: ''VisualNovel/ZeroTimeDilemma'' retroactively implies that [[spoiler: Dio being sent to Rhizome-9 to stop the AB project]] in ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' was this. [[spoiler: Dio's presence in Rhizome-9 was necessary for the success of the AB project, and Sigma's presence at D-Com, the end result of the AB project, was critical for Delta's plans, and since Delta was the one who sent Dio it's almost certain that Dio screwing up and the AB project succeeding was the outcome Delta wanted.]]

* ''Spades'' revolves around predicting how many times you can play the highest card in a group of four cards. Each group of four cards is called a trick. Bidding nil is when you predict that you won't win any tricks. If you do indeed fail to win any tricks after bidding nil, you gain a hundred points. [[SpringtimeForHitler Winning any trick after bidding nil]] will make you lose a hundred points. If you bid nil with the ace of spades (the one card guaranteed to win any trick) in your hand, you either FailedASpotCheck or DidntThinkThisThrough. Variations allowing a blind nil bid (''i.e.'' bidding nil before you even look at your cards, worth double the normal bonus or penalty) take this up a notch, as you're gambling on a combination of having bad enough cards that opponents can't screw you over. Both cases are mitigated in versions of partnered spades where someone who bids nil can pass one card of their choice to their partner (or two if a blind nil bid is made), and the partner gets to pass one (or two) back, but it's still a risky bid regardless.

* In the Korean show ''Series/TaxiDriver'', Park Jin Eon goes undercover inside a voice phishing operation and intentionally does a poor job. He prearranges to make all his calls to Ahn Go Eun so as not to victimize anyone, but also so that he goes through too many burner phones without generating enough of a profit to justify it. The scammers need new phones fast, so they don't question the timing of their "chance" meeting with a mysterious man (Kim Do Ge) who can hook them up.

* ''Spades'' revolves around predicting how many times you can play the highest card in a group of four cards. Each group of four cards is called a trick. Bidding nil is when you predict that you won't win any tricks. If you do indeed fail to win any tricks after bidding nil, you gain a hundred points. [[SpringtimeForHitler Winning any trick after bidding nil]] will make you lose a hundred points. If you bid nil with the ace of spades (the one card guaranteed to win any trick) in your hand, you either FailedASpotCheck or DidntThinkThisThrough. Variations allowing a blind nil bid (''i.e.'' bidding nil before you even look at your cards, worth double the normal bonus or penalty) take this UpToEleven, as you're gambling on a combination of having bad enough cards that opponents can't screw you over. Both cases are mitigated in versions of partnered spades where someone who bids nil can pass one card of their choice to their partner (or two if a blind nil bid is made), and the partner gets to pass one (or two) back, but it's still a risky bid regardless.

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* It's been suspected this is why Uwe Boll's movies are so universally terrible, yet he keeps making them. A quirk of German tax law lets him make money on films that fail to turn a profit.

This presents an especially dangerous situation to their opponent, who is usually out of the loop on this grand master plan. After all, what can the unwitting hero do when beating the bad guy means ending the world, and losing will actually save it? Sometimes a character seeks to become a political martyr in order to inspire others to take action after their crippling defeat (InspirationalMartyr), others might be tied to some ultimate power which will unleash itself upon their death (MyDeathIsJustTheBeginning). Still others don't seem to make any sense until after the plan has played out successfully -- surprise! Turns out that ass-kicking you just gave them was all they needed to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence transcend the mortal coil and become a god.]]

* ''Spades'' revolves around predicting how many times you can play the highest card in a group of four cards. Each group of four cards is called a trick. Bidding nil is when you predict that you won't win any tricks. If you do indeed fail to win any tricks after bidding nil, you gain a hundred points. [[SpringtimeForHitler Winning any trick after bidding nil]] will make you lose a hundred points. If you bid nil with the ace of spades (the one card guaranteed to win any trick) in your hand, you either FailedASpotCheck or DidntThinkThisThrough. Variations where a blind nil bid (''i.e.'' bidding nil before you even look at your cards, worth double the normal bonus or penalty) can be made take this UpToEleven, as you're gambling on a combination of bad cards and that opponents can't still screw you over. Both cases are mitigated in versions of partnered spades where someone who bids nil can pass one card of their choice to their partner (and two if a blind nil bid is made), and the partner gets to pass one (or two) back, but it's still a risky bid regardless.
* ''TabletopGame/{{Hearts}}'' plays around with this in many fashions. For one, while it's a trick-taking game, the goal is to collect the ''least'' points, so the easiest way to accomplish this goal is to take as few tricks as possible, which would be this trope in most other trick-taking games. However, you can instead attempt to take all 14 point-scoring cards (the thirteen hearts and the queen of spades), thereby "shooting the moon" and either subtracting points off your score or adding points to everyone else (depending on rules), playing this straight within the conceit of the game. Plus, when the other players realize that an attempt at shooting the moon is happening, one way to stop it is for a player to deliberately take a single heart themselves, a small-scale version of this trope (as ideally, they take one point and the would-be moon shooter takes 25).

