History Main / SelfImposedChallenge

* A common challenge is replacing the normal steel pinballs with ceramic [[Pinball/TheTwilightZone Powerballs]] that are lighter, faster, and harder to control.

[[folder:Computers]]
* Some users will use a keyboard with no labels, or a pre-labeled keyboard with the labels rubbed out. This can be helpful for those who are learning to touch-type. A popular mechanical keyboard designed to facilitate this is the [[http://www.daskeyboard.com/product/model-s-ultimate/# Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate]].
[[/folder]]

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls’’: According to series' lore, the first Redguards to arrive in Tamriel did this InUniverse; they made the decision to settle the Alik'r Desert, one of the most inhospitable environments on Tamriel, because according to Redguard philosophy, something that can be obtained without struggle is not worth obtaining in the first place.

* ''VideoGame/OneNightAtFlumptys:'' the titular {{Eldritch|Abomination}} egg Flumpty, who is [[StoryBreakerPower immune to the plot and can transcend space and time]]. The only reason those doors and those lights keep him away is because ''he chooses to abide by those limitations'' because it's [[ForTheEvulz much more fun]].

* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': In-universe, this is the general purpose of the Clans' Trial system of combat. There's no honor in winning a battle by using overwhelming odds, so they try to use as little forces to win as possible. For example, if one Clan launches a raid on another's planet, the defender will announce what forces that they intend to commit to the protection of their resources. Then the attacker will review the record of those defenders and decide how much of their own force to commit- if the defender commits five battlemechs, the attacker may choose to use only three. Similarly, an individual pilot may choose to voluntarily avoid using one or more of their mech's weapons in a fight.
* ''TabletopGame/FreedomCity'': In-universe example with the Magpie, a GentlemanThief who has teleportation powers but mostly doesn't use them, because where's the challenge in that?

* ''VideoGame/EccoTheDolphin: Defender of the Future'' has an in-universe example: an [=NPC=] spends all his time swimming around trying to catch a certain fish, but if Ecco catches the fish and presents it to him, he will get annoyed and beg you to let it go.
-->''You make a mockery of my quest!''

** According to series' lore, the first Redguards to arrive in Tamriel did this InUniverse; they made the decision to settle the Alik'r Desert, one of the most inhospitable environments on Tamriel, because according to Redguard philosophy, something that can be obtained without struggle is not worth obtaining in the first place.

** Done InUniverse with the titular {{Eldritch|Abomination}} egg Flumpty, who is [[StoryBreakerPower immune to the plot and can transcend space and time]]. The only reason those doors and those lights keep him away is because ''he chooses to abide by those limitations'' because it's [[ForTheEvulz much more fun]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Hitman}}'' series:
** Players of ''VideoGame/Hitman2'', ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' and ''VideoGame/HitmanBloodMoney'' can make their own slasher fic, where 47 just kills everyone in the level.
** ''Hitman 2'' has an in-universe example: [=ICA=] Handlers are asked to choose which Initiate they will oversee, with the unspoken subtext that if they choose an incompetent or [[HeKnowsTooMuch rebellious]] one, their own careers will suffer as well. ''Knowing'' this, Diana chose 47, an amnesiac, eerily-skilled orphan with no identity to speak of and a lack of emotions that bordered on sociopathic... about the least trustworthy, most self-sufficient Initiate imaginable. But Diana tied her fate to him anyway, because she ''could''.

!!!Non-Game Examples

*** Twitch Plays Dark Souls, where he tries to run through ''Dark Souls'' while his Twitch chat messes with his controls ''à la'' LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon;

* The Let's Play ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' gathers the Internet on a Twitch stream and asks them to play a ''Pokémon'' game one button input at a time, as dictated through the chat. It's utter chaos, but not only have games been beaten, they've been beaten in truly improbable circumstances. Players have started imposing their own challenges, such as catching Zapdos with the Master Ball in Red, getting Mew via trade in [=FireRed=], and evolving no Pokemon at all in Black.

* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'': The famous player Keith "[=Pokey86=]" Poke pioneered the idea of the "Dante Will Die" run, which is a run on the highest difficulty of "[[HarderThanHard Dante Must Die]]"... with a fresh game, lacking the usually maxed character that would normally be used. It really forces players to use different strategies, given the lack of moves and weapons that would normally be available. Even more crazy and skilled players have combined the SS run and the DWD run.

* A lipogram is a type of story written without using a certain letter even once -- one of the most famous is ''Literature/{{Gadsby}}'' by Ernest Vincent Wright, a 50,000 word novel without the letter "e". ''La Disparition'' by Georges Perec does one better, as it also doesn't use the letter "e" -- but it was written in French, and the English translation ''also'' doesn't use the letter "e". The latter also references the phenomenon through its plot, as the characters realize that something is missing from their world and are trying to find it.

** Both the standard and customisable difficulties be used in conjunction with the games' many unlockable cheat options. "Turbo Mode" has obvious effects on the sort of record times that can be attained, while "All Guns" and other weapon options allow the player to impose even more restrictions (it's particularly fun trying to kill all guards in a level using nothing but [[KnifeNut duel-wielded throwing knives]]). However, some of the cheats make the game much harder, such as the "Enemy Rockets" cheat, which [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin gives every enemy in the game a rocket launcher with infinite ammo]]. Yes, that too is possible to complete. And what's more, at the end of each level, various statistics are displayed about your performance. So, can you do one or more of the above, but with 100% accuracy? [[{{Speedrun}} And within a certain target time?]]

* The games of the ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' series are [[NintendoHard hard enough on their own]], but the NewGamePlus kicks things up a notch, and players who are patient enough to [[MemeticMutation "git gud"]] love to find ways to make things even more difficult:

* In ''TabletopGame/TheGameOfLife'', going the "Business Route" (''i.e.'' not going to college) in the original version will give you a salary of next to nothing for the entire game. One can layer on a refusal to buy Stock, which is otherwise necessary to open up nearly all of the highest-paying "collect" spaces.
* In TabletopGame/{{chess}}, masters playing casual games against weaker players will often "give odds", which requires them to start without a certain number of pieces.

[[folder:Collectible Card Games]]
Variant formats for Collectible CardGames may be considered a form of Self-Imposed Challenge, especially those that aren't supported for TournamentPlay.

[[folder:Role-playing Games]]
* In universe example with the Magpie, a GentlemanThief in the ''TabletopGame/FreedomCity'' setting, who has teleportation powers but mostly doesn't use them, because where's the challenge in that?
* A common challenge in both RoleplayingGame and {{Live Action Role Play}}ing communities is the "Iron [=GM=]" challenge. The exact rules vary, but generally [[GameMaster participants]] have to write a scenario within a tight time limit that includes specific (usually incongruous) elements. Given that most [=GMs=] operate on their own time under no restrictions whatsoever, one's first Iron [=GM=] can be a wake-up call.

* Once people are sick of playing ''Toys/{{Tamagotchi}}'' the normal way -- ''i.e.'' just keep them alive and happy as long as possible -- they do the opposite and try to kill them off as fast as possible.

** ''VideoGame/Pikmin1'': It's possible to complete the game without ever getting Blue Pikmin, though you still do need to use them in some sense -- there's a flower that allows you to transform a handful of pikmin into blues, but they only appear at very rare points in the game.

*** The "minimal sword" challenge, where you only use your sword on Ganon (you can't beat him without it). It's possible (but difficult) to beat the rest of the game without it. If you want to get [[UpToEleven really extreme]], try it [[https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=32B36810E3EA465E with only three hearts]].

** In "Extra Mode", you'll find yourself playing quite a lot of notes that you were previously only seeing in the background channels. To put this in perspective, "Scripted Connection (Long Mix)" normally has 4,459 notes in it, but an accurate Extra Mode BMS of it in ''Lunatic Rave 2'' increases the number to [[UpToEleven 6,118]]. This has the side effect of making some songs nigh-impossible to clear.

*** The Happy Hob once took this UpToEleven by beating all three ''Dark Souls'' games, ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'', and ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' in a row, all without getting hit. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UG-AtY0Nm44 His reaction after landing the killing blow on the final boss]] caused him to cry TearsOfJoy, which should say something about how hard this was to do.

