History Main / NewRulesAsThePlotDemands

** Yusei is dueling Rudger. Rudger has his Earthbound Immortal Uru on the field, as well as the Field Magic Card "Spider Web". Earthbound Immortals cannot be attacked while a field magic card is on the field, so Yusei pulls some LoopholeAbuse and declares that he'll instead attack Rudger directly, a strategy that, needless to say, is impossible...[[SubvertedTrope now.]] This was actually the original ruling for the specific wording of this particular attack-immunity effect possessed by the actual Earthbound Immortal cards (originally used for the Legendary Fisherman of Kajiki (the freaky fish guy) fame). The original ruling had been [[ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem overridden specifically by Konami]] for these and subsequent cards to make them more viable. Cards that retained the old ruling now specify, via errata, that they allow for direct attacks so as to avoid confusion.

** Riding Duels are duels on motorcycles. They have some special rules and special Spell Cards, the Speed Spells. However, Yusei, Jack and Crow team up together to duel Rex Goodwin. The twist? They duel on their motorcycles, but Rex Goodwin has just the high ground and stands there the whole time. There is no mentioned rule of semi-Riding Duels being possible. Like his three opponents, Goodwin is limited to use Speed Spells and he gets Speed Counters, which can increase or decrease the speed of the D-Wheel, but he has no D-Wheel. Later, he even says that Crow and Jack don't get any turns as long as they cannot drive their D-Wheels after they crashed ([[ScrewTheRulesIHaveSupernaturalPowers and they crashed because he sabotaged them in the middle of duel]]), but he still isn't riding a D-Wheel, yet he is excluded from the rule.

** In Episode 43, Kaito Releases Yuma's monsters to summon his Photon Kaiser. This is iffy enough because the rules don't seem to specify whether the two are sharing fields or not (the previous episode implies this is not the case, as Kaito's Photon Pressure World Field Spell damages everyone who doesn't control a Photon monster, and Yuma is damaged by it). What happens next is a blatant example, however. To clarify, Photon Pressure World's effect is that when a Photon monster is summoned, everyone who doesn't control a Photon monster takes damage equal to the summoned monster's Level x 100. Kaito summons Photon Kaiser, and for some reason (most likely that Yuma would lose otherwise), Photon Pressure World doesn't activate. With no good reason. And the card text is written in such a way that the effect is compulsory. At best, it might be argued that Kaito summoned Photon Kaiser to Yuma's field (which it plainly wasn't, and in any case has no basis to begin with). Doing so would damage III and IV, but not Kaito because he had Galaxy-Eyes Photon Dragon out.

** During Sora's duel with [[SpellMyNameWithAnS Yuto/Ute,]] Yuya joins them ''in the middle of the duel'', playing on Sora's side. This obviously violates the rules without any question, but his Duel Disk accepts his action as legit and activates the Battle Royale Mode. Yuya has his own field and starts with 4,000 LP while the other two duelists don't, giving him an advantage and Yuto a big disadvantage. Additionally, the plot progresses a lot thanks to Yuya joining the duel and major questions of the series are revealed as a result.

** And inevitably {{lampshade|Hanging}}d when Durkon employs [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0352.html Control Weather]] to generate thunder as a [[MakeMeWannaShout sonic attack.]] The following strip opens with an angel questioning the use of the spell thus, and Thor basically telling him to mind his own beeswax and not contradict the thunder god.

* ''Franchise/AceAttorney'' introduces new laws relatively frequently, almost without exception to inconvenience the defense. The most egregious example of this happens during the final case of ''VisualNovel/SpiritOfJustice'', [[spoiler:the prosecutor of which being the monarch of the country the trial is being held, and who has no problems literally rewriting the law on the spot. Of course, she's also the culprit of both crimes you're going to court for, so she has a vested interest in winning the trial at all cost.]] In fact, the only way to win that case is to [[spoiler:show that she has no claim to the throne by proving she has no spiritual powers which is required to be a ruler of the kingdom the game takes place in, making her royal guard turn against her and all the laws she's passed up until this point become null and void.]]

This is not about the differences between rules in a work and rules in a game it's based on (the former will often be inherited from the latter), but when the rules of a work can't quite [[InternalConsistency make sense of its' own internal logic.]]

