History Main / UnwinnableTrainingSimulation

* The first episode of season 6 of ''Series/{{Castle}}'' jumps ahead two months into what appears to be an ActionPrologue demonstrating that Beckett is [[spoiler:now a federal agent]] and still a total badass -- until she learns too late that the hostage she was protecting was actually another bad guy, when said hostage [[AnyoneCanDie shoots her several times in the chest]]. Cut to the office, where she's being questioned about the training exercise.

* In episode 56 (The Ultimate Test) of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash and company (along with Team Rocket) take a Pokemon test that seems designed to be impossible. One of the questions shows a black circle and asks which Pokemon's silhouette it is. Most answer Voltorb or Electrode, as both are the only perfectly spherical Pokemon. Instead it's "a Jigglypuff seen from above".

* ''Fanfic/HopeOnADistantMountain'' turns the events of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' into one, meant to test the skills of SHSL students with particularly high willpower or leadership potential. Naegi managed to beat it, much to everyone's surprise, but suffers from [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]] afterwards, struggling to adapt back to the real world and everyone's high expectations for him.

* Some ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfics use a headcanon that Twilight's "hatch the dragon egg" test to enter the School for Gifted Unicorns was one of these. The egg is supposed to be impossible to hatch; the exam doesn't judge a prospective student's magical ability, but rather their reaction to failure. In this scenario, Twilight actually hatching the egg was a magical feat of BeyondTheImpossible that qualified her to become Celestia's personal student.

* ''WesternAnimation/LegionOfSuperHeroes'':

* Similarly subverted in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'': Hercules, disguised as Thor, is challenged to complete a game of chess by the dark elves. Declaring the scenario unwinnable, he triumphantly announces he is "changing the rules" and [[FlippingTheTable flips the table]]. The dark elf queen cheers him on, while one of her advisors futilely tries to inform her that the scenario was entirely winnable.
* In issue 1 of ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios'', Tommy is given one that involves escorting a group of civilians to safety during a giant monster attack. They walk right into a Putty ambush, but Zordon explains that it was meant to be impossible no matter which path he chose. Tommy, who's still dealing with the guilt of what he did while brainwashed, demands another go anyway.
* Played with in ''ComicBook/{{Preacher}}'': Herr Starr must take unarmed combat lessons with an instructor infamous for badly injuring students on the first day. The instructor demands to know how Starr would defeat him as an obvious prelude to inflicting such a beating on Starr. Starr responds him by shooting him in both knees and declaring that he has no intention to ever be unarmed. While it supposed to be an unwinnable situation, it was never officially sanctioned, so it can't even really be called a "simulation".
* Subverted in ''Comicbook/SecretEmpire'': The [[ComicBook/Champions2016 Champions]] think ComicBook/BlackWidow's training simulations are unwinnable, and she says, no, there ''is'' a way to win; they're just [[ThouShaltNotKill refusing to do it]]. (She also despairs when they say it's just like [[Film/StarTrek2009 what happened to Chris Pine]].)
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekEliteForce'' had a comic book adaptation which begins with this. The scenario was that the ''Voyager'' is attacked by a Borg Cube (complete with exterior shot), and Hazard Team is sent to plant explosives around the cube to distract them long enough for the Voyager to escape. During the attack, Munro falls into an assimilation chamber, where he finds an assimilated Foster. Not wanting to ShootTheDog, he fails. Tuvok even points this scenario out and [[ContinuityNod notes its similarity to the Kobayashi Maru]]. This was called back when [[spoiler:Foster does get assimilated and Tuvok calls Munro out for not shooting him.]]
* Try to count how many times the ''Comicbook/XMen'' did this in their Danger Room. Between the comics and cartoons, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} has had his butt kicked by simulated robots in order to learn an important lesson at least once per StoryArc.

** In Joss Whedon's "Astonishing X-Men" run, Emma Frost simulates a Sentinel invasion as the beginning of student orientation. Without letting the other X-Men know. She wanted to hammer in the point that the world at large will always hate and fear the students for being mutants, and they always need to be ready to defend themselves.

* The ''Franchise/StarTrek'' series again has attempts at the ''Kobayashi Maru'' scenario. They don't appear on [[Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries the original series]] because the scenario was first introduced in ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'', after the original series ended, but subsequent series will address either the ''Maru'' or subsequent twists to it. The later the series is set, the less likely you'll see the ''Maru'', because by then enough people will have come up with clever solutions to the simulation that something fresh needs to be introduced.

*** "Thine Own Self" introduces a variant for Bridge Officer qualification, in which Troi realizes that she can only succeed if she [[spoiler:orders the holographic [=LaForge=] to his death]]. The point is to emphasize that bridge officers are in charge of a ship with hundreds, if not thousands of people, and that (as ''[[Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan The Wrath of Khan]]'' once famously put it), [[spoiler:the [[TheNeedsOfTheMany lives of the many]] outweigh the lives of the few, or the one]] -- even if [[spoiler:that "one" is one of your closest friends]]. Troi can't overcome this, and Riker has to reject her:

*** In "Worst Case Scenario", Tuvok provides an interesting twist: he made a "Maquis Rebellion Scenario" simulation but never finished it, since he saw the Maquis as having so few problems fitting in that it would never be likely to even happen. Paris happens upon it, and he and the crew have so much fun playing with it that they pressure Tuvok to complete it. However, Tuvok and Paris then find that former Maquis Seska (who had defected to the Kazon) discovered it and rigged it to be a true no-win scenario with EverythingTryingToKillYou -- and with the safeties disabled, meaning they could be KilledOffForReal. The bridge crew couldn't shut it down quickly, but they did have access to the writing interface, allowing Janeway to write herself in as a DeusExMachina until they could turn it off.

* A fairly common practice after a particularly notable air disaster involving some kind of failure of the aircraft is to program a simulator with the scenario, put experienced pilots in the cockpit, and see if there was anything at all that could have been done. Even if the test pilots know what's coming, it's not unusual for it to be demonstrated to be utterly impossible to have saved the aircraft. In cases of ''near'' disaster, running the simulation often shows how ridiculously lucky and/or skilled the original pilots were to have pulled off what they did.