* Lightning Flippers (yellow flippers with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a picture of a lightning bolt on each one]]) are 1/8 of an inch, or about 4 millimeters, shorter than standard flippers. That doesn't sound like a lot -- until you actually try playing a game with its standard flippers replaced with Lightning Flippers. Not only is the hole between the flippers wider, but certain flipper techniques become more difficult and others outright impossible. Games with long ball times, like ''Pinball/SpiderManStern'' or ''Pinball/LordOfTheRings'', have their game times cut in half or more when Lightning Flippers are installed. And you can go UpToEleven with even shorter Mini-Flippers (the ones used in the upper playfield on ''Pinball/TheSimpsonsPinballParty'', ''Pinball/{{Monopoly}}'', and a few others), roughly half the size of standard flippers.

** Someone did an interesting one for the GBA�s "Samurai Slice"- relying on slicing the air with an actual sword and using it to trigger a mechanism which made the inputs for the player.

*** The Limbo Mod/No HUD run, where all the textures are turned black ''à la'' ''{{VideoGame/Limbo}}'', and he can't see his HUD at all;

*** Twitch Plays Dark Souls, where he tries to run through ''Dark Souls'' while his Twitch chat messes with his controls ''à la'' LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon;

!!Non-Video Game Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
* In ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'', Might Guy and Rock Lee make it a point that if they fail in a task, they will challenge themselves with an even harder task as punishment. These challenges can be chained together if they fail at any step. Others think it's ridiculous, but it forces them to constantly push their limits, and they use it as a formidable training tool.
* In ''Manga/{{Bleach}}'', [[BloodKnight Kenpachi Zaraki]] deliberately weakens himself in several ways to make his fights more difficult. They include tying bells into his hair to allow his opponents to hear him at any time, keeping his [[{{BFS}} Zanpakuto]] in its "unsealed" state (and swinging it around like a madman), refusing to view said Zanpakuto as a borderline-sentient being (which seriously hamstrings their combined combat ability), and wearing an eyepatch over his otherwise totally functional right eye, which also siphons off his excess spiritual energy. When a suitable opponent forces him to [[LetsGetDangerous remove his power limiters]], his power is truly formidable.
* In one episode of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', a trainer named Miki specifically asks that Brock and Ash use Fire Type Pokémon to battle her Skarmory, a Steel Type, which creates a serious type disadvantage. She feels that such battles make her Pokémon tougher.
* ''Anime/YuGiOhGX'': Jun Manjome/[[DubNameChange Chazz Princeton]] is challenged by his brother Chosaku/[[DubNameChange Slade]] to a duel with Duel Academy on the line, with the condition that Chazz is is only allowed to use Monster Cards with 500 or less ATK, while his brother can use any cards he wants. Chazz builds a new deck to fit the conditions, then decides just because he can to only use Monster Cards with ''0'' ATK. Chazz wins despite the handicap.
* In ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', a "Steadfast" duelist (called a "Non-Action" duelist or "Heavystrong" duelist in the dub) is one like Yuya's friend Noboru/[[DubNameChange Gong]] who purposely does not use Action Cards during a duel, making it more challenging for himself.
* ''Manga/DragonBall'': [[ProfessionalKiller Mercenary Tao]] likes to attack using only one appendage, especially one that isn't normally very robust. His EstablishingCharacterMoment comes when he kills General Blue using only his tongue, and in his first fight against Goku he uses mainly his ponytail.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Collectible Card Game]]

[[folder:Comic Books]]
* ''Franchise/{{Superman}}'':
** Mr. Mxyzptlk is a [[EldritchAbomination fifth-dimensional imp]] who pretty much has nigh omnipotence and no weaknesses Superman could realistically exploit. He's a ChallengeSeeker, so he gave himself a more viable weakness; tricking him into saying his own name backwards sends him back to his dimension for a month. This not only gives Superman a fair chance, but makes Mxyzptlk actually work for his pranks and schemes.
** Later ''Superman'' comics that [[ReimaginingTheArtifact address Superman working as a newspaper reporter]] show that Clark Kent particularly enjoys his job because he can't rely on his superpowers to actually write something good enough to be printed in a major newspaper -- which gives him a rare and welcome challenge.