* One tax dodge someone who was more-or-less broke would pull, was that they would sign a note saying they had borrowed a large amount of money, say $100,000, while only really receiving a fraction of this, say $10,000. They then declare bankruptcy on the $100,000. The person who has the note now has a legitimately non-collectable debt, and can claim the full $100,000 as a loss on their tax return even though all they really loaned the person was $10,000.
* Throwing a match by faking incompetence or pain while playing, then cashing in on all the assets their business partners made betting on the other guy. This is one of the oldest tricks in the book, probably ever since losing stopped equaling death on the battlefield. Note that this doesn't really work in big leagues, as players have a salary that could make a CEO blush, while witnessed by millions of viewers (both in and out of game so making behind-the-scenes deals is near-impossible) and thousands of sports experts that can spot a fake-out in a split-second.
* This is the basic idea behind the concept of "tanking" in professional sports. See, at least in North American professional sports, a lower record means an earlier chance to pick new players every year out of college, which is supposed to result in better players and a chance to restock a failing roster. This is usually done by middling teams that can't get over the hump or bad teams that aren't quite bad enough to net a top pick. Teams also have two ways to tank: either by not giving full effort in games, or by blowing up an existing roster by cutting and/or trading most of the top-end talent. Either way, the result is a bad roster built to lose lots of games. The first method is usually met by derision by fanbases and observers, but is also fairly rare and difficult to prove. The second method is more accepted, as it can happen involuntarily due to salary cap restrictions, but is liable to turn sour if results don't start happening within a few years.

* "Tax Scam Records" were records created with no intention of them ever selling, often without the knowledge let alone the permission of the artists, as a way of creating fraudulent losses for tax purposes; see [[https://dangerousminds.net/comments/tax_scam_records_artist_discovers_albums_of_his_songs_were_released_by_shad this article.]]
* In 1954 Usefulnotes/FIFAWorldCup, West Germany was about to face favorites Hungary in the group stage. Manager Sepp Herberger rested several key players and played others out of position so they'd lose (and did handily, 8-3 to the Magyars!), but would be at full force for the game against Turkey that would be the knockout qualifiers. Finishing second also guaranteed easier match-ups in the playoffs against fellow group runner-ups, until an HeroicRematch against Hungary in the final, who against a German squad not holding back [[BrokenWinLossStreak lost their first game in 5 years]].
* In the Chinese [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming professional]] ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' scene, there was a rather infamous (and hilarious) incident in 2015 dubbed "Oscar Night", a best-to-3 series between Invictus Gaming and LGD Gaming that was their last before playoffs. Neither team wanted to win the game as they were fighting for a seed that would pit them immediately against [[TheDreaded Edward Gaming, who was at the time considered nigh-unstoppable]] -- the loser would still be in the playoffs but would only face Edward Gaming at the grand finals at the most. Because teams couldn't simply forfeit the match, they were forced into a very awkward contest to [[ThrowingTheFight make the absolute worst plays they could without making it obvious that they were trying to lose]], and unsurprisingly, [[HilarityEnsues it spiraled into a complete forkin' mess]] that had to be stopped by referees once the kill scores reached "total bloodbath" levels yet it became clear they both teams were avoiding closing the actual game. Unsurprisingly, [[ObviousRulePatch the next split restructured the tournament seeding and made it so a situation like this impossible]][[note]]Perhaps the most ironic thing is that the "winner" of this series was IG, who was predictably [[CurbStompBattle curbstomped]] by EDG, but LGD would end up reaching the grand finals after all (and also lost)[[/note]].

* ''Manga/FoodWars'': The final arc shows Joichiro Saiba losing a CookingDuel against his disciple/adopted son Asahi in what looked like a CurbStompBattle. Later on, Joichiro's biological son Soma implies that Asahi only won because Joichiro was deliberately holding back, and it's all but stated that Joichiro set this up purposefully to make his two sons face each other.

* ''Westernanimation/SouthPark''. In one episode, Satan fights Jesus, and intentionally takes a dive after the people of the town have all bet on his victory due to his overwhelming physical advantage. He then reveals that he made a fortune by being the one and only person to bet on Jesus winning, all according to plan.

