This is only for scenarios where it would be expected for the player and the AI to be on even footing. Note that this is not a place to complain about enemies that have skills you don't have, or bosses who have stronger skills than you, or about how unlucky you are and how many times you missed (unless the computer has a different chance of missing with the same skill), or about how hard That One Boss is, or how the computer is actually half decent at some of the game's more advanced maneuvers that you happen to suck at. On the other hand, some cheats can actually work to the player's advantage, such as with the Rubber Band AI or plain old Cheat Codes. Consistent bad luck, however, may be a sign that the computer is using the RNG to cheat. Likewise, one should not accuse the computer of cheating simply because it plays to a computer's natural strengths ( lightning reflexes, omniscient knowledge of the game rules, and so forth), or because you have a single streak of bad luck. The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard does not include 'fair challenges' of the game (wide pits, powerful/numerous enemies, etc.) those are Real Difficulty. These are often considered exceptions to the trope: The computer is still cheating, but it's not being a bastard about it-the equivalent of differing handicap weights in thoroughbred horse racing. Sometimes, the computer only cheats at higher difficulty levels-particularly conscientious games may even tell you how. Conversely, arcade versions of games ('quarter munchers') often cheat more than home console versions. Some games have even used the fact that their AI is not a cheating bastard as a selling point. In ZX Spectrum forums such as news:, this phenomenon (real or imagined) is known as 'cheatingbastness'. This can be a quick-and-dirty method of achieving a 'level' playing field against a skilled human player (especially in older games, where hardware and AI capabilities were limited and prone to Artificial Stupidity), but can also create Fake Difficulty when the computer has access to moves that a human player (in the same context) clearly does not. The computer player is a cheating bastard whenever the 'rules' differ between you and AI-controlled opponents.

Spite cannon 2 hacked arcade games