History Main / BeatThemAtTheirOwnGame

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Back to the Woods", Creator/JamesWoods steals Peter's identity. Peter then steals James Woods' identity.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' episode "Back to the Woods", JamesWoods steals Peter's identity. Peter then steals James Woods' identity.

** Inverted in "Mad Jack"; after Aku grows tired of sending wave after wave of bounty hunters against Jack, wondering aloud "Is there any fighting style that can defeat his!?" He decides to solve the issue by creating an EvilTwin of Jack [[EnemyWithout from his hatred and anger]]. True enough, Jack could not defeat it in combat; instead, [[SheatheYourSword he defeated the clone by meditating and reaching inner peace]].
** Played straight in "Samurai versus Ninja" when Jack becomes a ninja to fight a ninja.
** Also played straight in "Jack and the Blind Archers"; Jack uses his own skills in blind-fighting to defeat them.
* Also inverted in an episode of ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', where the demon Trigon forces Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Starfire to fight the evil side of themselves--a black-and-white, evil copy of each Titan. After a long while of trying (and failing miserably) to beat themselves, they figure out that the copies can be defeated by each Titan taking down a copy other than their own.
** Same thing happened, though on smaller scale, on ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'', along with a [[BreakThemByTalking Breaking Speech]]. Superman was having problems taking down his evil clone, prompting Wonder Woman to fly in and suggesting to switch dance partners. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl end up doing the same thing. We see The Flash and Batman easily beating their own doubles, however, the Flash with a particularly effective ShutUpHannibal, and Batman by virtue of the fact that he didn't give his double a chance to start messing with his head.
** This also happens in an early issue of ''ComicBook/SonicTheHedgehogArchieComics'', wherein the main cast has an all-out brawl with their MirrorUniverse {{Evil Twin}}s. The heroes start out fighting their own counterparts and neither side can gain an advantage, but after they switch partners the goodies handily tromp the baddies.
** Ditto for the ''WesternAnimation/{{Gargoyles}}'' episode, "The Reckoning", when the Manhattan clan fight the clones that Thailog made of them.
** Also done in an issue of ''ComicBook/SpiderHam'' complete with lampshade hanging, Mooster Fantastic consult the hero's manual and find the proper tactic for dealing with evil counterparts, switching opponents!
* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Read My Lips", the first appearance of Scarface in the cartoon, Batman is able to fool Scarface into arguing with Wesker by using his own skills in {{ventriloquism}}.
* ''WesternAnimation/ChipNDaleRescueRangers'' uses this in most episodes with Professor Nimnul as the villain. Most times that the Rescue Rangers go up against Nimnul, they end up turning his own inventions against him.
* In ''[[ComicBook/{{Asterix}} The Twelve Tasks of Asterix]]'' they face a trial that the magic potion has no effect on... Bureaucracy! However, Asterix is smart enough to play the system against itself, causing enough chaos for the head of the place to just hand him the item to make him go away.

* In the ''WebVideo/YoutubePoop'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCHwl_5R8M IM Gay 3]], King Harkinian is being [[MostAnnoyingSound tormented by]] [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi]], but he successfully out-annoys her by repeating his own catchphrases.

* In ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', Calvin manages to convince his babysitter Rosalyn into playing {{Calvinball}} if he finishes his homework. After a bit of confusion, she soon realizes that it's a game where you make up the rules as you go along and quickly defeats Calvin by touching him with the "Baby Sitter Flag" and ordering him to get to bed.

* Subverted in ''Fanfic/AmbienceAFleetSymphony''. [[spoiler:Shoukaku's attempt to use Abyssal energy to destroy the Abyssals trying to capture her fails.]] One of the enemies even lampshades the absurdity of trying to do so.
* ''FanFic/MarinetteDupainChengsSpitePlaylist'': One of Lila's favorite tactics is making up stories about supposedly participating at various benefits and charitable acts in order to pass herself off as an activist. Marinette and her allies turn the tables on her with ''real'' charity work, [[{{Defictionalization}} defictionalizing]] the movements she claims to have been involved with... only Marinette and her friends are ''actually'' making those things happen.
* In ''Fanfic/AnImpracticalGuideToTheForce'' ( a Franchise/StarWars crossover with Literature/APracticalGuideToEvil by [=Antony444=]) during the middle of Palpatine's bid to discredit Supreme Chancellor Valorum over the Naboo Crisis, Valorum displays force sensitivity, mind-controlling the Trade Federation Senator into confessing to the plot. Valorum then proposes a bold series of punishments which will have the side effect of enhancing Valorum's power. Palpatine is left seething at Valorum both manipulating and mind-controlling the senate before he himself could, and hypocritically wondering where the Jedi are to stop this when he needs them.

* ''Series/KaiketsuZubat'' frequently abused this trope. OnceAnEpisode, [[TheHero Ken Hayakawa]] would encounter a crime boss's [[TheDragon dragon]] who believed himself to be the top authority on their field of MartialArtsAndCrafts. Ken would proceed to show said dragon that no matter what it was, [[BadassBoast they were only second-best in Japan.]]

* In the ''WesternAnimation/SouthPark'' episode "Franchise Prequel" Professor Chaos and his minions slander the Coon and Friends on Website/{{Facebook}}. Even when the heroes try to tell other people the truth, everyone believes what is posted on Facebook. This makes them pariahs in the town, which among other things causes them to lose out on the opportunity to make shitloads of money from Creator/{{Netflix}}. Knowing that physically stopping Chaos is illegal, they realize that Mark Zuckerberg is the key to putting an end to the problem and the Coon mentions this trope by name. They ZergRush him but he easily throws them aside. The Coon wails that Tupperware (Token), Fastpass (Jimmy), and the Human Kite (Kyle) were simply standing up for black, handicapped, and Jewish people, and wonders why Zuckerburg would be so cruel to them. Zuckerberg says that isn't true but the Coon points out that Super Craig has filmed the whole fight on Facebook Live and now Facebook says its true. Zuckerberg has no choice but to shut his site down.