* In the fifteenth episode of the second series anime, Yugi uses a monster called Catapult Turtle to launch a Fusion Monster, Gaia the Dragon Champion, at another monster, the Player Killer's Castle of Dark Illusions. This destroys the Dragon Champion on impact, causing Yugi to lose most of his Life Points (going from 1606 to 300 due to stats being changed between the manga) and the castle's flotation-ring to fall off, but it seemingly doesn't destroy the castle...until Yugi mentions that the Castle is now being held up by Yugi's Swords of Revealing Light (which were keeping all of the Player Killer's monsters paralyzed). Yugi ends his turn, ending the effect of [=SoRL=], thus causing the destruction of the Castle...and all of the Player Killer's monsters, which were underneath and, due to the Player Killer's Chaos Shield, couldn't get out of the way in time. If these had been real, physical creatures engaged in a battle, this would be reasonably creative and entirely valid. But they're just cards in a card game, [[MagicAIsMagicA subject to the rules thereof,]] so Yugi's trick had ''absolutely no basis in the rules'' [[RuleOfCool (but it looked cool).]]

* In Yugi's duel with the fake Kaiba, it's revealed that Mystical Elf, a Normal Monster at first glance, actually had the effect of transferring its ATK (1100 at the time, due to a Magic Card) to another monster you control. It also could, apparently, stop Magic Effects because it was "chanting a mystical chant". Over two decades later, Konami would later print a retrained version of her as a reference to that duel.

* ''Webcomic/{{Goblins}}'' author Thunt ostensibly based his comic on Third Edition ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', and yet frequently writes low-level characters dealing improbably-strong blows to high-level characters, like [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/03032010/ here]] and [[http://www.goblinscomic.com/06222009/ here.]] In both cases, the wooden guy with the green hair is level 10, fighting against level 2 characters. He's claimed that the fights 'work out fairly' within the HouseRules he uses, at one point averting the trope by giving a play-by-play explaining how the fight would play out if it were at a gaming table.

* ''Anime/YuGiOhSEVENS'' gleefully lampoons and the "Shining Draw" and "Storm Access"-type abbilities above during Yuga's duel with the possessed Luke when Yuga plays 1/Infinity, a Trap that returns the Spell cards in both players' Graveyards to their decks and then has each of them draw a card. If they don't draw the exact same card Yuga will take enough burn damage to lose the duel. Luke draws Fusion, a card that Yuga explicitly does ''not'' have. He draws it anyway. Because [[spoiler:at that very moment a ''piece of space debris containing the data for Fusion hits Yuga's Duel Disk and transforms the top card of his deck into a second copy of Fusion'']]! The spectating BigBad complains that this is blatant cheating [[spoiler:since Yuga technically added an outside card to his deck mid-duel]] only for a quick consultation of the rulebook to deem the card legal due to an ''[[RefugeInAudacity act of God clause]]''[[note]]since Yuga didn't actually ''intend'' or plan to alter his deck in any way[[/note]].

If it involves liberties with the rules of real sports/games it's GretzkyHasTheBall. If there really aren't any rules (or the rules change very frequently), then it's {{Calvinball}}. If a ''new'' rule is specifically crafted to prevent an existing abuse, it's an ObviousRulePatch.

Also compare HowUnscientific, NewPowersAsThePlotDemands, GameplayAndStorySegregation, ScrewTheRulesIMakeThem, and LoopholeAbuse. Contrast PuzzleThriller. GoldenSnitch is a subtrope. Be sure to stop by SeriousBusiness on your way out.

--->'''Joey''': The best part is, I have no idea how I did any of this!
--->'''Mai''': Do you even ''read'' the descriptions on your cards?
--->'''Joey''': Wait, there are ''words'' on those things?!

* Anime/MegamanNTWarrior usually only changes the amount of damage that certain attacks do to even the playing field (Megaman's default megabuster is a lot more powerful), and since the characters are actually using chips in an environment with proper physics, it makes sense that certain things can be done. But at the same time, at one point in the series, they decided to speed up the combat by making chips more like equipment rather than one-time attacks. Adding this rule would probably destroy the internet when the guys with meteor chips start using them...

