History Main / UnWinnableByDesign

** Shizune's route is an interesting case, because unlike many other Visual Novel stories it has very limited interactivity - only a single choice ([[spoiler:whether or not to sleep with Misha]]), towards the end of Act 3 (out of 4). Thus, choosing wrong at this point inevitably leads to the player getting a bad end...a whole ''act'' later. Hope you've made a save before.
*** While it's not a "cruel" choice for most players who understand what the choice was asking, as basic decency and game logic would suggest that was clearly a bad choice to make, the vague phrasing has led many less socially-adept players who weren't paying attention to choose to "comfort" a friend in need, only to realise when they see the consequences that they really should have saved first.

* ''VisualNovel/KaraNoShoujo'' is a particularly cruel example, as simple oversights during PixelHunt segments and apparently inocuous choices can lock you on a bad ending with no indication on what you did wrong. Some of those choices even go against common sense, for instance, if you leave the analysis of a certain piece of evidence found on a crime scene to a forensics team, instead of analyzing it yourself, you will get [[spoiler: locked on an ending where the serial killer gets you no matter what you do afterwards]]. Unless you read this visual novel along with a walkthrough guide expect to hit invisible walls a lot.
* ''VisualNovel/SayaNoUta'' gives you a choice towards the last act of the story, and this choice decides the game's ending. [[spoiler:Calling Fuminori can lead to the ending where Koji dies due to Koji's impatience, while calling Ryoko gives Koji an advantage by having an ally]]. Anyone paying attention to how these encounters have gone, [[spoiler:especially considering neither Yoh nor Omi survived their encounter with Saya when alone]], knows the choice you need to make to get a good or bad ending, however once you make a choice, your only way to change it is to reload your save. Should you choose [[spoiler:to call Fuminori]], there is now nothing you can do to stop what will inevitably happen.

* Speaking about operating systems for computers, due to ExecutiveMeddling between Apple and Nvidia, later Platform/MacOS versions have discontinued the drivers for the Nvidia graphics cards, so trying to shove a Nvidia card past the point these versions were made (i.e., a Pascal-based GTX, or a Turing-based RTX) for the [=MacOS=] version 10.14 (Mojave) will not show images at worst. AMD graphics cards (such as Polaris and Vega-based Radeon cards) on other hand received continued support from Apple, but only on a certain basis. Time will tell if the later AMD Navi-based Radeons will receive Apple support, though.

* In the [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/15_puzzle 15-puzzle]] or "boss" puzzle (one of the first group-theory puzzles, if not ''the'' first), only half the possible arrangements of the tiles can be reached from the solved position by sliding the tiles as one is supposed to do to solve the puzzle. For this reason the boss puzzle is called a ''parity'' puzzle: meaning one with two distinct sets of configurations that determine how or if they can be solved.[[note]]Transposing any two adjacent numbers flips the puzzle's parity in this case.[[/note]] Sam Loyd exploited this to publicize the puzzle by offering a cash prize for solving [[http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:15-puzzle-loyd.svg a position]] which he knew to have the wrong (unsolvable) parity. Many other parity puzzles (like the Rubik's Cube) have a similar situation.

* The ''ComicBook/BatmanBlackAndWhite'' anthology had "The Riddle", a Literature/ChooseYourOwnAdventure-style comic that had ComicBook/{{Batman}} chasing ComicBook/TheRiddler through a maze while being guided by the reader. The only winning move [[spoiler: [[Film/WarGames is to not play]]. As one of the routes reveals, the maze is designed so that [[XanatosGambit every single possible outcome results in Batman's death]]. If ignoring the instructions entirely and read like a traditional comic, the story has Batman find a back door into the maze to chase Riddler through and apprehend him and ComicBook/KillerCroc, remarking that [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall this was never a game to him]]]].

* The Kobayashi Maru scenario from ''Franchise/StarTrek'' is designed to be unwinnable, because it is a test of character. Needless to say, Kirk found a way to win by cheating.
** The method of cheating is slightly different, depending on the continuity. In the original timeline (at least according to the ExpandedUniverse), he reprograms the simulation to give himself the reputation he hoped to one day have for real so that the Klingons would be hesitant to take him on in a fight. In the altered timeline, he just programs the Klingon ships to have their shields go down, turning the simulation into a [[ArmorIsUseless turkey shoot]].