* In the final season of ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', [[spoiler:this was Discord's plan [[TricksterMentor to help Twilight]] when she was preparing to take Celestia and Luna's place as Equestria's ruler. Posing as the ancient monster Grogar, he gathered together the Main Six's unreformed enemies into a LegionOfDoom and prepping them to attack during Twilight's coronation, figuring that [[EngineeredHeroics defeating them]] would [[ConfidenceBuildingScheme give Twilight the confidence she needed to rule Equestria]]. Unfortunately, he didn't expect the villains to take [[ALessonLearnedTooWell his teamwork lessons so closely]] that they'd band together ''against him'' and drain him of his magic with the Bewitching Bell before setting out to take over Equestria, making them an ''actual'' threat instead of just a ploy]].

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheBicentennialMan": In order to create precedent for Andrew Martin being considered a [[BecomeARealBoy human being]], the law office of Feingold and Martin starts taking cases where they argue that replacing body parts with [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetics]] make people [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul lose their humanity]], but they want to lose their arguments because they're trying to establish precedents that humanity doesn't depend on organic human biology.
-->They instituted a lawsuit denying the obligation to pay debts to an individual with a prosthetic heart on the grounds that the possession of a robotic organ removed humanity, and with it the constitutional rights of human beings. They fought the matter skillfully and tenaciously, losing at every step but always in such a way that the decision was forced to be as broad as possible, and then carrying it by way of appeals to the World Court.

* Creator/IsaacAsimov's "Literature/TheBicentennialMan": In order to create precedent for Andrew Martin being considered a [[BecomeARealBoy human being]], the law office of Feingold and Martin starts taking cases where they argue that replacing body parts with [[ArtificialLimbs prosthetics]] make people [[CyberneticsEatYourSoul lose their humanity]], but they want to lose their arguments because they're trying to open the door to precedent that Andrew Martin

** In ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar'', having seen the only version of future out of 14 million where the heroes win, Doctor Strange trades Thanos the Time Stone in exchange for Thanos sparing Tony Stark and thus enables him to wipe out half the universe, including Doctor Strange himself, [[IGaveMyWord but not Tony]]. [[spoiler:[[Film/AvengersEndgame Five years later]], Tony's brilliant mind enables the other Avengers to [[SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong travel through time and undo Thanos' decimation]]. Bonus points for Tony being able to kill Thanos and his army in the same way he killed everyone else.]]

* In the Chinese [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming professional]] ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' scene, there was a rather infamous (and hilarious) incident in 2015 dubbed "Oscar Night", a best-to-3 series between Invictus Gaming and LGD Gaming that was their last before playoffs. Neither team wanted to win the game as they were fighting for a seed that would pit them immediately against [[TheDreaded Edward Gaming, who was at the time considered nigh-unstoppable]] -- the loser would still be in the playoffs but would only face Edward Gaming at the grand finals at the most. Because teams couldn't simply forfeit the match, they were forced into a very awkward contest to [[ThrowingTheFight make the absolute worst plays they could without making it obvious that they were trying to lose]], and unsurprisingly, [[HilarityEnsues it spiraled into a complete forkin' mess]] that had to be stopped by referees once the kill scores reached "total bloodbath" levels yet it became clear they both teams were avoiding closing the actual game. Unsurprisingly, [[ObviousRulePatch the next split restructured the tournament seeding and made it so a situation like this impossible]][[note]]Perhaps the most ironic thing is that the "winner" of this series was LGD, who would end up defeating Edward Gaming and become the season's champion[[/note]].

* In the Chinese [[UsefulNotes/ProfessionalGaming professional]] ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' scene, there was a rather infamous (and hilarious) incident in 2015 dubbed "Oscar Night", a best-to-3 series between Invictus Gaming and LGD Gaming that was their last before playoffs. Neither team wanted to win the game as they were fighting for a seed that would pit them immediately against [[TheDreaded Edward Gaming, who was at the time considered nigh-unstoppable]] -- the loser would still be in the playoffs but would only face Edward Gaming at the grand finals at the most. Because teams couldn't simply forfeit the match, players were forced into a very awkward contest to [[ThrowingTheFight make the absolute worst plays they could without making it obvious that they were throwing]], and unsurprisingly, [[HilarityEnsues it spiraled into a complete forkin' mess]] that had to be stopped by referees once the kill scores reached "total bloodbath" levels yet it became clear they both teams were avoiding closing the actual game. Unsurprisingly, [[ObviousRulePatch the next split restructured the tournament seeding and made it so a situation like this was impossible]][[note]]Perhaps the most ironic thing is that the "winner" of this series was LGD, who would end up defeating Edward Gaming and become the season's champion[[/note]].