* The ''Kobayashi Maru'' shows up in ''VideoGame/StarTrekBridgeCrew''
* ''[[VideoGame/StarTrekEliteForce Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force]]'' couldn't resist: the game opens with you playing as Ensign Munro with an away team on a Borg cube. Then things go horribly wrong and you end up killing yourself and your team mates, only to reveal that's a Holodeck simulation all along. True to form, Tuvok is there to tell you what a sorry excuse for a Starfleet officer you are. Even worse, he tells you, as you board the turbolift, to consider the scenario to be your personal Kobayashi Maru.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekKlingonAcademy'' combines this with SecretTestOfCharacter during a simulated mission to prevent war with the Tholians.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' added in the "No-Win Situation" PVE mode for the Federation players. A team of five players are tasked in protecting a frigate against increasingly difficult foes. Most players can reach level 5 before the frigate is destroyed. The game will send out game-wide notifications for those who pass level 8, 9, and 10, with level 10 having the game proudly boasting that a player "Doesn't Believe In A No-Win Situation".
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekStarfleetAcademy'' games tend to have the actual Kobayashi Maru as a level. In the old PC version by Interplay, you're given the option to cheat in a similar way to Kirk -- in fact, you ''have to'' in order to [[MultipleEndings get the best ending]]. Your bridge crew's reactions when the Klingons recognize you are priceless.
** In the SNES version, the only way to get the Kirk ending was to play ''as'' Kirk -- by inputting a CheatCode at the name selection menu (you could only select from a limited amount of preexisting names), enabling you to name your cadet "James T. Kirk". All other name combinations resulted in the standard Kobayashi Maru scenario, with either the loss of the freighter, or the loss of your ship.

* ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'': In "The Adventure Begins", the direct-to-video/pilot episode three-parter, at Star Command's training deck, Commander Nebula calls Buzz up to watch one of the rookies, Mira, with the intention of making her Buzz's new partner. Mira beats Buzz's level, Level 9, and goes on to Level 10, which is comprised of three huge and presumably impenetrable robots. [[spoiler:Where any normal Ranger, even Buzz (since we never hear that he beat it), would have been blasted to Game Over, Mira succeeds by using her ghosting abilities.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'':
** "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS1E02Envoys Envoys]]": When Rutherford decides to switch from the Engineering department to work as Security, he is put in a combat simulation against several dozen Borg soldiers that is specifically designed to be unbeatable. Despite this Rutherford manages to win by allowing his cybernetic implants to take control of him.
** "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E08IExcretus I, Excretus]]": Shari designed all of her performance drills to be unwinnable. Unlike other examples of this trope, there wasn't any higher purpose for this; she's just bitter that Starfleet wants to cut her program, and wants the Cerritos crew to take a fall so that she might continue on with it. And, one single participant does manage to pass her drill -- Boimler -- but not by cheating. Shari just underestimated how skilled and resourceful he can be when he's put in a traditional Starfleet-style mission (plus Boimler's rampant perfectionism).
** In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS3E05Reflections Reflections]]", Boimler, while in the middle of his rage-induced rampage at the job fair, mentions that he failed the Kobayashi Maru test ''17 times'' (presumably from the same perfectionist streak).
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekProdigyS1E6Kobayashi Kobayashi]]", Dal discovers the program on the ''Protostar'' and decides to take it for a spin, not realizing the purpose of it. He gets increasingly frustrated by his repeated failures. Various tactics shown include [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere outright leaving]] (which causes a mutiny by his holographic "crew"), ConfusionFu, and [[ActionBomb blowing up his own ship]]. Only after many, MANY failures (at least 65, far surpassing Boimler's record), does he even think to ask the point of the test, which holo-Spock informs him was designed to be unwinnable.

** Creator/MichaelStackpole's ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Rogue Squadron]]'' opens with prospective Rogues training by playing the ''Redemption'' scenario, which is so infamously difficult that it's earned the in-universe nickname of the "[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Redemption_scenario Requiem scenario]]". Four X-Wings are tasked with defending the corvette ''Korolev'' as it transfers wounded to the medical frigate ''Redemption'', while an Imperial frigate pops in and out of the system launching waves of TIE Fighters and Bombers. The "by the book" strategy developed by pilots is for two X-Wings to engage the [=TIEs=] as they're launched while the other two stay behind to guard the corvette, otherwise the Imperial frigate joins the battle and make a terrible situation even worse. It's noted that "by the book" is not a particularly good strategy, as it leaves those actually fighting the [=TIEs=] outnumbered by a substantial margin, but since the Rebels are outnumbered and outgunned regardless, it's simply the least bad of the available choices. Corran Horn only wins the mission by taking out the more dangerous TIE Bombers with his proton torpedoes before finishing off the enemy fighters, and even then he lucks out after barely "surviving" a head-on engagement that damaged the last remaining TIE Fighter enough for a torpedo to catch up with it. The mission is based in-universe on a historical battle and out-of-universe on ThatOneLevel from the ''VideoGame/XWing'' flight sim.
** When prospective pilots for Wraith Squadron are being evaluated, Wes Janson runs them through a simulation pitched as a holding action against an enemy force while their home base evacuates. Things go OffTheRails immediately so that the pilots are being attacked before their ships have even exited the hangar, and when they request orders, they find that Control has been "killed". It is, of course, a test to see how the pilots can improvise and survive a worst-case scenario, with the twist that each pilot's score is swapped with that of his or her wingman, for an additional lesson on the importance of teamwork. Then they change the scenario to mimic what happened to Myn Donos' first command, which was wiped out in an ambush; Donos is excused from it because of the trauma, but [[spoiler:the Wraiths put him into it anyway to try and break his HeroicBSOD]].

** In "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDeckS3E05Reflections Reflections]]", Boimler, while in the middle of his rage-induced rampage at the job fair, mentions that he failed the Kobayashi Maru test ''17 times'' (presumably from the same perfectionist streak).

** "[[Recap/StarTrekLowerDecksS2E08IExcretus I, Excretus]]": Shari designed all of her performance drills to be unwinnable. Unlike other examples of this trope, there wasn't any higher purpose for this; she's just bitter that Starfleet wants to cut her program, and wants the Cerritos crew to take a fall so that she might continue on with it. And, one single participant does manage to pass her drill -- Boimler -- but not by cheating. Shari just underestimated how skilled and resourceful he can be when he's put in a traditional Starfleet-style mission.
* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekProdigyS1E6Kobayashi Kobayashi]]", Dal discovers the program on the ''Protostar'' and decides to take it for a spin, not realizing the purpose of it. He gets increasingly frustrated by his repeated failures. Various tactics shown include [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere outright leaving]] (which causes a mutiny by his holographic "crew"), ConfusionFu, and [[ActionBomb blowing up his own ship]]. Only after many, MANY failures (at least 65), does he even think to ask the point of the test, which holo-Spock informs him was designed to be unwinnable.