[[folder:Computers]]
* Some users will use a keyboard with no labels, or a pre-labeled keyboard with the labels rubbed out. This can be helpful for those who are learning to touch-type. A popular mechanical keyboard designed to facilitate this is the [[http://www.daskeyboard.com/product/model-s-ultimate/# Das Keyboard Model S Ultimate]].

[[folder:Fan Fiction]]
* Naruto and Xanna in ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/10917821/1/The-questionable-burdens-of-leadership-of-a-troll-Emperor The (Questionable) Burdens of Leadership of a Troll Emperor]]'' decide to conquer an entire galaxy (and later several galaxies) while minimizing the use of any of their divine powers beyond those that won't affect the outcome (''i.e.'' flying to intimidate someone or flaunting their immortality is fine, telepathically killing all their enemies is not).
* In ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/11087617/17/Screw-You-Fate-I-m-Going-Home Screw You Fate, I'm Going Home]]'', Lelouch gets bored of his GroundhogDayLoop and decides to conquer Britannia without Geass simply to see if he can.
* The ''Literature/HeraldsOfValdemar'' fic ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/22096633 Closer to the Horse]]'' focuses on the setting's guardian angels, who are constantly reincarnated throughout time to protect TheChosenMany. After several generations, they become so confident in their ability to fulfil this duty that they spend most of the time [[XanatosSpeedChess one-upping each other's plots]] and making bets that invoke this trope.
-->�During the reign of Queen Selenay,� Rolan pronounced, �I vow to project no mindspeech.�
* ''Fanfic/TheInfiniteLoops'': Loopers ''love'' these. Use only one attack, no out of loop powers or weapons, use the weakest weapon or move possible, defeat everyone as fast as possible, the list goes on.
* ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'':
** To prove he can give Ash a good fight, Raikou decides to solo all eight Johto Gyms.
** At Norman's suggestion, this is Ash's attempt to beat the Hoenn gyms without destroying any of them. He ''technically'' succeeds... because they can't actually prove that he was responsible for causing the last Hoenn gym to lose a wall as he was leaving, due to its entire Wailmer population spontaneously evolving right then.
* In ''Fanfic/OSMUFanfictionFriction'', Orla decides to set out and prove herself and her fierce warrior status to readers by going to Hy-Brasil and battling a dragon alone. In spite of her immense strength and battle prowess, [[GoneHorriblyWrong she ends up on the losing end of the battle and is badly wounded by the time her teammates figure out where she's gone and catch up to her.]]

[[folder:Film]]
* ''Film/SuperSizeMe'' is one giant self-imposed challenge where a guy goes on an all-UsefulNotes/McDonalds diet for thirty days. His rules are strict -- he can walk no more than 5000 steps per day, he must try every single item on the [=McDonalds=] menu at least once, he must finish everything on the plate, and he cannot super-size his meal unless they offer it to him -- but if they do, he ''must'' super-size. That happened frequently enough that [=McDonalds=] ended the practice of "super-sizing" after the film was released.
** The film ''Film/FatHead'' deconstructed Morgan Spurlock's challenge by pointing out the restrictions were ''designed'' to make him gain weight, meaning the film's message amounts to [[CaptainObvious "If you set out to get fat, you'll get fat"]], and even then he ''cheated'' by getting absolutely wasted at least once a week. Tom Naughton countered it with his own challenge (he has a functioning brain, he'll eat only fast food for thirty days - he cut it to 28 when his doctor went on a vacation - and he'll stick to 2000 calories or less and under 100 grams of carbs a day), and proceeded to ''lose'' weight.
* In ''Film/ThePrincessBride'', the Man in Black and Inigo both take a self-imposed challenge to kill their opponent (''i.e.'' each other) only with their [[IAmNotLeftHanded non-dominant left hands.]] Both ultimately fail, which turns out to be for the better.
* In ''Film/TheManWithTheGoldenGun'', Francisco Scaramanga carries out assassinations using a one-shot golden gun. He has so much pride in his skills that he will only use one bullet to kill a person. He later challenges Bond to a duel, allowing Bond to use his six-shooter while he sticks with his one-shooter. He does carry a second, ordinary gun, just in case he's disarmed.
* In ''Film/MajorLeagueII'', Taylor brings in Vaughn to get the final out in Game 7 of the ALCS. Vaughn tells Taylor he wants to intentionally walk the batter so he'll get the chance to face Parkman, the opposition's best hitter who has gotten the best of him all season. Taylor reluctantly agrees and Vaughn gets his chance to face his nemesis. [[spoiler:He strikes Parkman out with three pitches and the Indians win the series.]]
* ''Film/LeCercleRouge'': Jansen is part of TheCaper, robbing a jewelry store. He's a marksman and his task is to shoot a special bullet into the keyhole of the lock that disarms the security system. When it's time for Jansen to shoot the lock, he makes sure to show his partner Corey the tripod he has set up, aligned just right so that his special bullet will hit the keyhole. Then Jansen proceeds to pick the rifle up from the tripod, fire from the shoulder, and hit the target anyway.
* In ''Film/AmericanSniper'', he notes that there were so many insurgents around Ramadi that the soldiers and [=SEALs=] fighting there would deliberately try out new weapons just for the challenge.
-->''No pistol kill yet? You '''have''' to get at least one.''