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xipe_Totec#Human_sacrifice sacrifice]] for the [[UsefulNotes/AztecMythology Aztec]] god Xipe Totec involved the captive tied to a large circular stone, given a [[JokeWeapon macuahuitl with feathers replacing the obsidian edges]] and then forced [[HopelessBossFight to fight]] five warriors armed with weapons that had actual obsidian cutting edges, one after the other.

[[folder: Mythology and Religion]]

Dipping below "polite" is considered a design flaw by most design philosophies today, unless the game is for young children. Old-fashioned adventure games, notably most Sierra games released before 1992, seldom rise ''above'' "nasty".

* ''Series/Goosebumps1995'': ''Mansion of Terror'' from "[[Recap/Goosebumps1995S3E10TheHauntedHouseGame The Haunted House Game]]" is deliberately rigged against the players. First, they don't know they're agreeing to play it [[SchmuckBait until after they opened the box]]. If they ever roll a 7 (i.e., the ''most''-common two dice combo), they die. The first stage requires collecting random items in several life or death puzzles to make it through the second stage. Any one of the challenges can kill you and if you miss an item, you're trapped forever because the second stage becomes impossible to complete. If you do somehow make it to the main lobby, the ghosts from the previous challenges reappear to block your path to the front door and kill you; Jonathan and Nadine luck out because they have a [[WeakenedByTheLight flashing camera to scare them off]]. Even then, the two last ghosts [[SoreLoser refuse to let them leave]].

Dipping below "polite" is considered a design flaw by most design philosophies today. Old-fashioned adventure games, notably most Sierra games released before 1992, seldom rise ''above'' "nasty".

* Speaking about operating systems for computers, due to ExecutiveMeddling between Apple and Nvidia, later UsefulNotes/MacOS versions have discontinued the drivers for the Nvidia graphics cards, so trying to shove a Nvidia card past the point these versions were made (i.e., a Pascal-based GTX, or a Turing-based RTX) for the [=MacOS=] version 10.14 (Mojave) will not show images at worst. AMD graphics cards (such as Polaris and Vega-based Radeon cards) on other hand received continued support from Apple, but only on a certain basis. Time will tell if the later AMD Navi-based Radeons will receive Apple support, though.

* ''Film/WarGames'': The computer thinks it's playing a game called "Global Thermonuclear War". After analyzing all the scenarios, it finally concludes: "A strange game. The only winning move is not to play."

** Yami Yugi always sets his Shadow Games like this, as cheating will either send you to an early grave, or your mid/soul is shattered. Since his opponents are always trying to cheat in his Shadow Games, it automatically triggers the moment his hapless opponent realizes they've been caught and gets punished accordingly.

* [[spoiler: Amanda]], once she was allowed to start designing and implementing her own traps in ''Film/SawIII,'' had started designing them all to be inescapable. Whether you think this is because of her misanthropy and distrust of people's ability to change or her desire to put them out of their misery so they wouldn't have to deal with the devastating mental aftermath of a trap is up to your interpretation.

** In the ''[[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Next Generation]]'' episode "Thine Own Self", Troi ''thinks'' at first that the promotion exam is supposed to be unwinnable, and it's supposed to gauge how an applicant handles a hopeless situation. [[spoiler: It's not. The solution can be obtained if she orders someone to do something she knows he won't survive. The test is supposed to determine whether she is able to give such an order.]]

* On the GameShow ''Series/{{Distraction}}'', the winner must play an inverted BonusRound to save his or her prize(s) from damage or destruction. If you were stuck with [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sl1oC1rUzI#t=5m17s this endgame]], your opponent started shoveling your £5,000 into the cement mixer ''immediately'' upon the round beginning, thus making it impossible to save your entire prize.