* The very first ''VideoGame/{{Wing Commander|TheKilrathiSaga}}'' game starts by dropping the player into a simulator mission that destroys the player's fighter before they can do anything, as an excuse to enter in the player's callsign for the sim's "high scores" screen.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'': In "[[Recap/StarTrekProdigyS1E6Kobayashi Kobayashi]]", Dal discovers the program on the ''Protostar'' and decides to take it for a spin, not realizing the purpose of it. He gets a good wake-up call.

* ''[[LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars Banner of the Stars]]'' opens with a fierce battle which results in the main characters' ship being destroyed. It turns out it was a mock engagement. It wasn't technically unwinnable, but as Lafiel and her crew were far less experienced than their opponents, nobody thought they'd win and it's made clear there was no shame in losing (Lafiel still feels disappointed in herself regardless).

->[[spoiler:[[AC: A STRANGE GAME. THE ONLY WINNING MOVE IS NOT TO PLAY]].]]

* In ''Film/WarGames'', an unwinnable scenario is created [[spoiler:to teach the AI futility -- specifically that it cannot win a nuclear war, because [[MutuallyAssuredDestruction nobody does]]]]. The scenario repeats again and again until the message is imparted. The scenario? [[spoiler:playing Tic-Tac-Toe against itself over and over. Then it switches to the game "Global Thermonuclear War", IE: nuclear exchange simulations, and sees the pattern match.]]

* ''Anime/StrainStrategicArmoredInfantry'', when Sara trains for sub-lightspeed permission.
* Many times in the ''Franchise/DotHack'' series, although they're in a virtual world to begin with.

* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' doesn't use it in its narrative, but in one interview the show's director offered this sort of situation to illustrate the differences between the two male leads. As he tells it, there's a car wreck and two men are injured, one worse than the other; there's also a hospital some distance away. Lelouch, an "end justifies the means" type, would consider the factors, then take the man with less severe injuries to the hospital; that man lives, and Lelouch consoles himself over the other's death with the knowledge that at least he saved one person. Suzaku, a "means justifies the ends" type, would do his best to get both of them to the hospital, but they'd both die along the way; at first he'd curse his own weakness, but then he'd assuage himself by saying that he did the right thing.
* ''[[LightNovel/CrestOfTheStars Banner of the Stars]]'' opens with a fierce battle which results in the main characters' ship being destroyed. It turns out it was a mock engagement. It wasn't technically unwinnable, but as Lafiel and her crew were far less experienced than their opponents, nobody thought they'd win and it's made clear there was no shame in losing (Lafiel still feels disappointed in herself regardless).

* Hero exams in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' seem to have this as standard practice similar to real life emergency responders. Most notably the UA entrance exam is mainly focused on fighting robots to test combat ability, but also features a massive nearly unbeatable robot that's worth zero points meant to test how prospective students react to a dangerous enemy that doesn't personally benefit them to fight. This ties to the SecretTestOfCharacter built into the exam. Fighting the robot doesn't earn any combat points, but still lets you defend other students earning the secret rescue points.
** Later the provisional hero licence exam's second phase is a disaster simulation that has problems pile up as the test goes on. This is to see how the prospective heroes manage working together and keeping a calm reassuring attitude while all hell breaks loose. Examinees aren't just docked points for poor decision making that endangers more people, but also for any demeanor that would make civilians more stressed and panicked such as saying outloud an injury "looks bad" when they should be saying "You'll be alright" or "You're safe now".
* The "Program" short in ''Anime/TheAnimatrix'' featured scenarios which test how a crewmate would respond if one of their own turned against them. In this case, Cis is informed by her partner Duo that he has betrayed the rebels and informed the machines of their location. Having locked the program so she can't escape, it's pretty much a lose-lose situation. She can kill him but be killed when the machines destroy her ship, be killed by him outright, or join him in betraying the humans.
* In episode 56 (The Ultimate Test) of ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'', Ash and company (along with Team Rocket) take a Pokemon test that seems designed to be impossible. One of the questions shows a black circle and asks which Pokemon's silhouette it is. Most answer Voltorb or Electrode, as both are the only perfectly spherical Pokemon. Instead it's "a Jigglypuff seen from above".
* After second selection, ''Manga/BlueLock'' pits teams of five selected players versus five of the best professional players. Who are paid on results. [[HopeSpot Blue Lock players score the first goal]], but at this point World Five only admit they have to play a little seriously… cue CurbStompBattle.

* Try to count how many times the Comicbook/XMen did this in their Danger Room. Between the comics and cartoons, ComicBook/{{Wolverine}} has had his butt kicked by simulated robots in order to learn an important lesson at least once per StoryArc.
-->"Bang! You're dead."
** In Joss Whedon's "Astonishing X-Men" run, Emma Frost simulates a Sentinel invasion as the beginning of student orientation. Without letting the other X-Men know. She wanted to hammer in the point that the world at large will always hate and fear the students for being mutants, and they always need to be ready to defend themselves.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekEliteForce'' had a comic book adaptation which begins with this. The scenario was that the ''Voyager'' is attacked by a Borg Cube (complete with exterior shot), and Hazard Team is sent to plant explosives around the cube to distract them long enough for the Voyager to escape. During the attack, Munro falls into an assimilation chamber, where he finds an assimilated Foster. Not wanting to ShootTheDog, he fails. Tuvok even points this scenario out and [[ContinuityNod notes its similarity to the Kobayashi Maru]]. This was called back when [[spoiler:Foster does get assimilated and Tuvok calls Munro out for not shooting him.]]

* In issue 1 of ''ComicBook/MightyMorphinPowerRangersBoomStudios'', Tommy is given one that involves escorting a group of civilians to safety during a giant monster attack. They walk right into a Putty ambush, but Zordon explains that it was meant to be impossible no matter which path he chose. Tommy, who's still dealing with the guilt of what he did while brainwashed, demands another go anyway.