* In episode 17 of ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Alienizer of the Week]] was a DrunkenMaster practitioner. To beat him, Dekapink made it a point to get herself drunk to cause this trope. [[MakeMyMonsterGrow After he grew giant]], [[SurprisinlyRealisticOutcome Dekapink couldn't pilot her vehicle because she was passed out]] [[AnAesop forcing Dekamaster to pilot it instead and give a PSA against drunk driving.]]

* In episode 17 of ''Series/TokusouSentaiDekaranger'', the [[MonsterOfTheWeek Alienizer of the Week]] was a DrunkenFist practitioner. To beat him, Dekapink made it a point to get herself drunk to cause this trope.

* In ''Series/KamenRiderDecade'', once Decade gets CompleteForm, whenever he faces a Rider or monster from a certain world, his go-to tactic becomes summoning that world's rider in its own SuperMode. This goes as well for the other guy as you would expect.

* In the ''WebVideo/YoutubePoop'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCHwl_5R8M IM Gay 3]], King Harkinian is being [[MostAnnoyingSound tormented by]] [[TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Navi]], but he successfully out-annoys her by repeating his own catchphrases.

* On the other hand, the whole history of Japan from 1860s to the 1990s has [[DownplayedTrope shades of this]] compared to the dominance of Western powers in the same period. The Meiji Restoration, with Japan borrowing and adopting Euro-American technology and culture to varying extents, and the subsequent modernization of the country prevented its colonization and helped them join the Great Powers club after World War 1, and Japan ended up staying there. Even its loss in World War 2 could not stop Japan from being one of the world's biggest economy for much of the latter-half of the 20th Century. To further put this in perspective in support of this trope - it was not only Japan being the only non-Caucasian country to do so for a long time, it eventually surpassed most of Europe, rivalling Germany and [[YMMV possibly the United States depending on the time period and the metrics used to measure the economy]].

->'''Long Feng:''' You've beaten me at my own game.
->'''Azula:''' Don't flatter yourself. You were never even a player.

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

** Heroes are forced to play a [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame high stakes memory game]] against casino owner Livebearer. In said game they must pick two matching cards with the ingredients on them and then cook and eat said ingredient in a limited amount of time. Of course, not all ingredients are safe - some of them are poisonous, addictive or even explosive, and you have to eat what you pick, or you lose. Both sides are cheating, but heroes can only see faint outline of what on the cards, while Livebearer knows exactly which ingredient on which card and [[spoiler:made sure, that all ingredients in the game is something, that he can cook and eat, without harming himself]]. Heroes seemingly fall into unwinnable situation, until Coco reveals, that [[spoiler: [[TheChessmaster he manipulated Livebearer entire game]], making him pick ingredients that will decrease his resistance to poison, contained in the last remaining ingredient, putting villain in the situation, where he can either refuse to eat last ingredient and lose the game, or eat it and die from poisoning]]. Naturally, [[SoreLoser he doesn't take it's very well and tries to kill them,]] [[CurbStompBattle only to be easily defeated offscreen.]]

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

[[folder:Film -- Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'': At the climax, Terry turns Joker's old standby, the [[BreakThemByTalking Breaking Speech]], against him, mocking the Joker's fixation on Batman and expressing his [[DisappointedByTheMotive disappointment with Joker's backstory]]. [[spoiler: It's all a distraction so Terry can get a hold of Joker's joy buzzer.]]

[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]

--> '''Dooku:''' I sense great fear in you, Skywalker. You have hate, you have anger-- but you don't use them.
--> '''Anakin:''' ''*proceeds to do exactly that, beating Dooku in a single offensive barrage*''

[[folder:Professional Wrestling]]

[[folder:Web Original]]
* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-faa56l-s this]] followup to ''WebVideo/TheHorriblySlowMurdererWithTheExtremelyInefficientWeapon'', Jack attempts this against the Ginosaji. [[spoiler: It backfires completely.]]
* In ''{{WebAnimation/RWBY}}'', during the Yellow Trailer, this is how Yang Xiao Long defeats Melanie and Miltia; Miltia, who fights with WolverineClaws, is taken out of the fight with a massive punch, while Yang downs KickChick Melanie with a nasty kick to the forehead.

SisterTrope to TwoCanPlayThatGame, which focuses more on the element of surprise.

* ''Manga/UchiNoMusumeNiTeODasuNa'': In chapter 11, [[BigBad Zenovia]] uses Athena's own libido [[SexSlave to enslave her]] by subjecting her to increasing amounts of sexual pleasure, 'til her mind breaks. Then puts her in [[BattleBikini plugsuit]] with [[spoiler: a butt plug and dildo]] harness, to keep her in heat. But in chapter 12, Point Blank uses the same ploy to free Athena. Thanks to the suit she was wearing, he knew she'd be too horny to resist him. So he strips down to his underwear and challenges her in the sac. It works. Athena removes the harness without hesitation to let him bang her, and reverts to normal afterward.