[[folder:Puzzle Games]]
* ''VideoGame/TowerOfTheSorcerer'' is all about carefully picking and choosing the order you'll fight your enemies (and collect [[PowerUp power-ups]]) to avoid this trope. Get it wrong, and you'll find yourself stranded, unable to defeat the enemies blocking your path, or [[TheKeyIsBehindTheLock stuck at a locked door with no keys]]. You do get an orb that will let you predict the outcome of individual battles, but the game won't otherwise warn you about following a suboptimal path that will get you stuck. Fortunately, you can have multiple save files.
[[/folder]]

* ''Manga/{{Kaiji}}'' features an example in its second part: the [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Man-Eating Bog]], a pachinko machine designed to never pay out. The defenses are intricate: first, the balls have to pass through a tight set of pins, followed by a set of flippers (which can be set to block any incoming ball whatsoever), and lastly, the balls have to pass through three trays: one with three holes, one with four holes, and one with five holes. Each tray has only one correct hole. This last one is the kicker: the trays, machine, and even the floor itself are tilted ever so subtly, and there's a slight bump around the final jackpot hole. These circumstances make it literally impossible for a ball to enter the fifth hole. And even if that gets bypassed, there are small air blasters installed around the final hole, able to blow away balls that are headed for the jackpot.
* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' has the Grand Quest in ALO. The enemies spawn endlessly, meaning that no matter how long you fight, you'll eventually be overwhelmed by the sheer numbers. The AI is also competent enough to [[ShootTheMedicFirst target healers]]. And assuming that a player can somehow make it past all the enemies and get to the door at the end in one piece, [[spoiler: the door is restricted to admins. This is because the door actually leads to where Sugou is holding Asuna and experimenting on the 300 other SAO players' minds.]]

** ''Series/{{Idiotest}}'': The money clock starts when a puzzle appears. Without completely guessing or being lightning fast (or lucky) in the very first second, there is no way to win the puzzle's full value.

There are plenty of difficult games out there, but at least most of them have the decency to kill you off the moment your quest becomes impossible to complete -- otherwise you'd end up wandering around looking for a way to progress when none exist. Now, in the case of games that are UnintentionallyUnwinnable it's kind of understandable -- either a bug or an oversight has rendered the game broken so there's no way for it to tell the player how screwed they are.

{{Adventure Game}}s, and InteractiveFiction in particular, originally were ''rife'' with intentionally unwinnable situations, and were usually known as "dead ends" during the genre's prime. Meanwhile, a player continuing to play a game that unbeknownst to them had been rendered unwinnable was referred to as stuck in a "walking dead" situation. A hallmark of the genre once, the tradition has waned in the 1990s because most players can't stand them, and some even claim that they constitute a form of FakeDifficulty.

%% Do not add any difficulty ratings beyond the canonical list. "Cruel" represents the deep end of the difficulty scale, full stop - it encompasses ALL games that mislead the player into an unwinnable state, whether through delayed feedback, deceptive feedback, or lack of feedback.

The spiritual opposite of a HopelessBossFight, where you are supposed to fail to make the game ''continue''. Also (in some cases) the worst-case scenario of PermanentlyMissableContent; early adventure games would often have vital objects or events be easily and permanently missable -- in the worst cases, with no indication of what you've missed beyond a sudden game over much later in the game. Contrast EndlessGame, for games not supposed to be "won" at all: games that have a HighScores screen instead of a victory condition. Also see UnwinnableJokeGame for games that were made to be impossible despite having a clear goal as a prank.

* In a commercial for American Express, (now former) tennis player Andy Roddick faces an opponent that "returns everything" -- [[https://youtu.be/o0eECXU4ixw Pong]]. He then inverts it by making the game Unwinnable by Design for Pong by taking advantage of Pong not being a 3D game and constrained to the back of the court -- and lobbing the ball just over the net so it goes under Pong.

* Advertisements for a game called ''Hero Wars'' have frequently featured videos of puzzles in the lines of "make the lava flow so that it kills the monster without destroying the treasure." At least many of these puzzles are unsolvable. That could be an effort to increase curiosity -- especially considering that the gameplay of the actual game [[TrailersAlwaysLie doesn't feature such puzzles at all.]]

** In book three, you have to go downstairs instead of up at one point, or you'll never meet the captive wizard who has to help you in the final battle. Noticeably, the game actually contains some thirty-odd sections on the route if you go the wrong way, including fights and opportunities to use your abilities, all of which are completely pointless on account of the path having no route to victory -- it leads to the series' only non-lethal NonStandardGameOver. There's also the important-looking magic gem that is evil and will kill you if you hold on to it too long -- though if you do meet the captive wizard, he will recognize it and get you to dispose of it shortly after you meet him.