* Similarly subverted in ''ComicBook/TheIncredibleHercules'': Hercules, disguised as Thor, is challenged to complete a game of chess by the dark elves. Declaring the scenario unwinnable, he triumphantly announces he is "changing the rules" and [[FlippingTheTable flips the table]]. The dark elf queen cheers him on, while one of her advisors futilely tries to inform her that the scenario was entirely winnable.

* ''Fanfic/HopeOnADistantMountain'' turns the events of ''VisualNovel/DanganronpaTriggerHappyHavoc'' into one, meant to test the skills of SHSL students with particularly high willpower or leadership potential. Naegi managed to beat it, much to everyone's surprise, but suffers from [[ShellShockedVeteran PTSD]] afterwards, struggling to adapt back to the real world and everyone's high expectations for him.

* In the ''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' as visioned by Creator/AAPessimal, the Guild of Assassins has more than one variation of this theme, usually set up as an instructive humbling of over-confident students.
** The most famous is the "Vimes Run", where the students are convinced to take a run at Sir Samuel Vimes, who's all to happy to give them a reality check.
** In ''Fresh Pair of Eyes'', the students are tasked to drop a training explosive device (basically a loud firework) in close proximity to two tutors. Said tutors are not only in a well-defended position, but they've also set up all manner of booby traps and exploit pre-existing magical defenses that the students aren't aware of, planning to trip them up. They do -- until four students pool their resources and succeed so well as to [[OhCrap alarm their tutors]].
** At the latest point in their timeline, the Air Watch are collaborating with Unseen University -- and specifically HEX the thinking engine and his human associate Ponder Stibbons -- to devise a training simulation for their pilots where ''everything'' goes wrong. Just to really test them.
** Another tale has Wizard Ponder Stibbons, a man not inclined to sadism or cold-blooded violence, prevailed upon by his middle daughter, a student Assassin, to help with her homework. The homework exercise is a thought-experiment: in which Famke and her friends are given a scenario where they have to plot the inhumation of a Wizard in his tower. Ponder, in order to teach her a valuable life-lesson, proposes to the three girls that they target him and he will role-play the client, acording to the exercise scenario. Famke and her classmates then learn, in a non-lethal and relatively safe way, why Assassins do not go up against magic users on their own turf. Which was of course the whole point of their being given an unwinnable scenario.
* Some ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfics use a headcanon that Twilight's "hatch the dragon egg" test to enter the School for Gifted Unicorns was one of these. The egg is supposed to be impossible to hatch; the exam doesn't judge a prospective student's magical ability, but rather their reaction to failure. In this scenario, Twilight actually hatching the egg was a magical feat of BeyondTheImpossible that qualified her to become Celestia's personal student.
* ''Fanfic/CheatCodeSupportStrategist'': For Izuku's practical Support entrance exam, Nedzu has Izuku hack UA's servers. Izuku is devastated when he's unable to succeed, but then feels better when Mei points out that since the school's cybersecurity is top-notch and impossible to be hacked by any random hacker, it's very likely that Nedzu's test was to see how Izuku dealt with problems he couldn't solve. Izuku's acceptance letter in the following chapter confirms this, with Powerloader admitting that if Izuku was successful, he would be extremely worried about the quality of UA’s cybersecurity.
-->'''Mei:''' A lot of inventions are just about learning the process. Even if they don't work, they still weren't a waste of time because they make the next invention faster! UA's security wouldn't be the best in the business if a first-year could ram through it, right? They probably just wanted to see how you approached a problem that you couldn't solve. They wanted to see your process!
* ''[[https://forums.spacebattles.com/threads/exitium-eternal-mass-effect-doom-id-verse.675235/page-63#post-76377926 Exitium Eternal]]'': Saren undergoes a simulated battle designed to test compatibility with magic and stress responses. Henry Lawson, the examiner, tells him that the simulation is designed to be "impossibly lethal" and that the current record for how long someone has lasted is only eight minutes. Saren himself lasted four minutes and twelve seconds, the last minute and four seconds of which was without his right arm, something that Lawson insists is outright exceptional.

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** The "Kobayashi Maru" training scenario, first seen in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', is a seminal example, referenced in other sci-fi works and still serving as a redirect name for the trope on this very wiki. It's a test of how a cadet responds to a [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose hopeless situation]]. The ''Kobayashi Maru'' in this scenario is a freighter which has struck a {{Space Mine|s}} and drifted into TheNeutralZone between [[ProudWarriorRace Klingon]] and [[TheFederation Federation]] territories. The cadet receives the ship's distress call and is obliged to respond by Starfleet mandate, so ignoring it [[ButThouMust is not an option]] -- but visiting the Neutral Zone runs the risk of inspiring the Klingons' ire. The result is an inevitable BolivianArmyEnding: multiple Klingon ships show up and blow the cadet's ship to smithereens in under a minute, and TheComputerIsACheatingBastard with the RandomNumberGod on its side, inflating the opponents' numbers, weaponry, accuracy, and belligerence far beyond what is politically consistent, realistic, or even physically possible. The cadet is supposed to lose; the test, as indicated by the page quote, is a SecretTestOfCharacter. But, during the film, we discover that Kirk ''did'' beat it -- by hacking the simulation in advance and reprogramming it so that he could win. Strictly speaking, this was cheating, but his instructors at least appreciated his lateral thinking and [[{{Determinator}} refusal to give up]]. And Kirk apparently took the test several times before he resorted to his unique solution; he simply refused to accept the concept of a no-win scenario. In a sense, he failed there too, as Kirk is thrown into a ''real'' unwinnable scenario at the film's climax, which could only be solved by his best friend's HeroicSacrifice.
** The [[Film/StarTrek2009 reboot film]], set in an AlternateTimeline, actually shows Kirk beating the simulation by hacking it. This time, his instructors are more angry at him for cheating, but Kirk retorts that [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard the computer itself is cheating]], the simulation has no bearing on reality, and he explicitly doesn't believe there can be a true no-win situation.
--->'''Pike:''' It depends on how you define "winning", doesn't it?
* Referenced in ''Film/DogSoldiers'', when a platoon on a training exercise finds out their "opponents" have bugged their communications: "It's the ''Kobayashi Maru test'' -- they've fixed it so we can't fucking win!"