* The ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' character Kakashi Hatake is known as the "Copy-Ninja" for his ability to flawlessly copy an enemy's moves, using his Sharingan eye, ''even as they are performing them''.
** In one instance, the ninja he was copying was so surprised by Kakashi's perfect move for move copy that he stopped cold in the middle of his sharingan. ''[[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome Kakashi continued anyway and completed it despite having never seen it.]]'' This actually involved a bit of trickery: [[spoiler: Kakashi hypnotized the other ninja to complete the moveset and then forget he had done so, allowing Kakashi to learn it. But he still used the technique without ever having seen it fully performed]].

* The favored method of the D'arby Bros. in ''Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure'' is to force the heroes to play an innocuous game (poker, a video game, or Rock-Paper-Scissors) and then cheat like hell at it to win (since, according to them, it isn't cheating if you don't get caught). Naturally, the heroes have to cheat right back while catching the D'arbys in the midst of their own cheating. The results were... [[VillainousBreakdown memorable.]]
** In final fight of part 3, [[BigBad DIO]] is able to [[spoiler: stop time, giving him a huge advantage. Until Jotaro, in the midst of battle, discovers he has the same ability, and turns it against DIO.]]

* This is the tactic employed by the [[AntiVillain Anti-Spiral]] in ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'' - whenever the protagonists get a bigger mecha, they field an equally big one to try and instil despair into the protagonists in order to dampen their [[HotBlooded hot blood]] powered Spiral Energy.
* When Kenshiro fights Shu in ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'', he managed to defeat him through a secret Hokuto Shinken technique that allows him to emulate Nanto Seiken.

* A variation in ''Anime/AldnoahZero'': while trying to take back New Orleans, Inaho and his team face off against the occupying Martian Knight's [[HumongousMecha Solis Kataphrakt]]. The Solis uses ''terrifyingly'' powerful [[EnergyWeapon Frickin' Laser Beams]], allowing it to blast opponents and even missiles to slag before they even get close. Inaho's solution to this long-ranged opponent is even ''longer''-ranged combat: [[spoiler:he relays the exact position of the Solis to the [[CoolShip Deucalion]], allowing them to lob shells at it from behind the safety of the horizon.]]

* In ''Manga/{{Toriko}}'' heroes are forced to play [[AbsurdlyHighStakesGame high stakes memory game]] against casino owner Livebearer. In said game they must pick two maching cards with the ingredients on them and then cook and eat said ingredient in a limited amount of time. Of course, not all ingredients are safe - some of them are poisonous, addictive or even explosive, and you have to eat what you pick, or you lose. Both sides are cheating, but heroes can only see faint outline of what on the cards, while Livebearer knows exactly which ingredient on which card and [[spoiler:made sure, that all ingredients in the game is something, that he can cook and eat, without harming himself.]] Heroes seemingly fall into unwinnable situation, until Coco reveals, that [[spoiler: [[TheChessmaster he manipulated Livebearer entire game]], making him pick ingredients that will decrease his resistance to poison, contained in the last remaining ingredient, putting villain in the situation, where he can either refuse to eat last ingredient and lose the game, or eat it and die from poisoning.]] Naturally, [[SoreLoser he doesn't take it's very well and tries to kill them,]] [[CurbStompBattle only to be easily defeated offscreen.]]

** Villainous example comes from battle between Toriko and Starjun. In this battle, Toriko uses his new technique, which allows him to increase his power and use new moves, just by believing, that he can do it. At first, Starjun seems to be hopelessly outclassed, but after a few attacks, he manages to [[PowerCopying learn said technique and starts using in himself]], which allows him to fight with Toriko on equal terms and defeat him.

* In one story during [[UsefulNotes/{{the Silver Age|of Comic Books}} the Silver Age]], the Joker tried this, figuring that if a UtilityBelt works so well for Franchise/{{Batman}}, it could work well for him too, and built his own. (Unfortunately, Batman was a little ''too'' good at his own game, and managed to [[HoistByHisOwnPetard use Joker's belt to his own advantage.]])
* ''ComicBook/WonderWoman2006'': The master of disguise Nemisis falls for Circe's disguise as Wonder Woman, which she lampshades and which nearly gets him killed.

* In the ''FanFic/PonyPOVSeries'', [[BadFuture Dark World]]!Twilight does this twice. First, during the Duel of Tears against [[WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds Traitor Dash]], she transforms into a pegasus and matches TD move-for-move. Then, during the FinalBattle, [[spoiler: she tricks [[TrueFinalBoss Nightmare Paradox]] into using her TimeMaster abilities so that Twilight can [[PowerCopying copy them]] and use them to take advantage of how much Paradox's GroundhogDayLoop plan has screwed up the timeline as part of a move to defeat her for good.]]

* ''WesternAnimation/BatmanBeyondReturnOfTheJoker'': At the climax, Terry turns Joker's old standby, the BreakingSpeech, against him, mocking the Joker's fixation on Batman and expressing his [[DisappointedByTheMotive disappointment with Joker's backstory]]. [[spoiler: It's all a distraction so Terry can get a hold of Joker's joy buzzer.]]

* In ''Film/TheMatrix'', Neo and the other humans are nearly powerless in any direct confrontation with the Matrix's agents, and can only gain the upper hand through luck or the element of surprise (which is nearly impossible to obtain). Neo surprises his fellow humans by surviving a face-to-face encounter with an agent by dodging its bullets (as seen in the famous "bullet-time" scene).