[[folder:Literature]]
* In ''Literature/LifeTheUniverseAndEverything'', Wowbagger the Infinitely Prolonged, having been [[WhoWantsToLiveForever cursed with immortality]], makes use of his infinite time by embarking on a quest to insult the entire universe, one person at a time, in alphabetical order. He has time travel at his disposal, too, so he means ''everyone'' -- but this can trip him up easily (''e.g.'' accidentally insulting Arthur Dent twice). He knows the quest is logically impossible, but he needs to do ''something'' with his life.
* A lipogram is a type of story written without using a certain letter even once -- one of the most famous is ''Literature/{{Gadsby}}'' by Ernest Vincent Wright, a 50,000 word novel without the letter "e". ''La Disparition'' by Georges Perec does one better, as it also doesn't use the letter "e" -- but it was written in French, and the English translation ''also'' doesn't use the letter "e". The latter also references the phenomenon through its plot, as the characters realize that something is missing from their world and are trying to find it.
* When "Blunt's Brilliant Detectives" have their first case in ''Literature/PartnersInCrime'', Tuppence spontaneously guarantees to the client that they can solve the case in 24 hours, much to Tommy's horror. It turns out [[spoiler:she's already solved the case]] -- or rather, [[spoiler:she was instrumental in creating it]]. The challenge comes when ''other'' clients hear about it.
* In the ''Literature/HerculePoirot'' story "The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim", Poirot takes a bet from Chief Inspector Japp to prove that "the little grey cells" are superior to running around looking at footprints by solving a case without ever visiting the scene of the crime or talking to any of the suspects.
* Bennett Cerf, one of the publishers at Random House Books, challenged an author to write a children's book using a vocabulary of 50 words or less. The final count: 49 different words. The author: Theodore Geisel, aka "Dr. Seuss". The book: ''Literature/GreenEggsAndHam''.
* In the short story [[http://www.futrelle.com/stories/TheProblemOfCell13.html "The Problem of Cell 13"]], a man imposes a challenge onto himself to escape a prison cell within a week. That is to say, he asks someone to lock him in the cell purely to prove that he can escape it.
* In the Discworld story Literature/GuardsGuards, In order to shoot a dragon in the 'voonerables' with a lucky arrow, the shot needs to be a MillionToOneChance. Unfortunately, Constable Carrot calcuates the odds of a hit on something that large, travelling slowly for a landing, to only be in the high hundreds. Hence ever more onerous impediments are adopted to lessen the chances of a perfect hit. [[ItMakesSenseInContext This all makes perfect sense on the Disc]], where the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality is an actual law of physics.