* The ''Literature/StarTrekNovelVerse'' has many many variations of the ''Kobayashi Maru'' scenario, giving us insight into how the various ship captains think by showing their responses to the simulation.
** Kirk is throughout acknowledged to be the only one ever to ''beat'' the scenario, and as in the films, it's because he stubbornly believes that there is no such thing as a no-win scenario and hacks the simulation to reflect that. Exactly why seems to vary between novels. Some claim he just didn't like the idea of a [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheating computer]] who would test him on a scenario that by definition cannot occur in real life. Others claim he specifically hacked the computer so that the simulated Klingons would think of him as a LivingLegend and actually be willing to negotiate, reflecting the reputation he hoped to cultivate for real (and to an extent did) -- the semi-canonical novels by Creator/WilliamShatner claim this as a basis for the test's later use as a lateral thinking puzzle. Still others give Kirk a FreudianExcuse and claim that his refusal to believe in a no-win scenario comes from his traumatic memories of the executions on Tarsus IV (seen in "Conscience of the King").
** Sulu went the diplomatic route, staying out of the Neutral Zone, and leaves the ''Maru'' to its fate at the Klingons' hands. This is the most "correct" decision, but it's a tough decision to make nonetheless.
** Nog used his [[PlanetOfHats Hat]] and tried to [[ProudMerchantRaceGuy bribe the Klingons]].
** Chekov [[TakingYouWithMe self-destructed his ship]], but in the process killed everyone -- his own crew, the Klingons, ''and'' the crew of the ''Maru''.
** Scotty kept using his science chops to lock the simulation in an endless battle, as he responded to every one of the computer's impossible attacks (at one point it summoned more ships than existed in the entire Klingon fleet) with [[RulesLawyer physics tricks that worked only on paper]]. He and the computer kept going for hours, and the examiners realized that the only way the computer could win was by waiting until Scotty just collapsed of exhaustion -- which, at the rate Scotty was going, could take [[{{Determinator}} several days]]. The examiners shut down the simulation, and Scotty protested that if he had access to a real engineering room, he could have beaten the simulation. This got him transferred to the Engineering Corps, which [[BatmanGambit was where he wanted to go all along]].
** [[Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration Riker]], ever unpredictable, is alluded to have brought an EVA suit to the simulation so that he could fight the enemy ships [[NeverBringAKnifeToAFistfight with his fists]].
** At least two characters [[ShootTheHostage blew up]] the ''Maru'' themselves. [[Literature/StarTrekNewFrontier One]] rationalized that it was very likely a trap, and if it wasn't, it was screwed to Hell anyway. The other proved to be completely apathetic to the ''Maru'''s crew and saw the simulation as a fight with Klingons, using the ship's volatile crew to his advantage.
** Kirk's nephew Peter does a different simulation where the enemies are Romulans rather than Klingons, and he uses this to win the scenario by doing something that would work against Romulans but not Klingons -- he challenges the enemy commander to single combat. In Romulan culture, such a formally declared challenge cannot be refused (on pain of death); the examiners cannot anticipate that Peter Kirk would even know this and assume he cheated like his uncle, but Spock explains the truth (it works on Vulcans too, as the practice predates the Vulcan-Romulan schism). This provides the distraction he needs to beam the ''Maru'''s crew onto the ''Enterprise''; how he himself fares is a different question.
--->'''Peter Kirk:''' It's a no-win scenario, Mr. Spock, I'll give you that. [[HeroicSacrifice But only for me]].
** The heroine of ''[[Literature/FortunesOfWar Dreadnought!]]'', after her simulated crew has been nearly wiped out by the Klingons, procures an emergency priority code (which shouldn't work in real life but does in the simulation) and uses it to link her communicator to the computer at Starfleet Headquarters. She then uses the computer's power to run the entire simulated ship. This causes the simulation (and the computer back at HQ) to crash, preventing the Klingons from formally recording a final victory. The instructors call this a qualified tie and tell her not to do it again.
** A ''Literature/StarTrekEnterpriseRelaunch'' novel depicts the origin of the ''Kobayashi Maru'' scenario, which is ''not'' a simulation. It goes like the simulation does, but with the additional wrinkle that [[spoiler:the enemy ships have a device that can take remote control of his ship's systems]]. Captain Archer ends up [[spoiler:having to flee and allow the ''Maru'' to be destroyed]]. That's why it's known as a no-win scenario.