* In ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'', Poison Ivy acts as a seductress that lures her victims to their deaths by flirting with them before delivering her signature KissOfDeath. She spends a majority of the film with Robin as her main victim, seducing him, making him think she loves him and will [[HeelFaceTurn change sides to be with him]], and breaking him and Batman apart. During their final encounter in Ivy's lair though [[spoiler:Robin tricks her into [[JustBetweenYouAndMe revealing her plan]] by pretending to still be in love with her and asking for a sign of trust from her before they kiss. He also wore rubber lips to protect himself against her poison during their kiss. He successfully manipulated Ivy into revealing her secrets and that her love was a lie by pretending to love her like she pretended to love him, and managed to steal a kiss from her, making her signature kiss useless. Downplayed slightly by Ivy shoving Robin into her pond to drown him, ultimately getting the last laugh in their "relationship" before "breaking up with him" but she is still beaten by Batgirl shortly afterwards and is trapped in the same Rose Throne she had just shoved Robin from.]]

* When Craig Kilborn hosted ''Series/TheDailyShow'' and ''Series/WinBenSteinsMoney'' was in its prime, Stein was given a set of five questions to answer after an interview. The questions were outrageously difficult and based on very obscure facts. (Stein, to his credit, managed to answer one correctly.)

* Pretty common on ''Series/{{Leverage}}'' as many of the team's cons involve using the mark's own tricks and behavior to bring them down.
** In "The Snow Job", a family of contractors use loopholes to con people into losing their homes so they can buy them out. The team end up using their own loopholes in contracts to take control of the company, send the father to jail and legally kick the sons out of their own home.

* The MO of the Doctor of ''Series/DoctorWho.'' VillainOfTheWeek raises an EldritchAbomination? The Doctor will get it to turn on its master. VillainOfTheWeek has a super-awesome machine of doom? The Doctor will blow it up. In general, (s)he excels at getting them HoistByTheirOwnPetard. Since the Doctor doesn't have much in the way of superpowers, they use whatever their enemy gives them.

* Many times a wrestler will have a trademark finishing maneuver. As in the WWE game cited below, a point of drama is to use a wrestler's finisher against him/her. This only works if the move in question is unique, though; there's not as much drama if Wrestling/{{Kane}} and Wrestling/TheUndertaker trade Tombstones and chokeslams, since they both 'naturally' have them. Some of these can cross with [[HoistByHisOwnPetard/ProfessionalWrestling Hoist By His Own Petard]].
* Also, certain wrestlers usually have matches that are claimed to be their specialty (The Undertaker has casket and buried alive matches, [[Wrestling/MattHardy the]] [[Wrestling/JeffHardy Hardys]] are associated with ladders, Wrestling/TheDudleyBoys with tables, Kane with the Inferno Match), but generally they tend to lose those matches.
** Of course, some of this is backstage booking[=/=]logistical reasons. The Undertaker is heavily protected and Casket and Buried Alive matches prevent him from doing a clean job, and Kane usually wears a full-body jumpsuit, so it's safer for him to get burnt in an Inferno match.

* At some point in [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]]'s career, he began to make a habit out of hitting his opponents with their own finishers. This included giving Wrestling/TripleH a Pedigree onto a table, giving the Undertaker a chokeslam, spearing Wrestling/{{Goldberg}}, putting Wrestling/KurtAngle in the ankle lock and giving Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin lots and LOTS of Stunners. While he usually tried to pick up a pin after this, they pretty much always kicked out. Also, this usually meant that eventually the other wrestler would give him the Rock Bottom.
** At ''WWE Vengeance 2002'', July 21, 2002, in the [[http://www.wrestling-titles.com/wwe/wwe-h.html WWE World Heavyweight Title]] Triple Threat Match between the Undertaker (c), the Rock and Kurt Angle, Rock chokeslammed Taker, Angle gave Rock the Rock Bottom, and Taker gave Angle the Angle Slam.
* At ''[[Wrestling/{{TNA}} Hard Justice 2008]]'', Kurt Angle tried to use the Styles Clash on Wrestling/AJStyles himself, only for Styles to turn it into the Angle Lock in midair and force Angle to tap out to his own finisher.

* Wrestling/{{Kane}} has always been a sadistic monster (though his character can be a NobleDemon depending on plot) that loves playing mind games and mentally tormenting his opponents. What did Wrestling/{{Edge}} do when he had to beat him for the World Heavyweight Championship? Kidnapped [[Wrestling/PaulBearer Kane's dad]] and spend the next few weeks torturing Kane in all sorts of sadistic mind games and torturing his daddy. Kane tries to call him out on it, only for Edge to remind him of how he's only doing the exact same thing Kane always does. So far, it seemed Edge has one upped Kane.
* The Wrestling/RingOfHonor attempted to get rid of it's unwanted Wrestling/{{CZW}} trespassers for good by beating five representatives from their roster in their own Cage Of Death. The five from CZW were this in turn, as Necro Butcher was the only GarbageWrestler, for which the promotion is best known for. Wrestling/ChrisHero, Wrestling/ClaudioCastagnoli, Wrestling/EddieKingston and Super Dragon were the best "pure" wrestlers CZW had at the time and from a purely in ring perspective would have fit in ROH just fine.

* {{Averted}} in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' 4E; although [[CastingAShadow Necrotic]] damage is an option, often the best weapon to fight evil with is [[TheUntwist Go]][[HolyHandGrenade od.]] Indeed, the assassin (the first [[TheDarkArts Shadow Striker]]) is widely regarded as one of the [[JokeCharacter worst classes.]]
* In ''TabletopGame/{{Warhammer 40000}}'', Boss Snikrot was one of the Ork bosses who came to the planet Armageddon during the Second War for Armageddon. His boyz were massacred by the Imperial Guard's jungle fighting specialists, and Snikrot swore revenge by beating the sneaky 'umies at their own game. Most Orks aren't normally given to things like stealth and subterfuge ([[LeeroyJenkins it'z all a load of muckin' about if yaz ask me]]), but in their campaign of guerilla warfare, Snikrot and his Red Skull Kommandos have plagued the jungles ever since and taken a heavy toll on the Imperial Guard. Catachan Jungle Fighters are from one of the nastiest {{Death World}}s in the galaxy and don't scare easy, but [[TheDreaded even they tell stories]] of how Snikrot can pass through a throttlevine grove without disturbing a single leaf, how he leaves his victims with [[EyeScream no eyes]] and [[FlayingAlive no scalps]], and how he loots their dog tags and whispers the names of the men he's killed to the jungle moon.