[[folder:Live-Action Television]]
* Barney Stinson of ''Series/HowIMetYourMother'' frequently challenges himself with increasingly bizarre trials, such as refusing to take off a ridiculous set of overalls until he gets laid.
-->'''Barney:''' No one, I mean no one, could get laid wearing these... ''challenge accepted!''
* ''Series/TheMuppetShow'': Puppeteer Frank Oz, when working on the Swedish Chef, gave himself a challenge where he would make the Chef fling his cooking implements over his shoulders and try to knock down every item on the back wall before the sketch was over. He managed it once.
* ''[[Series/DoubleDare1986 Double Dare 2000]]'' offered a team that took a Physical Challenge in the second round the option of adding on the "Triple Dare Challenge." Maybe they'd have to do the challenge blindfolded or one-handed, maybe they'd have to catch more items/fill a bigger container, maybe they'd have to do it in 20 seconds instead of the normal 30, but if accepted and completed, it awarded $300 (rather than the usual $200) and a bonus prize; failure handed the $300 and the prize to the other team.
* A journalist once told Creator/JossWhedon that the thing he liked most about ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' was the dialogue. Thus was born "[[Recap/BuffyTheVampireSlayerS4E10Hush Hush]]", an episode nearly devoid of dialogue, due to the entire cast's voices being stolen by the VillainOfTheWeek.
* ''Series/RetroGameMaster'': Arino plays most of ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' without Mario's hat, despite having low defense because of it. Too bad the staff orders him to get it back before fighting the FinalBoss.
%%* The point of ''Series/UnbeatableBanzuke''.
* ''Series/KamenRiderKuuga'': Rather than engaging in a straightforward massacre, the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Grongi]] have their "Gegeru", a game where they have to kill a certain number of humans within a set amount of time, with some kind of restriction placed upon them. While the low-tier Zu class has the rules set upon them by the game's "referee", the higher-ranking Me and Go class get to decide their own restrictions. Examples include targeting only male students from a specific high school, killing people by running them over with a truck (driven backwards), or leaving hints for the police to find. What makes the Grongi so horrifying is that even with these limitations, several of them still manage to kill dozens (or sometimes even ''hundreds'') of people.

[[folder:Music]]
* Rick Davies of Music/{{Supertramp}} wrote the song "Cannonball" (a top 40 hit for the band in 1985) entirely in the chord of G minor, just to see if he could it.
* Bands will swap instruments among themselves on occasion. Resulting in things like Mr. Bungles' cover of Hit Me Baby One More Time or alternate versions of 'Silver Machine'. Arcade Fire and Irish showbands don't count, as they swap/swapped instruments all the time.

[[folder:Pinball]]
* Lightning Flippers (yellow flippers with [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin a picture of a lightning bolt on each one]]) are 1/8 of an inch, or about 4 millimeters, shorter than standard flippers. That doesn't sound like a lot -- until you actually try playing a game with its standard flippers replaced with Lightning Flippers. Not only is the hole between the flippers wider, but certain flipper techniques become more difficult and others outright impossible. Games with long ball times, like ''Pinball/SpiderManStern'' or ''Pinball/LordOfTheRings'', have their game times cut in half or more when Lightning Flippers are installed. And you can go UpToEleven with even shorter Mini-Flippers (the ones used in the upper playfield on ''Pinball/TheSimpsonsPinballParty'', ''Pinball/{{Monopoly}}'', and a few others), roughly half the size of standard flippers.
* A common challenge is replacing the normal steel pinballs with ceramic [[Pinball/TheTwilightZone Powerballs]] that are lighter, faster, and harder to control.