* "The two. 38s roared simultaneously." Literature/JamesBond concludes something like this in the first chapter of ''Literature/{{Moonraker}}'', which is basically a quick-draw contest. He puts the other "guy" (a cardboard target) in hospital, but is "killed".
* This occurs several times in the Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse, especially the ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing]]'' books. As in RealLife, cockpit-shaped simulators are essential tools for fighter pilot training -- but here, holographic and gravity-altering technology makes the simulations ''much'' more realistic. They get used for all kinds of things, from training to testing new tactics to teamwork-building exercises, and they tend to be either this trope or a FictionalVideoGame. There are even a few times when the one in the simulator [[TrainingAccident doesn't know it's a sim]].
** Creator/MichaelStackpole's ''[[Literature/XWingSeries X-Wing: Rogue Squadron]]'' opens with prospective Rogues training by playing the ''Redemption'' scenario, which is so infamously difficult that it's earned the in-universe nickname of the "[[http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Redemption_scenario Requiem scenario]]". Four X-Wings are tasked with defending the corvette ''Korolev'' as it transfers wounded to the medical frigate ''Redemption'', while an Imperial frigate pops in and out of the system launching waves of TIE Fighters and Bombers. The "by the book" strategy developed by pilots is for two X-Wings to engage the [=TIEs=] as they're launched while the other two stay behind to guard the corvette, otherwise the Imperial frigate joins the battle and make a terrible situation even worse. It's noted that "by the book" is not a particularly good strategy, as it leaves those actually fighting the [=TIEs=] outnumbered by a substantial margin, but since the Rebels are outnumbered and outgunned regardless, it's simply the least bad of the available choices. Corran Horn only wins the mission by taking out the more dangerous TIE Bombers with his proton torpedoes before finishing off the enemy fighters, and even then he lucks out after barely "surviving" a head-on engagement that damaged the last remaining TIE Fighter enough for a torpedo to catch up with it. The mission is based in-universe on a historical battle and out-of-universe on ThatOneLevel from the ''VideoGame/XWing'' flight sim.
** When prospective pilots for Wraith Squadron are being evaluated, Wes Janson runs them through a simulation pitched as a holding action against an enemy force while their home base evacuates. Things go OffTheRails immediately so that the pilots are being attacked before their ships have even exited the hangar, and when they request orders, they find that Control has been "killed". It is, of course, a test to see how the pilots can improvise and survive a worst-case scenario, with the twist that each pilot's score is swapped with that of his or her wingman, for an additional lesson on the importance of teamwork. Then they change the scenario to mimic what happened to Myn Donos' first command, which was wiped out in an ambush; Donos is excused from it because of the trauma, but [[spoiler:the Wraiths put him into it anyway to try and break his HeroicBSOD]].
** ''Literature/DeathStar'' has a pilot compulsively replaying a simulation that had been made from a scan of one of the top fighter pilots. Even as a simulation, the top pilot kept gunning down the compulsive pilot within seconds, but this pilot was pleased to note that he was lasting a couple seconds more than when he'd started. Later in the book, that same top pilot is said to have engaged in a practice fighter duel with [[ImprobablePilotingSkills Darth Vader]] and [[CurbStompBattle lasted about the same amount of time]]. The viewpoint pilot, who'd seen it and been morbidly fascinated, swore that if ''he'' was ever in Vader's sights, he'd just overload his engines and kill himself.
* In ''[[Literature/VorkosiganSaga The Warrior apprentice]]'' near the end Miles takes the standard impsec training. All cadets going through the course are given armbands that indicate [[MedalOfDishonor how many times they would have been wounded or died]] during training simulations. Miles has so far managed to avoid getting an armband, which leads to him becoming a target by the instructors as they increase the difficulty of each training exercise in an attempt of finally 'killing' him. We witness his last exercise which was clearly intended to be unwinnable, to the point that instructs waiting outside are both gleefully holding the armbands they expect to finally force Miles to wear. Of course Miles being [[GuileHero Miles]] he manages to survive the simulation; though only by tricking the instructor doing the exercise with them to reveal what danger they are expected to face so he knew what to plan for.
* In ''Reach'', by Edward Gibson, the ''Wayfarer 2'' astronauts are approaching their destination, when one looks out the window to find they're about to collide with... his house! It turns out they're in the simulator, and the people running it were trying to demonstrate the importance of staying focused even when something unexpected happens.

* The first book of the ''Literature/{{Sten}}'' series has the title character put through one of these during his basic training ... but it's not really a test. Instead, by claiming he handled the situation badly, his superiors can pretend he's being washed out of training and kicked out of the service in disgrace. He's actually being transferred to Mantis Section, the elite commando force. Sten isn't told this in advance.
* Early in the novel ''Gravity'' by Tess Garritsenn, there is a scene of a catastrophic space-shuttle launch that turns out to be a simulation. A higher-up had expressed concern that the team members were overconfident, so the instructors tried to take them down a notch and remind them, "Disaster is not theoretical."
* In the [[Literature/TheCulture Culture]] novel ''Literature/SurfaceDetail'', a protagonist in an Orbital militia does one of these and complains that it serves no purpose.
* One of the later ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' books begins this way, with the Yeerks supposedly invading the Hork-Bajir valley. It's used to demonstrate how unprepared everyone is, especially with all the families hiding there.

* Parodied in ''[[Literature/MythAdventures Myth-Quoted]]'', in which the opening scene (quickly revealed to be a training simulation) shows Skeeve being beleaguered by a chaotic and brutal mob of ''reporters''.

* Creator/DerekRobinson's ''Literature/HulloRussiaGoodbyeEngland'' contains one based on RealLife in the RAF: A flight simulator of a Vulcan jet bomber, tasked with delivering Britain's nuclear deterrent to the Soviet Union, creates a long and horrible sequence in which everything goes wrong. And that's ''everything'' -- the bomb arms itself prematurely, or it jams in the bomb-bay with the clock ticking down to detonation, or Russian countermeasures show up and attack, or they fly too close to a nuclear explosion from a different aircraft, or the aircraft itself develops escalating mechanical problems. The test itself is unwinnable and designed to test the aircrews to the limit, weeding out those who prove to be indecisive.
* The main character of the Larry Bond novel ''Cold Choices'' starts the book in one -- he and his crew are in a simulated submarine that is springing leaks, and the leaks get bigger and bigger as time goes by. Everyone going in knows that it's unwinnable -- the people running the tests will just keep adding more leaks and pumping in more water until the compartment floods. The test is about their ability to keep their heads straight and continue to fight for their lives in a highly stressful and uncomfortable situation, and they are graded by how long they are able to delay the inevitable.

%%* The third season premiere of ''Series/{{Chuck}}.''

* ''Starfleet Academy'' games tend to have the actual Kobayashi Maru as a level. In the old PC version by Interplay, you're given the option to cheat in a similar way to Kirk -- in fact, you ''have to'' in order to [[MultipleEndings get the best ending]]. Your bridge crew's reactions when the Klingons recognize you are priceless.