This is not about the differences between rules in a work and rules in a game it's based on (the former will often be inherited from the latter), but when the rules of a work can't quite [[[[InternalConsistency make sense of its' own internal logic.]]

However, sometimes the story isn't paying attention. This trope is where the rules of a game within a given work are made so vague or complex that there is no possible way they can be understood. Sometimes, the story just makes things up as it goes along. Hopefully, the improvisation will make sense.

This is not about the differences between rules in a work and rules in a game it's based on (the former will often be inherited from the latter), but when the rules of a work don't make sense and violate their own [[InternalConsistency internal logic.]]

Deliberate and clear cheating which acknowledges that the characters are bending the rules, or finding some technicality to exploit, is also not this trope. The key is implausibility and being unbelievably complex. That said, game designers and judges altering the rules in the middle of playing it (via SelectiveEnforcement, BribingYourWayToVictory or DickDastardlyStopsToCheat) can make this trope more literal than normal.

Deliberate and clear cheating which acknowledges that the characters are bending the rules, or finding some technicality to exploit, is also not this trope. The key is implausibility and being unbelievably complex.

* In ''Manga/YuGiOhR'', there was an odd rule pertaining to Fusion Monsters: a duelist's field was considered to contain both the Fusion Monster and its components. This meant Yugi's Arcana Knight Joker counted as ''four'' monsters when determining the ATK of Devil's Eraser, which had 1,000 ATK times the number of opposing monsters. The rule was implemented simply to make it strong enough to defeat Arcana Knight Joker. While fused monsters are indicated to remain on the field in the manga continuity, their associated Fusion card didn't show up with them.

** During Ash's match with Ritchie in the Indigo League, the sleep status was counted as a KO, a rule that was never used before and hasn't been seen since. It served as the first [[StatusQuoIsGod (of many)]] [[DiabolusExMachina DiabolusExMachina(s)]] for Ash to lose the Indigo League.

* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'':
** During Ash's match with Richie in the Indigo League, the sleep status was counted as a KO, a rule that was never used before and hasn't been seen since. It served as the first [[StatusQuoIsGod (of many)]] [[DiabolusExMachina DiabolusExMachina(s)]] for Ash to lose the Indigo League.
** Ground-type Pokemon had been hurt by Electric-type attacks several times up to the Johto tournament, but with zero {{Foreshadowing}}, Ground types were revealed as immune to Electric-type moves in said tournament. After this, the relationship of Ground types being affected by Electric type moves switches between immune and not immune as the plot demands.

** Solar Beam is a ChargedAttack, but sometimes certain Pokémon just fire it immediately without charging and with no Sunny Day to accelerate the process. This is especially blatant in the Kalos Saga.
** Most infamously, Ash once managed to defeat a Rhydon by having Pikachu shock its horn, randomly guessing that it was his weak point. This bypassed his immunity to Electricity for some reason. A few sagas later, we learn that Rhydon's horn actually ''attracts'' electricity due to his Lightning Rod ability, which is actually ''advantageous'' to him as it and it protect his teammate and has absolutely no effect on the Ground-type Rhydon.

* The Yugi vs. Kaiba duel in the Duelist Kingdom arc gives us this little gem: Yugi is able to fuse one of his monsters, Mammoth Graveyard, with Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon using Polymerization to fuse the Living Arrow card (which has since become [[https://yugipedia.com/wiki/Spell_Shattering_Arrow Spell Shattering Arrow]]) with Mammoth Graveyard and then fire it at Kaiba's monster, resulting in a different Fusion...or something...in any event, the result was on Kaiba's side of the field. Because it was a Fusion of an "undead" monster and a "living" monster the unnamed Fusion Monster's ATK and DEF decreased by the ATK and DEF of Mammoth Graveyard every turn.

** The King of Shinigamis occasionally adds [[ObviousRulePatch new rules]] after learning from recent events on Earth that were caused by the Death Note to prevent the same kind of future chaos. This is especially done in ''Manga/DeathNoteSpecialChapter'', wheee he adds the rule of [[spoiler:not allowing the Death Note to be sold, which leads to the main character Minoru Tanaka dying at the end of the chapter]].