[[folder:Sports]]
* Athletes will occasionally impose challenges on themselves to make a CurbStompBattle more interesting. For instance, Boston Celtics great Larry Bird would shoot [[IAmNotLeftHanded exclusively with his left hand]], UsefulNotes/MichaelJordan was known to occasionally tip off his opponents as to what he was going to do next and dare them to stop him, and the Harlem Globetrotters started doing this when playing "straight" basketball and developed the colorful antics for which they're famous today.
* Mountain climbers may seek to specifically climb the highest peak in a geographic area, or all peaks above a certain height.
* Running a marathon in and of itself is a self-imposed challenge. Most participants' initial goal is just to finish it. Some runners aim for a certain time -- indeed, this is necessary to even qualify for higher-profile races like the Boston Marathon. Some runners aim to win the marathon. Some runners aim to finish several marathons in a certain period of time -- one popular one in the U.S. is to complete a marathon in all 50 states (and D.C. thrown in for good measure). And some runners compete in the Ultra-Marathon, a 100-mile run that's essentially four marathons in succession.
* Cyclists consider completing a "century ride" their equivalent of running a marathon. It involves biking at least 100 miles in one ride. Even though this has gotten easier with modern, low-weight, quite comfortable carbon fiber bikes, it's still a daunting enough challenge that most large bike manufacturers release models specially designed for these kinds of rides.
* Some golfers will occasionally play holes or entire rounds with fewer than the 14 clubs the rules allow them to have. They might do it because it forces them to hit shots they wouldn't normally hit with clubs they wouldn't normally use them for. They might do it for fun. They might do it because their friend saw Tin Cup too many times and dared them to play with just their 7 iron. There are even a few "3 Club" tournaments, where players can pick any three clubs they want for a round, but only get those three. This leads to the fun of trying to putt with an 8 iron or some such.
* "Double Duty" is when a driver attempts to race in both the Indy 500 for IndyCar and the Coca-Cola 600 for NASCAR the Sunday before Memorial Day, possible because the two are held at different times (afternoon vs. evening). That's 1,100 miles of driving in a single day, with barely any rest in the process. Only 9 attempts have been made, with only one of them (from Tony Stewart) managing to complete every single lap in both races. The latest attempt was from Kurt Busch in 2014, who completed the Indy 500 only to wreck after 406 miles of the Coke 600.

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* In universe example with the Magpie, a GentlemanThief in the ''TabletopGame/FreedomCity'' setting, who has teleportation powers but mostly doesn't use them, because where's the challenge in that?
* A common challenge in both RoleplayingGame and {{Live Action Role Play}}ing communities is the "Iron [=GM=]" challenge. The exact rules vary, but generally [[GameMaster participants]] have to write a scenario within a tight time limit that includes specific (usually incongruous) elements. Given that most [=GMs=] operate on their own time under no restrictions whatsoever, one's first Iron [=GM=] can be a wake-up call.
* ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'': In-universe, this is the general purpose of the Clans' Trial system of combat. There's no honor in winning a battle by using overwhelming odds, so they try to use as little forces to win as possible. For example, if one Clan launches a raid on another's planet, the defender will announce what forces that they intend to commit to the protection of their resources. Then the attacker will review the record of those defenders and decide how much of their own force to commit- if the defender commits five battlemechs, the attacker may choose to use only three. Similarly, an individual pilot may choose to voluntarily avoid using one or more of their mech's weapons in a fight.

[[folder:Toys]]
* Once people are sick of playing ''Toys/{{Tamagotchi}}'' the normal way -- ''i.e.'' just keep them alive and happy as long as possible -- they do the opposite and try to kill them off as fast as possible.

* The Let's Play ''LetsPlay/TwitchPlaysPokemon'' gathers the Internet on a Twitch stream and asks them to play a ''Pokémon'' game one button input at a time, as dictated through the chat. It's utter chaos, but not only have games been beaten, they've been beaten in truly improbable circumstances. Players have started imposing their own challenges, such as catching Zapdos with the Master Ball in Red, getting Mew via trade in [=FireRed=], and evolving no Pokemon at all in Black.

** When developing ''Planet X2'' for the UsefulNotes/Commodore64, David deliberately chose to limit the game's size to 64 kilobytes to allow it to fit onto the entirety of the C64's memory. In the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NB_VBl7ut9Y documentary covering the game's development]], he said the RAM limitation was behind practically every design decision, as David wanted to avoid saving and loading during gameplay as much as possible.

* When "Blunt's Brilliant Detectives" have their first case in the Literature/TommyAndTuppence collection ''Partners in Crime'', Tuppence spontaneously guarantees to the client that they can solve the case in 24 hours, much to Tommy's horror. It turns out [[spoiler:she's already solved the case]] -- or rather, [[spoiler:she was instrumental in creating it]]. The challenge comes when ''other'' clients hear about it.