* In ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'', Solid Snake has to find a sniper rifle in order to fight Sniper Wolf, who is a HopelessBossFight until you run back to find it, and you fight Revolver Ocelot early in the game when you don't have any guns heavier than a pistol. Inverted when Cyborg {{Ninja}} willingly drops his sword in order to fight you [[FisticuffsBoss hand-to-hand]], should you remove your own weapons during the fight with him.
** And ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 2|SonsOfLiberty}}'''s final fight makes you battle Solidus with swords only. Here any use of guns is not possible.
** ''VideoGame/{{Metal Gear Solid 4|GunsOfThePatriots}}'' had a sequence where you get to [[spoiler:pilot Metal Gear REX and battle Liquid Ocelot in a Metal Gear RAY]]. And it's awesome.
** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolidVThePhantomPain'' has PowerArmor that has weaker versions of the same superpowers of the QuirkyMinibossSquad (which equates to 75% of the bosses of the entire game). It's [[AwesomeButImpractical impractical]] and you have to fulton a few minibosses to get Parasite Charges for the suit, but you can beat your opponents by using these powers more effectively than they can.
** This is entirely optional for the most part, as there are several ways to beat each boss or situation. When you fight Sniper Wolf [[spoiler:again]] you can take cover behind an embankment and spam Nikita missiles at her. With ''[=MGS3=]'''s The End, you ''could'' fight fire with fire by sniping him, or you could sneak around and make the fight up close and personal. Or just run out the clock (although this takes several days without cheating). You can even kill him and prevent his boss fight later on; when he is being wheeled out at the docks, you can snipe him down easily.
** Inverted in the fight with Laughing Octopus in ''[=MGS4=]'', where [[spoiler:she will occasionally hide in a cardboard box]].

* ''Franchise/KingdomHearts''

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsBirthBySleep:'' the FinalBoss of Ventus' story is Vanitas, [[spoiler:his EnemyWithout-turned-EnemyWithin. During the second phase of the final battle, Ven acquires and triggers a D-Link of Vanitas, which lets him use Vanitas' own attacks and shotlock against him.
* Much of ''VideoGame/ZoneOfTheEnders: The 2nd Runner'''s plot involves acquiring the [[FlashStep Zero Shift technique]] so that the player's HumongousMecha Jehuty will be able to fight on equal footing with its EvilCounterpart, Anubis.
* Black Waltz No. 3 in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX''. As his name implies, he fights with black magic, and your party includes a black mage of your own, Vivi. Black Waltz also has the ability to fly into the air, making him virtually impossible to hit with short-ranged physical attacks but still easy prey for Vivi's magic. And Vivi automatically begins the battle in [[LimitBreak Trance]] mode, allowing him to cast two spells per turn. It's obvious what you were meant to do (not that you ''have'' to, but...)
** Black Waltz No. 2, however, is a subversion. If you use Vivi's spells against him, he will taunt you and counter with a higher-level spell, handily discouraging you from "fighting fire with fire". And if you're wondering about Black Waltz No. 1... Vivi isn't in your party then.
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTacticsAdvance'' is a good example of a game where you can [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard cheat just as much as the computer]]... [[GameBreaker and possibly even more than that]].
** In the story, Marche often gets attacked by various groups of people, including bounty hunters, that [[spoiler:his brother Doned]] tells about him when he goes out on missions. Marche, wanting to lure [[spoiler:Doned]] out to talk with him, takes an especially promising job. He's able to defeat his foes and [[spoiler:reconcile with his brother]].
* More generally in the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series, there's Blue Magic, which allows a character to learn enemy-exclusive skills, usually via getting ''hit with it''. This includes the instant-death skills.
* When you kill TheDragon in ''VideoGame/{{Rune}}'', he falls into a pit of green goo, accidentally transforming into a [[OneWingedAngel super zombie]]. He realizes that he has basically beaten you and jumps over the InsurmountableWaistHeightFence you're now trapped behind; you then commit suicide by jumping into the goo and becoming a super zombie yourself.
* Meta Knight, the recurring sword-wielding WorthyOpponent from the ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}'' series, usually leaves a sword in the boss arena for you to take and use against him. Originally, in ''VideoGame/KirbysAdventure'', he refused to start the fight until you took it, but in ''VideoGame/KirbySuperStar'', he will fight you if you wait several seconds without taking it, which isn't advisable outside of the Arena due to the time limit you're given, plus the extremely low amount of ammo he creates makes defeating him without an ability extremely difficult (Though future games and remakes remedy this by making him generate stars after most attacks).