* One of the "Tales from New Terra" short stories from ''Outpost 2'' opens up with a crew heading to the spaceport to fight a fire. It is later revealed that they are firefighters training in a simulator.
* The ''VideoGame/StarfleetAdventures'' mod for ''VideoGame/EscapeVelocity Nova'' (based on ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' and the first six movies -- with some things from ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' and ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' that would already have been there but weren't mentioned until the later shows) has the Kobayashi Maru as the first thing the player does. It was designed to be unbeatable for the player (six [=D-7s=] versus one ''Constitution''-class), but some players managed to beat it only to find that [[UnintentionallyUnwinnable the dev team hadn't accounted for that]].
** The dev team ''did'' have a plan, and mentioned to the public what it was (the player would get a suitably impressed reaction, and would get to jump a rank, getting them access to better officers and stronger ships more quickly). Unfortunately, it hadn't yet been implemented in the last public release... [[VaporWare which was in 2010]].
* ''Creator/FromSoftware'' loves this trope:
** The tutorial for ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' takes you through all the basics: movement, attacking, defending, counters, items, etc... Then you face your very first boss, who is capable of killing you in one hit, no matter what armor you have on, and is very likely to do so... On the off chance that you manage to survive the fight and defeat him, you are transported to another area where a massive (we're talking as big as the ''whole freaking room'') dragon delivers a single instant death punch right to your face in a cutscene, resulting in your death.
** ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has the same set up down to the boss who you are supposed to run away from on the first encounter. It is possible to beat it on the first encounter, but incredibly hard without the black fire bomb starting gift. If you do beat it early you are rewarded with an axe that's pretty strong for early game.
** ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' expects you to die to the first enemy so you can be sent to the tutorial area.
** ''VideoGame/SekiroShadowsDieTwice''[='s=] tutorial zone also ends with a HopelessBossFight against Genichiro. In this case if you win, a slightly different cutscene plays where Wolf has Genichiro on the ropes, but then a Nightjar ninja distracts him, leading to the same outcome (Genichiro cutting off Wolf's arm) as if you lost normally.
** As in ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', you're expected to lose to the first enemy of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', which ambushes you before the tutorial area even begins. Defeating the enemy results in the path ahead opening up to you...which leads to a death-trap as the floor gives way and you fall to your death. From there, you can proceed to the ''real'' tutorial area that ends with a WarmUpBoss that you can easily defeat if you've mastered the guard-counter.
* ''VideoGame/PokemonXDGaleOfDarkness'' begins with a simulator involving two powerful Pokémon, Salamence and Metagross, and is quite a difficult battle for one that opens a Pokémon game. It's a bit subverted in that it's deliberately and consistently winnable in exactly one way, but in a way that a beginner (that is, the player character at that moment) shouldn't get.
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' added in the "No-Win Situation" PVE mode for the Federation players. A team of five players are tasked in protecting a frigate against increasingly difficult foes. Most players can reach level 5 before the frigate is destroyed. The game will send out game-wide notifications for those who pass level 8, 9, and 10, with level 10 having the game proudly boasting that a player "Doesn't Believe In A No-Win Situation".
* ''VideoGame/StarTrekKlingonAcademy'' combines this with SecretTestOfCharacter during a simulated mission to prevent war with the Tholians.
* The infamous ''VideoGame/XMen'' for the UsefulNotes/NintendoEntertainmentSystem features the Danger Room as a practice level, which just spams an endless stream of enemies at you until you have practiced (read: gotten bored) and pick a different level. Being NintendoHard and rife with [[GameBreakingBug Game Breaking Bugs]], the rest of the game doesn't fare much better either.

* The ''Kobayashi Maru'' shows up in ''VideoGame/StarTrekBridgeCrew''
* The final tutorial stage in ''VideoGame/Hitman2016'' was intended to be this. The training director based it on the apex of his own career, with extra guards added in, in a deliberate attempt to force 47 to wash out of the program. He passes anyway (well, [[ForegoneConclusion it is the tutorial]]) thanks mainly to the MuggedForDisguise method, which was unpopular with Agency trainees and rendered many of the extra guards moot.

* The tutorial tactical battle in ''VideoGame/AgeOfWonders Shadow Magic'' is intended to be lost, as the player's army of low-tier chaff is massively outclassed by the two high-tier enemies. Losing it introduces the fact your HeroUnit will respawn at your capital a few turns later. It is barely possible to win, however, and on returning to the main map the tutorial narration [[BreakingTheFourthWall complains to the player]] that they now owe the HeroUnit money.

* ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'': "[[Recap/YoungJusticeS1E16Failsafe Failsafe]]" [[spoiler:turns out to be one of these that had GoneHorriblyWrong. The Martian Manhunter put the team in a psychic simulation in which alien invaders killed the entire Justice League, as a test to see how the team would react to catastrophe without the League's guidance. However, upon seeing Artemis "die", M'gann inadvertently took control of the simulation and made the entire team think it was real, not only plunging everyone into extreme trauma, but also nearly trapping everyone who "died" in a coma. No matter what, winning was completely impossible. No matter what they did, the situation would continue to get worse and worse until they failed. Even when Martian Manhunter entered the simulation to regain control and end it, he forgot that it was fake, and only remembered when everyone but M'gann had been "killed". That said, the simulation ended up having to AssPull a second alien mothership to win, so they did pretty well.]]

* Various training simulations for prospective pilots involve the instructor randomly turning things off in order to simulate piloting a heavily damaged or malfunctioning plane. If the instructor so wishes, he can "break" so many of the plane's functions that all the pilot can hope for is a crash landing with a slim possibility of passenger survival. The latter is almost ''never'' done in simulator training, however, as the possibility is remote and simulator time is expensive. Training simulations typically have ''one'' failure occur at a time - which, depending on your view, leaves pilots woefully underprepared for a worst-case, real-world cascading failure scenario. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMIeQG32v6Q Captain Sullenberger, who landed the Miracle on the Hudson, gives his take.]]

** As in ''VidoeGame/{{Bloodborne}}'', you're expected to lose to the first enemy of ''VideoGame/EldenRing'', which ambushes you before the tutorial area even begins. Defeating the enemy results in the path ahead opening up to you...which leads to a death-trap as the floor gives way and you fall to your death. From there, you can proceed to the ''real'' tutorial area that ends with a WarmUpBoss that you can easily defeat if you've mastered the guard-counter.

* Hero exams in ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'' seem to have this as standard practice similar to real life emergency responders. Most notably the UA entrance exam is mainly focused on fighting robots to test combat ability, but also features a massive nearly unbeatable robot that's worth zero points meant to test how prospective students react to a dangerous enemy that doesn't personally benefit them to fight. This ties to the SecretTestOfCharacter built into the exam. Fighting the robot doesn't earn any combat points, but still let's you defend other students earning the secret rescue points.

** The "Kobayashi Maru" training scenario, first seen in ''Film/StarTrekIITheWrathOfKhan'', is a seminal example, even referenced in other sci-fi works. It's a test of how a cadet responds to a [[HeadsIWinTailsYouLose hopeless situation]]. The ''Kobayashi Maru'' in this scenario is a freighter which has struck a {{Space Mine|s}} and drifted into TheNeutralZone between [[ProudWarriorRace Klingon]] and [[TheFederation Federation]] territories. The cadet receives the ship's distress call and is obliged to respond by Starfleet mandate, so ignoring it [[ButThouMust is not an option]] -- and the Klingons will likely kill the crew for "violating Klingon space". Any attempt to intervene, however, will cause a BolivianArmyEnding: multiple Klingon ships show up and blow them to smithereens in under a minute. The trick with the simulation is that TheComputerIsACheatingBastard with the RandomNumberGod on its side; it will inflate the opponents' numbers, weaponry, accuracy, and belligerence far beyond what is realistic, possible, or consistent with the current geopolitics. The test, as indicated by the page quote, is a SecretTestOfCharacter. But, during the film, we discover that Kirk ''did'' beat it -- by hacking the simulation in advance and reprogramming it so that he could win. Strictly speaking, this was cheating, but his instructors at least appreciated his lateral thinking and [[{{Determinator}} refusal to give up]]. And Kirk apparently took the test several times before he resorted to his unique solution; he simply refused to accept the concept of a no-win scenario. In a sense, he failed there too, as Kirk is thrown into a ''real'' unwinnable scenario at the film's climax, which could only be solved by his best friend's HeroicSacrifice.