** The King of Shinigamis occasionally adds new rules after learning from recent events on Earth that were caused by the Death Note to prevent the same kind of future chaos. This is especially done in ''Manga/DeathNoteSpecialChapter'', wheee he adds the rule of [[spoiler:not allowing the Death Note to be sold, which leads to the main character Minoru dying at the end of the chapter]].

* In ''Manga/DragonBall'', this is how the rules of the wish-granting dragon Shenlong were constructed [[WritingByTheSeatOfYourPants as the story went along.]] At first Shenlong could grant any wish, no questions asked. This holds true until the Saiyan Arc, where it's introduced that he cannot restore someone back from the dead more than once (in addition to a similar rule where he can't grant the same wish twice), to add permanence to the later death of Chiaotzu. In the same arc, he also reveals that he cannot kill the oncoming villains as they exceed his power[[note]][[FridgeLogic Why they didn't ask to blow up their space pods instead is anybody's guess.]][[/note]]. In the Namek Arc, it's introduced that he cannot revive anybody who died of old age, [[RuleOfDrama just so that King Kai has to bank on the Grand Elder, the one he wanted to revive, on having died due to the added stress of Frieza exterminating his people.]] And at some point, it's established that he cannot revive anyone who died over a year ago - [[Anime/DragonBallZResurrectionF except no,]] he totally ''can'', but doing so returns the subject in the [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe exact]] [[LudicrousGibs physical]] [[AndIMustScream state]] they were in at the moment of their death, rather than in full health.[[note]]It's worth noting that ''Anime/DragonBallGT'' introduced the Black Star Dragon Balls that operated under the original "any wish" pitch, with the downside that it would cause the planet the wish was asked on to blow up in a year if the Balls weren't collected from across the galaxy and returned.[[/note]]

** Yuya literally creates an entirely new kind of summoning and type of monster cards, Pendulum Summoning and Pendulum Monsters, literally in the first episode, likely due to currently-unknown magical powers. However, everyone watching reacts as the audience does, with confusion and interest, at the very least. Many people think that's an AssPull, and even Yuya needs 291 more duels to figure out how to Pendulum Summon again. Since the various Special Summonings play a major part in the setting and the plot, this trope is played straighter than anything above.

** Also, due to the rule change in real life, in this anime, the player who starts the duel cannot draw in the Draw Phase.

*** Sora also disappears in the middle of the duel, so it becomes back to 1-on-1. This is still a weird situation for a Duel. Again though, Sora didn't withdraw so much as he was forcibly teleported [[spoiler:back to his own dimension,]] so the magical/sci-fi element isn't exactly something we have rules for in real life. Yuri's Duel with Yuzu is also ended without a winner or a surrender when the same thing happened to him.

*** The 2000 Life Points intrusion penalty is also inconsistently applied across the board. Overwhelmingly it's the protagonists who get hit by it while the bad guys don't even in situations where they should. It gets to the point where it starts affecting one specific character only ''after'' he undergoes a HeelFaceTurn, confirming beyond a shadow of a doubt that it only exists to put the good guys at a disadvantage. And then later, the enemies are also affected by this, just so they would lose easily.
** The ''Manga/YuGiOhArcV'' manga has Yuya using tokens for Xyz Summon to summon [[spoiler:Dark Anthelion Dragon]] which shouldn't be possible as tokens can't actually be used for Xyz summons. To clarify, the moment a token leaves the field, it ceases to exist. Xyz Materials are not considered to be on the field so it's impossible for it to be attached to a Xyz Monster. This is also why Sangan[[note]]a popular target of getting sent to the graveyard.[[/note]] does not trigger if it was used as material as an example.

* Another aversion, a similar case like the Toon Monsters above, Yugi first believed that Noa/Noah is violating the rules when he introduces Spirit Monsters. Noa explains that the Spirit Monsters are legal cards that are secretly created by Pegasus, but since nobody has ever heard of them, they are a completely new type of Monster Cards in this game. (In the subbed version, Yugi ''has'' heard of them.)

* In Yugi's duel with the fake Kaiba, it's revealed that Mystical Elf, a Normal Monster at first glance, actually had the effect of transferring its ATK (1100 at the time, due to a Magic Card) to another monster you control. It also could, apparently, stop Magic Effects because it was "chanting a mystical chant".