** In the final battle of ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'', [[spoiler:Magolor's second form and Soul form imitates the various [[LimitBreak Super Abilities]] used by Kirby as attacks after he TurnsRed.]]
** During the fight with [[spoiler:Hyness]] from ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'', he [[spoiler:will use the friend circle after a certain point.]]
* ''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'''s final boss involves you [[spoiler:summoning ''another'' final boss that beats it in the ElementalRockPaperScissors circle, and letting it loose. While the two gods fight, you tackle the other dude that summoned the first one.]]
* According to the Strategy Guide, it is almost impossible to defeat the final boss in ''VideoGame/BaldursGateII'' without temporarily giving into your evil nature and turning into the Slayer, which the final boss also starts the fight as. It should be noted that this is rubbish, all you really need is a strong character. They seem to like the idea of you turning into the Slayer for the final boss fight though, and the game drops hints to that near the end of the game.
* Topo in ''VideoGame/BraveFencerMusashi''. When Musashi attempts to start a boss fight, she is aghast that he would consider [[WouldntHitAGirl hitting a girl]] and challenges him to a dance contest instead. Failing to copy her moves in the resulting rhythm minigame will result in being blown into an electric fence.

* Some of the Wrestling/{{WWE}} {{Wrestling Game}}s allow players to "steal" their opponent's finisher with a special combination of buttons. This can get rather hilarious if, for example, the player is playing as The Big Show (who measures 213 cm and weighs an even 200 kg), and borrows Jeff Hardy's signature Swanton Bomb (which involves leaping off the top turnbuckle, flipping forward 270 degrees, and landing back-first across a prone opponent).
** Swanton Bomb nothing. Have Show or Andre the Giant steal Rey Misterio's finisher--swinging kick through the ropes, land on the apron, spring to the top rope, then fly off and land sitting on the victim's shoulders, then backflip into a pin. Tell me there isn't anything more frightening than seeing a 500-pound wrestler flying groin-first at your face.
** Or on the other side of the gamut, playing Rey Mysterio and having him do a Tombstone Piledriver on the Undertaker.
** ''WWE 2K15'' added a bit to this by making a successful move steal [[HumiliationConga humiliate]] the opponent, and reduce their stamina a bit as a result.
* In ''VideoGame/MegaManClassic'' games, the titular character gains the abilities of the Robot Masters that he defeats, which are typically useful against another Robot Master. However, in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', Metal Man is particularly weak to his own weapon; two shots on Hard Mode will take him out.
** This is even more prominent in ''VideoGame/MegaMan3'', where ''every'' Robot Master is weak against his own weapon.
* In ''VideoGame/TakAndThePowerOfJuju'', Tak defeats Tlaloc by turning Tlaloc's sheep curse back on him.
** In ''Tak 2: Staff of Dreams'', Tlaloc uses half of the Staff of Dreams to turn into a huge purple monster with tiny bat wings. Tak counters by using his half of the staff to... turn into a huge '''blue''' monster with tiny bat wings.
* In ''VideoGame/ChronoTrigger'', one of the fights against Magus invokes this trope; whatever magic is used against you is the only way to successfully fight back, and it changes every few rounds. This can be confusing if you're used to playing ElementalRockPaperScissors, though the DS version helps clear it up. For all but one party combination (and that one only works after a fair bit of LevelGrinding to get Crono, Frog, and Lucca's Triple Tech), you won't be able to match one (or two) of the elements, depending on your party; hitting him physically with anyone but Frog makes him manually cycle the elements, solving that problem.
* While most ''VideoGame/{{Klonoa}}'' series bosses require you to throw enemies into them, the King of Sorrow from ''Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil'' attacks you with spiked orbs which he controls with chains of energy. To defeat him, you have to steal one of his orbs and throw it at him; conveniently, it can be used multiple times, as it returns to you on a chain of energy after you throw it.

* The original, 2D platformer ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersia1'' forces the player to leap through a mirror at one point, creating a "shadow twin" who bedevils the player in later levels. When the hero finally confronts his twin, the player discovers that striking the twin damages the hero, and killing the twin results in the hero's death. The only way to defeat the twin is to [[spoiler: sheathe your sword and run into the twin, causing the hero's dark side to be re-absorbed.]]
* In ''Franchise/DotHack'' video games you can use Data Drain against the enemies. The same skill the 8 Phases use against people to put them into comas. In fact, Data Drain is the only way to defeat most of them.

* Reverse example in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry3'': Dante goes the whole game with his broadsword Rebellion and his brother Vergil with a {{katana|sAreJustBetter}} called Yamato. [[FinalBoss In the final mission]], Vergil gains a similar sword (Force Edge, the [[SealedBadassInACan sealed version]] of their father's namesake sword) and starts fighting almost exactly like ''you'', going from a GlassCannon Ken to a full-fledged PerfectPlayAI
** Badass as it was in the boss fight, the cutscenes make it evident that Dante was far superior with broadswords.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', the kitsune lord Ninetails has a Celestial Brush of its own on each of its tails. Trying to use your own Celestial Brush will make Ninetails bring up a Brush to match and disrupt your Technique, forcing you to finish the pattern as soon as possible before the enemy crosses it out. It can also perform techniques similar to your own.
** In the sequel ''VideoGame/{{Okamiden}}'', the final boss can strike out your Celestial Brush techniques until you manage to make the sun re-appear, at which point he will start attempting to use Brush techs of his own...which you can, of course, strike through and interrupt yourself.
* ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'': In the game, you are supposed to be an arbitrator of Kyras's laws. However, you will invariably find yourself interpreting them more flexibly. At the end of the game, [[spoiler:you are summoned by the highest court to be held responsible for your actions throughout the game. Even though he is supposed to be the highest authority on Kyras's laws, you can still beat Tunon, the Archon of Justice himself, in his own court.]]