** The SeasonFinale "Sundown: Part 1" opens with the entire team being destroyed one by one by the Fatal Five. Then the simulation ends, and they prep to start again. Phantom Girl is not amused. "There's only so many times a girl can face her simulated doom in one day!"
** And "The Man From The Edge of Tomorrow: Part 1" opens with Brainiac 5 seemingly [[HoYay dying tragically in Superman's arms]], complete with melodramatic music [[SorryILeftTheBGMOn (which Brainy apparently also programmed into the simulation)]].
* Used in the "Glitter N' Gold" episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Jem}}''. Jerrica wants to tell her boyfriend, Rio, that she is Jem's secret identity. She uses Synergy, her hologram-making super-computer to make an illusion of Rio to see what will happen; it goes badly. Synergy assumes that she might be wrong--but then the real Rio explodes at Kimber after she reveals that she made a mistake -- using almost the exact same words the holographic Rio did. This came from Christy Marx, the writer of most of the episodes of the ''Jem'' series, who wanted Jerrica to have a reason to keep her other identity a secret from Rio.
* The ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' two-parter, ''Stewie Kills Lois/Lois Kills Stewie'', is revealed to be one of these in the final minutes.
** Lampshaded when Brian describes it as "a huge middle finger to the viewers."

* One ''WesternAnimation/TimeSquad'' episode began with the heroes fighting a pyromaniac George Washington in a training simulation (bizarrely this ''wasn't'' part of the simulation's design: Larry just wanted to see what would happen if they invited "virtual Washington" for a tour of the space station...)
* The episode [[spoiler:"Failsafe"]] of ''WesternAnimation/YoungJustice2010'' [[spoiler:turned out to be one of these that had GoneHorriblyWrong. The Martian Manhunter put the team in a psychic simulation in which alien invaders killed the entire Justice League, as a test to see how the team would react to catastrophe without the League's guidance. However, upon seeing Artemis "die", M'gann inadvertently took control of the simulation and made the entire team think it was real, not only plunging everyone into extreme trauma, but also nearly trapping everyone who "died" in a coma. No matter what, winning was completely impossible. No matter what they did, the situation would continue to get worse and worse until they failed. Even when Martian Manhunter entered the simulation to regain control and end it, he forgot that it was fake, and only remembered when everyone but M'gann had been "killed". That said, the simulation ended up having to AssPull a second alien mothership to win, so they did pretty well.]]
* The direct-to-video/pilot episode three-parter "The Adventure Begins" of ''WesternAnimation/BuzzLightyearOfStarCommand'' has this. At Star Command's training deck, Commander Nebula calls Buzz up to watch one of the rookies, Mira, with the intention of making her Buzz's new partner. Mira beats Buzz's level, Level 9, and goes on to Level 10, which is comprised of three huge and presumably impenetrable robots. [[spoiler:Where any normal Ranger, even Buzz (since we never hear that he beat it), would have been blasted to Game Over, Mira succeeds by using her ghosting abilities.]]
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' has [[Franchise/XMen Princess Celestia's School]] [[ShoutOut for gifted unicorns]]. The test to get in involves hatching a dragon egg, which WordOfGod said was unwinnable. When Twilight Sparkle took the test, [[spoiler:her magical abilities were exponentially multiplied as a result of Rainbow Dash's Sonic Rainboom, which allowed her to pass the test and, coincidentally, give birth to Spike.]] However the Season Five finale seemingly retcons this idea away since, when she fails to hatch the egg when the past is changed, she ''isn't'' accepted into the school. [[FridgeLogic One must wonder how exactly one does get into this school]]. If we're playing the Kobayashi Maru example straight, then chances are the true test is a test of character, judging how well a pony can accept failure and realize where their flaws lie. Given how Twilight takes the thought of failure (before the Rainboom boosts her power, she quickly gives up and apologizes for wasting the instructor's time), it's not exactly a surprise she failed in the many alternate timelines.
* [[InvertedTrope Inverted]] in ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse''. The Gems give Steven a test of skill rigged so that it's actually impossible to fail (the idea was to boost Steven's confidence in himself). Steven is upset when he figures this out, because he feels like the Gems don't trust him enough to actually challenge him. He ultimately decides not to confront them about it when he overhears them questioning their abilitiy as caretakers for him, going on to finish the test for their sake.
* In ''WesternAnimation/CarmenSandiego'', the [[TykeBomb titular protagonist]] believes the final exam from [[SchoolForScheming Stealth 101's]] teacher Shadowsan (which happens offscreen) to be this since she, the best pickpocketer from the class, couldn't find the item she was supposed to steal. [[spoiler:In the season finale, Carmen finds out that [[InUniverse she]] [[IKnewIt was right]]. Shadowsan rigged the test to give her the motivation to leave]].

** It has its own spin on the "Kobayashi Maru". In one episode, when Rutherford decides to switch from the Engineering department to work as Security, he is put in a combat simulation against several dozen Borg soldiers that is specifically designed to be unbeatable. Despite this Rutherford manages to win by allowing his cybernetic implants to take control of him.
** In "I, Excretus", Shari designed all of her performance drills to be unwinnable. Unlike other examples of this trope, there wasn't any higher purpose for this; she's just bitter that Starfleet wants to cut her program, and wants the Cerritos crew to take a fall so that she might continue on with it. And, one single participant does manage to pass her drill -- Boimler -- but not by cheating. Shari just underestimated how skilled and resourceful he can be when he's put in a traditional Starfleet-style mission.
* In ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekProdigy'' episode "Kobayashi", Dal discovers the program on the ''Protostar'' and decides to take it for a spin, not realizing the purpose of it. He gets a good wake-up call.