Self-imposed challenge

Trying to beat Final Fantasy with four white mages.

A self-imposed challenge refers to making a video game more difficult by playing it with restrictions which are not imposed by the game. An early example of a self-imposed challenge would be beating Super Mario Bros. without warping. Completing a game with a self-imposed challenge is a form of pro gamer move which not only allows players to show off their skill, but also adds life to games a player has become bored with because it's too easy. Players who attempt them often try to get a personal best or even a world record.

Personal

I typically don't bother with self-imposed challenges as I find most games to be challenging enough on their own without having to make them harder. Of the handful of games that I'm particularly skilled at, I usually don't find much pleasure in making them even harder. Most people who try for self-imposed challenges often play the game over and over again trying to grind out a victory; a process which I don't find appealing.

History

The concept of a self-imposed challenge predates video games and has been used in many traditional games and sports where they are often called "handicaps." Since so many video games are extensions of traditional games and sports, it was only natural for gamers to adapt them to video games as well.

Examples

Pretty much every game can have self-imposed challenges made specifically for its own mechanics, but here are some of the more generic challenges which can apply to entire genres of games.

Challenge	Description
All bosses	You must defeat all bosses, including all optional bosses.
All levels	You have to complete every level of the game that can be completed.
All one type	For games which allow you to create a party of characters, create every character as the same race/class/etc. By eliminating variety, the game typically becomes much harder. All healers means no good fighters, but all fighters, means no magic and very expensive upgrades.
All shutouts	In games which require players to score goals on each other, you must win the all the games in a season, including the championship without letting an opposing team ever score a goal. This can be adapted to fighting games as "all perfects."
Blindfolded	Beating a game without being able to see what you're doing, playing by audio cues alone.
Cartridge tilting	On many cartridge-based platforms, if you pull the cartridge out ever-so-slightly, you can corrupt the game and cause all manner of glitches and visual aberrations which make it very difficult to see what's going on. Do this purposely to make the game more difficult.
Completionist run	Complete every part of a game that can be completed. This changes depending on the game and might entail finishing every level, obtaining every item, defeating every boss, etc.
Default equipment	The player has to finish the game using only their starting equipment. They are not allowed to buy upgrades, and, if any are given to the player during the game, they must drop or sell them without ever using them.
Double speed	Using an emulator, set the game to run at 200% speed. For games which rely on reflexes, this makes them much harder. You might want to practice at 150% speed first.
Fastest game over	Try to get a game over as quickly as possible. This isn't very interesting in games where suicide is easy, but it can require some pretty clever moves in strategy games which don't have easy ways to die.
Fewest moves	Solving a puzzle game with the fewest number of moves possible.
Flipped controller	Playing the game with the controller flipped in some way like facing away from you, upside down, or, if possible, using your non-dominant hand.
Foreign language	For games which feature multiple languages, play the game in a language you are not fluent.
Genocide run	Kill every enemy that can possibly be killed. This puts the player in harm's way far more frequently, thereby making the game much harder. This isn't very interesting in games which respawn the enemies all the time.
Hard mode	Use the game's hardest difficulty setting. While this is also an in-game challenge, players are not forced to use this difficulty setting, so it can also be self-imposed.
High score	Set a goal for a particularly high score and obtain it.
High stage	In an endless game, set a goal for a particularly high stage and reach it.
Impairment	Purposely get an impairment and keep it through the entire game. The player must have their character get the impairment as early as possible, and is never allowed to cure it. If it ever goes away for any reason, they must get it again as soon as possible and are not allowed to progress in the game until they do.
Longest time	Finish a game that has an imposed time limit with the longest amount of time possible. This requires the player to end each section with only a fraction of a second left on the clock. Time boost power-ups are allowed, but the player is not allowed to do things which may perpetually reset the clock. Since dying restarts the clock in many games, this may be excluded to prevent especially long games.
Low level run	In games where characters go up in levels, they become more powerful as their levels increase. Purposely staying as low-level as possible makes beating the game much harder. To remain low level, players usually run away from encounters and only gain experience from mandatory bosses. Sometimes even these can be avoided by exploiting glitches.
Low percentage	For games which monitor in-game progress with a percent indicator, usually based on how much of the map you've explored, you must beat the game with the lowest possible percentage. Similar to "minimalist run."
Low score	Finish a game with the lowest possible score.
Low visibility	Adjust the contrast, brightness, gamma, or whatever on your display to the point where you can barely see what's on. Not quite as hard as playing blindfolded, but still very frustrating. For TVs or monitors with digital levels, you can work toward a high score of blindness.
Melee only	Many shooters include a melee option. This challenge requires the player to only use melee attacks for the entire game.
Minimalist run	Do not get any optional items, only those necessary to finish the game. This usually requires the player to take the long way around obstacles or use more complicated movements — both of which makes the game harder. Similar to "low percentage."