* Not about fighting, but in ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights2: Mask of the Betrayer'' you can help a guy from DealWithTheDevil by beating the devil with its own contract.
* If you kill another player enough times in any class-based multiplayer (like ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'') expect him to eventually switch to the same class in an attempt to balance the playing field.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2'' features this as a perk in its multiplayer, called Copycat. The idea is that if a player has died four times in a row without scoring a kill of their own, this perk allows them to clone the loadout of the last player that killed them, including any perks, weapons, or equipment they personally might not have unlocked yet. The idea here is that if you're doing that badly in-game, you might as well try to beat your opponents with their own kit, since they've proven it works. Successfully enacting this trope on the person who killed you [[CosmeticAward rewards you with a special title and emblem]].
* In ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', this is often reversed, with boss fights designed to use players' abilities against them. [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Herald_Volazj Herald Volazj]] in Anh'Kahet is one such boss, who splits the party and forces each player to fight clones of the others. A similar effect is used by Valkyr Heralds in Icecrown Citadel, who spawn copies of randomly chosen raid members that everyone must fight. Perhaps the most literal use of this, however, is in the Trial of the Crusader, whose third boss fight consists of a group of [=PvP=] opponents that behave as much like opposing players as it's possible for the game's AI to simulate. For example, crowd control abilities, normally useless on bosses, suddenly become mandatory.
* In ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'', several types are weak to themselves, and in some cases, that is the only thing that is super effective. As an example, Dragon-type Pokémon are weak to Ice- and Dragon-type attacks. However, later games in the series introduce two Water/Dragon-type Pokémon, Palkia and Kingdra. The Water type cancels out the Ice-type weakness, and the Dragon type cancels all of Water-type's weaknesses, meaning that the only easy way to take one of these down is to beat them at their own game with a Dragon-type attack. (This only applies up until [[VideoGame/PokemonXAndY Generation VI]], which introduced a new type strong against them.)
** The move Mirror Move allows the user to use the move just used by the opponent, and the move Transform literally allows Pokémon to beat the opponent at their own game, as the [[DittoFighter Transforming]] Pokémon gains access to the target's typing, stats, and moves. To a lesser extent, the move Role Play can change the user's ability to that of the target.
* Averted in ''VideoGame/PlanescapeTorment'': a mage duel with the final boss is impossible to win even if you cheat to get so high level the XP meter refuses to register more. Instead, you can defeat him by: beating him with something, having your buddies beat him, talking him into surrendering, talking him into suicide, nullifying him out of existance with sheer force of will, or even killing yourself.

* ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoSanAndreas'' has a scene where you can fight a Vietnamese gang boss sword vs sword (he tosses one to you to duel). Of course, if by then you've picked up a shotgun, [[CombatPragmatist you're still more than free to use it]].
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow 2'' has a similar scene where you fight a rival gang's (A yakuza style gang who fight with swords) enforcer and his men with samurai swords, although unlike in GTA you can't use any other weapon during this part of the game.
* The ''VideoGame/LEGOStarWars'' games have the player Force-pushing objects, thrown by the boss, back at the boss. Fighting Dooku even lets you do it with [[ShockAndAwe Force Lightning]] (but not in the PSP bonus level version or in ''Complete Saga'').
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/HypeTheTimeQuest'', the Final Boss, Barnak, has a "Smart Tornado" that follows the character. You can use this to your advantage by getting Barnak in between you and the tornado. It isn't very effective, though, and is absolutely not necessary, but fun.
* In ''VideoGame/RedSteel'' (the first), your character proceeds through each level with the usual assortment of FPS firearms. The BossBattle of each level, however, is inevitably a swordfight, requiring you to put away your guns and use your blade instead.
* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Brawl'' has a boss named Duon that has a melee-attacking side and a projectile-throwing side. The blog notes that it's best to match him and fight close to it when the melee side is facing you, and keep your distance from the projectile-throwing side.
* Subverted in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'', as the rocket-firing Cyberdemon actually takes less than normal damage from the rocket launcher, making it rather ineffective. [[note]]To be specific, the rocket deals damage from both the impact and the explosion itself. The Cyberdemon is immune to splash damage, which means it only takes damage from the impact itself.[[/note]]
* The Prowler from ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood'', with his hooded robe and retractable switchblade, appears to be a Templar attempt to fight the Assassins with their own methods. In fact, the Multiplayer itself is this, being a training program used by the Templars in order to replicate Assassin techniques.
** This is solidified in ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedRevelations'': One of the new enemy types is the Stalker, who can be dressed in white, appears out of friggin' nowhere and tries to shank you... just like you've been doing to countless Templars.
** ''[[VideoGame/AssassinsCreedFreedomCry Freedom Cry]]'' gives the player the chance to kill a slaver with his own branding iron.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Pickory}}'', [[UnexpectedGameplayChange one of the boss fights is actually a clone of [=KSpaceDuel=]]]. You get a ship which is identical to the boss in every way.
* A literal example: a team of ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' developers was beaten at ''League of Legends'' by a team of ''VideoGame/HeroesOfNewerth'' developers, their [[DuelingGames chief competitors]] in the market, which is doubly ironic because ''[=HoN=]'' is considered by many to have a higher skill cap, which ''[=LoL=]'' fans often vehemently deny.
* [[VideoGame/GodOfWar Kratos]] pulls this on [[spoiler:Hades]] in ''VideoGame/GodOfWarIII''. [[spoiler:The God of the Underworld tries to steal his soul. Kratos takes his soul-stealing weapons, then uses them on Hades.]]
* Don Flaminco in ''VideoGame/PunchOut'' uses this against you. For most opponents, you have to block or dodge their attacks and then counterattack. Don does the same trick against you, refusing to land a blow on you unless you strike first so he can counter. Of course, you can counter his counterattack.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Evolva}}'', you're forced to do this, as you must mutate to get the defeated enemies' attacks and use them against the enemies, if you don't want to complete the game only with your fists. It's still not recommended to use an attack against the enemy that gave you the attack in the first place.
* In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]]'', dragons have the natural ablity to use "[[WordsCanBreakMyBones shouts]]". When humanity learned how to use shouts (which the dragonborn can do as easily as a dragon) from [[spoiler: [[DefectorFromDecadence the dragon Paarthurnax]]]] they developed [[spoiler: a shout called "dragonrend", which was basically made of the draconic words for "mortal", "finite" and "temporary". As they were basically a race of TimeAbyss near-gods, the mere concept of relative time (particularly something ending) screwed with them so much [[WeaksauceWeakness it could be weaponised]] against them]].
* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':
** In ''VideoGame/SonicColors'', the FinalBoss uses Wisp powers against Sonic, who had been using them up to this point, complete with even having the same announcer. However, once it takes enough damage, it will begin to [[MyRulesAreNotYourRules combine and use two Wisp powers at once]].
** Done in a literal way in ''VideoGame/SonicMania''. The boss of [[VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2 Chemical Plant Zone]] Act 2 is [[spoiler:Dr. Eggman challenging the player to a round of [[VideoGame/DrRobotniksMeanBeanMachine Mean Bean Machine]] (or ''VideoGame/PuyoPuyo'').]]
*** In the same game, the mini-boss of [[UnderwaterRuins Hydrocity Zone]] Act 1 has [[spoiler:Sonic piloting the original Act 2 boss machine, attempting to suck up Eggman in the propeller blades as Eggman did to him in ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic 3]]''.]]