** Another one about a Cave Spirit involves far more than remembering stories. You have to select which weapons or spells your character will be armed with. The hunter's path is always the hardest because your weapons have finite ammo or durability. If you use the wrong weapon at a certain time or don't PICK the right weapon to use at a certain obstacle, then the game is unwinnable. To make matters even worse, you can actually lose the one weapon you need for the ending by using it on the wrong obstacle early on. Plus, at the beginning of the hunter's path, there are two weapons you NEED to pick to get a good ending -- fail to pick either of them (you can only pick three of four weapons) and you'll meet an untimely end later on. (Hint: the weapon you can use only once is pretty much useless and use of it will spell instant death for you -- unless you're on a certain story path, which only leads to two bad endings anyway.) The spellcaster's path is easier, as you can actually choose not to get into ''any'' problematic situations until you meet the Cave Spirit again...but you'd better steer clear of the park or else kiss the path's best ending goodbye (because you either will be turned into a frog/snake or destroy the one thing you need to defeat the Cave Spirit to escape).

* On ''Series/MinuteToWinIt'', those who make it far enough are subjected to a game they call "Supercoin", where you have to bounce a quarter into the top of a water jug from a few feet away in 60 seconds to win $1,000,000. The producers have allowed people to play it for $1,000,000 after meeting special conditions (either by winning the "last man standing" episodes which award a guaranteed $100,000 to their winners, or being a lucky audience member during their "million dollar mission" during Season 2). No one has won, and of the two times the $500,000 level was cleared, one couple was smart enough to walk away with the half million, and the other attempted the game and failed. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSKR2zzwNbs A YouTube user has proven that part of the challenge is possible]], the part involving bouncing the coin into the jug, but it took ''much'' longer than 60 seconds. Thankfully, losing on Supercoin would theoretically only drop you down to $250,000, which is still a good payout for a night's work. Eventually they lampshaded the whole ordeal by putting a safe point conveniently at $500,000. However, there was ONE person who managed to win Supercoin in under a minute -- [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPdcroF-Fwc the host of the Turkish version]]!

*** Another one involves a "calculation". The term calculation is used loosely here, because you're not supposed to calculate the sum that is being presented in order to find the correct answer. Instead you have to add up all the letters and numbers to get the correct answer. Note that it's rather dubious as to what means what: while numbers that have been spelled out always work (like in "an after-'''eight'''"), the letters themselves are another matter and are frequently switched up (a good question to ask is whether or not the C in the question is just a C or if it's the Roman number 100--and keep in mind that these games aren't afraid to put up Chinese counting units used in 1100 BC). All in all, you have such an obtuse game that requires such leaps of logic it would make a ConspiracyTheorist seem sane by comparison.

* Raymond Smullyan's logic puzzle books have a few puzzles that are logically impossible to solve and are presented as either jokes or lessons on the limits of KnightsAndKnaves scenarios. An example of one of these puzzles is you wanting to marry an island princess, but her father will only let you marry her if you can prove with your statements that you're not a "normal" (e.g. someone capable of telling the truth or lying) but a "knight" (someone who always tells the truth) or "knave" (someone who always lies) instead -- which is impossible to do, as a normal is capable of telling all the truths a knight can and all the lies a knave can. As Smullyan puts it in his given solution to this puzzle; "Sorry! Better luck on the next island!"

* The ''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' scenario ''Last Stand of the Black Watch'' is like this, as evidenced by the title. The Royal Black Watch was an elite unit of the Star League that was destroyed during the Amaris Coup. In the scenario, the last surviving eight Black Watch Battlemechs are defending themselves from an overwhelming array of Amaris-backed coup forces (36 units or more). There are only two possible outcomes: either the Black Watch dies to the last man, or they inflict enough damage that Amaris decides to NukeEm (this is the canon outcome). Black Watch players can only hope to die gloriously and take as many Coup forces with them--canonically, these last eight Royal Black Watch units destroyed more than three times their number in enemy Battlemechs and tanks before Amaris finally nuked them.

** Parson creates a turn-based strategy game designed to be unwinnable while following the rules -- the only way to win would be to surprise the gamemaster through lateral thinking. Originally Parson wanted to try the game on his friends, until he was teleported into a wargame universe with the same setup but different mechanics...