*** Catekillers, Marble Zone, and the scariest Sonic mechanic of all: water. After the Geek Critique's Kalin made a habit of complaining about these three ingredients, a ROM hacker took it upon himself to combine them into one horrifying concoction. The result? [[https://youtu.be/i3iyJkvF_eE Should really just be seen for yourself, most especially that ending.]]

** In ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamland'', [[ShmuckBait try beating the entire game by yourself with only one player.]] That includes [[spoiler:[[ThisIsGonnaSuck EX-Mode and the True Arena.]]]] For added fun, try doing it ''without'' ever switching characters, and never having Kirby use an absorbed power to attack an enemy, which means only using powers to complete necessary puzzles in order to obtain Energy Spheres. It's also possible to beat the game without jumping; certain abilities allow Kirby to move upwards without pressing the jump button, and he can also ride other characters for an extra boost.

* ''FreeCell'': The most obvious one is reducing the number of free cells, sometimes even to zero (which is possible in 69 out of the original Microsoft 32,000). Some software implementations will have this as an option. Another is to make the biggest "flourish" you can, referring to the process of the cards automatically going to the home row at the end of the game -- in a few games, it's possible to set up a 52-card flourish, taking the home row from empty to full in one move flat.

*** "Speed": Your standard {{speedrun}} -- except currently, the lowest recorded time for a completed level is ''five seconds''.

* [[KillEmAll Genocide Run]]: The opposite of the above: Beat the game while killing everything that moves, no matter what. This is, of course, only possible in games where [=NPCs=] and enemies are limited in number and don't respawn out of thin air.

** The second game has the no Exposure run, which more or less is tantamount to a NoDamageRun: it means clicking off your lights before any enemy appears so your Exposure remains at zero.

* In the Discworld story Literature/GuardsGuards, In order to shoot a dragon in the 'voonerables' with a lucky arrow, the shot needs to be a MillionToOneChance. Unfortunately, Constable Carrot calcuates the odds of a hit on something that large, travelling slowly for a landing, in the high hundreds. Hence ever more onerous impediments being adopted to lessen the chances of a perfect hit. [[ItMakesSenseInContext This all makes perfect sense on the Disc]], where the TheoryOfNarrativeCausality is an actual law of physics.

*** The "LimitBreak Only" challenge: The only way you can heal or deal damage in battle is with Limit Breaks. It's nowhere near as easy as it sounds, especially since the main character with a healing LimitBreak [[ItWasHisSled dies at the end of Disc 1]].

* In the Discworld story Literature/GuardsGuards, In order to shoot a dragon in the 'voonerables' with a lucky arrow, the shot needs to be a million-to-one chance. Unfortunately, Constable Carrot calcuates the odds of a hit on something that large, travelling slowly for a landing, in the high hundreds. Hence ever more onerous impediments being adopted to lessen the chances of a perfect hit. This all makes [[FridgeLogic perfect sense]] on the Disc.

*** "Fast": Complete a level while the monsters are faster than normal.
*** "Respawn": Complete a level killing every monster at least once in an environment where they respawn.
*** "Max": A speedrun where all secrets must be collected.
*** "[[Creator/MikeTyson Tyson]]": The level must be completed with every monster killed as quickly as possible with no weapons other than the fist, the chainsaw, and the pistol.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/user/AltimaMantoid One speedrunner]] has a series on his Website/YouTube channel called "Trials of a Doomgod", where he does crazy self-imposed challenges on various Doom maps, some of which include:
*** Plutonia Map 32 ("Go 2 It") UV-Max from pistol start without using the BFG 9000;
*** Plutonia Map 31 ("Cyberden") UV-Max from pistol start without using the Rocket Launcher;
*** TNT Evilution Map 1 ("System Control") UV-Max from pistol start in Solo-Net model;
*** Ultimate Doom Episode 4 Map 1 ("Hell Beneath") UV-Max from pistol start without taking damage.

* NoCasualtiesRun: Beat the game without any [=NPCs=] or [[EscortMission escorts]] dying.

* In ''Anime/YuGiOhArcV'', a "Steadfast" duelist (called a "Non-Action" duelist or "Heavystrong" duelist in the dub) is one like Yuya's friend Noboru who purposely does not use Action Cards during a duel, making it more challenging for himself.