Multiple characters, one player	As a single player, use multiple controllers at the same time in order to control two or more characters. Similar to "shared input."
Mute	Play the game with the audio muted. For games which rely on audio cues (like rhythm games) this can be especially difficult.
No casualties	For games where you control many units, complete the game without letting any of them die.
No coins	The player must avoid all possible coins, rings, or any similar collectibles littered around the map. Typically combined with "all levels."
No deaths	The player's character can take damage or get hit provided it doesn't kill them. A single death ends the run. Also called "one-life clear."
No damage	The player's character is not allowed to sustain damage. However, they can still take hits when immune to damage, like when invincible.
No fleeing	In games which allow the player to flee from combat, you must never flee, and instead must fight each encounter to the death.
No hands	Beat a game without holding the controller with your hands. The player must use their feet, elbows, mouth, or other parts of their body.
No healing	The player is not allowed to replenish the health or heal any of their characters in any way.
No hits	The player's character is never allowed to collide with an enemy or hazard, regardless of whether it damages them. So, even if your character is invincible, a single hit ends the run.
No hitter	Beating a sports game without letting the opposing team make progress of any kind. In baseball, the opposing team can never get on base, in football, the opposing team can never gain yardage, etc. This is much harder than "all shutouts."
No identification	For games where newly found items remain unidentified, you are not allowed to ever identify them, and must try to figure out what they do on your own. For an extra challenge, you man only use unidentified equipment and may never equip anything that has been identified.
No power-ups	The player cannot get power-ups and must purposely avoid them.
No reloads	Normally, when a player makes a big mistake in a game which allows saving, they will reload and try again. This challenge doesn't grant you that luxury. This challenge is often paired with no deaths in order to prevent reloading by suicide.
No running	For games which allow optional running, playing the game without ever using the feature (unless absolutely necessary). For many games, this just results in slower game play, but, for many platformers, it makes things much harder, especially when you need to jump over chasms. Exploiting glitches is often necessary.
No saves	You can't save your progress. This can be especially challenging for long games like RPGs where the loss of the party ends the game.
No skills	The player isn't allowed to use their character's skills. This includes special attacks, magic, or any other abilities. This is similar to "no power-ups," but applies to intrinsic character abilities instead of obtained abilities.
No warps	You're not allowed to skip levels by using warps, teleports, or similar features. Similar to "all levels," but you don't have to play optional levels.
No weapons	For games which expect the player to equip their characters with weapons, but still allows them to attack with their bare hands, the player must immediately unequip any starting weapons then beat the game without ever equipping a weapon.
One hand	You must hold the controller with only one hand.
One-credit completion	The player is allowed to lose a few lives, and replenish themselves with 1-ups, but getting a game over ends the run, even if the game allows you to continue. This is also called "no continues" or "one-credit clear."
Only cursed equipment	For games which feature cursed equipment, you're only ever allowed to equip or used something which is cursed. For extra difficulty, if you have an empty equipment slot, and you come across a cursed item for that slot, you must equip it.
Pacifist run	Play through the entire game without attacking or killing any enemies (excluding those which must be killed to complete the game, like bosses). Some games can even be beaten without killing bosses by exploiting glitches. Depending on the game, purposely causing monster in-fighting may be allowed.
Personal best	Simply trying to out-do the best you've done in the past at some aspect of a game.
Scrooge mode	The player is not allowed to spend money or trade items for anything. They may only accept free items, collect dropped items, and take items from chests and the like.
Shared input	Play multiple characters in the game using only a single controller. This usually requires the use of emulators or a hardware splitter so that a single controller's input can be sent to two or more plugs. Since both characters will move in tandem, the player is required to use the game's environment to separate them in meaningful ways. Similar to "multiple characters, one player."
Solo run	For games which give the player a party of characters to play with, this challenge requires you to immediately kill off all but one of them and beat the entire game with just that one character. If additional playable characters are given to the player later in the game, they must also be killed. To really challenge yourself, make the solo character the weakest class.
Specific item	You must finish as much of the game as possible by obtaining the item as early as possible and using it exclusively for the rest of the game. This challenge is usually based on a particularly weak or difficult to use weapon, armor, or item.
Speedrun	Complete a game within the shortest possible length of time, or challenge yourself to a personal best.
Stealth run	In a stealth game, this challenge requires the player to finish the entire game without ever being seen (excluding any scripted events, although, those can sometimes be avoided by exploiting glitches). Especially difficult when paired with a pacifist run.
Upside down display	Beat the game with your screen turned upside down or rotated 90 degrees.
Worst team	In a sports games, you must win all the games in a season, including the championship, while playing as the worst team. Not technically self-imposed, since the game allows for it, but it's still optional.

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