* In many competitive and online games where MirrorMatch is possible, sometimes a player is able to defeat his opponent by simply being the same character and using their abilities against their opponent in a more skilled fashion. Similarly, sometimes certain set ups, abilities, or the like can be countered by simply using the same thing against that player.
* In ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo'', ''Film/TheMatrix'''s example (see the Film — Live-Action section) is at the start of the extended roof-top level.
* Several entries in the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series involve the protagonist Guybrush using a knockoff version of the very same voodoo trinket the villain has been using against him:
** ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland2LeChucksRevenge'' ends with [=LeChuck=] stalking Guybrush with a VoodooDoll. Guybrush's salvation lies in finding the materials to make his own doll. They're evenly matched in power, but Guybrush is a lot more creative in the execution.
** ''VideoGame/EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'' codifies the trope with the phrase, "The easiest way to defeat a voodoo curse is with an even ''bigger'' voodoo curse", and the game takes this extremely literally. The way to stop a madman with a powerful voodoo trinket is to make a much larger copy of the same trinket.
** The final chapter of ''VideoGame/TalesOfMonkeyIsland'' has Guybrush trapped in the Crossroads, the pirate afterlife, after being [[spoiler: killed by [=LeChuck=]]]. To escape and undo his arch-enemy's plan, he has to harness the same spell [=LeChuck=] used to become a ghost pirate in the first place.
* In ''[[Franchise/SpongeBobSquarePants SpongeBob's]] Truth or Square'', all of Plankton's [[MechaMooks robots]] fight using the same 3 attacks [=SpongeBob=] can do in the game: wielding an item they can slam ([=SpongeBob=] can turn into a spatula or hammer, and the robots often wield the latter), [[SpinAttack spinning]] ([=SpongeBob=] by turning into a ship wheel or fan, the robots with anchors attached to their arms), or shooting projectiles (cannonballs in their various forms, usually).
* In ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow]]'', you encounter Dmitrii Blinov who can copy powers and will strike back with whatever soul ability you last hit him with. This is ultimately a weakness, as you can hit him with an an easily dodged ability. He also only gets the ability at Level 1. So you can use a Level 9 Cave Troll soul to strike with a screen-long tongue attack, and he'll counter with one that barely gets past his own lips.

** Same thing happened, though on smaller scale, on ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague Unlimited'', along with a BreakingSpeech. Superman was having problems taking down his evil clone, prompting Wonder Woman to fly in and suggesting to switch dance partners. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl end up doing the same thing. We see The Flash and Batman easily beating their own doubles, however, the Flash with a particularly effective ShutUpHannibal, and Batman by virtue of the fact that he didn't give his double a chance to start messing with his head.

* In the ''WesternAnimation/BatmanTheAnimatedSeries'' episode "Read My Lips", the first appearance of Scarface in the cartoon, Batman is able to fool Scarface into arguing with Wesker by using his own skills in ventriloquism.

* WesternAnimation/AvatarTheLastAirbender: Said word for word by Long Feng, but denied by Azula.

* Played with ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode "Bart Carny". The Simpsons let a father and son who worked at a CrappyCarnival Homer got closed, which included such things as an impossible ring-toss, stay at their home. The father and son ended up locking the Simpsons out of their house when they were away. Homer bet the house on being able to throw a hula-hoop around their chimney and the carny agreed. [[spoiler:When Homer seemed about to throw the thing, the family run back into the house and lock the door. So they ''really'' beat them at their own game: cheating.]]

** Cecil Turtle is not only one of the few characters able to outsmart Bugs Bunny, he did it ''three times'', (in "Tortoise Beats Hare", "Tortoise Wins by a Hare", and "Rabbit Transit".) This Trope clearly applied each time, the third time Cecil closing out the cartoon by saying Bugs' own line, "Ain't I a...um...stinker?".

* [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII The Battle of Midway]] was a second attempt by the [[UsefulNotes/KatanasOfTheRisingSun Japanese Navy]] to trap and neutralize the US Pacific Fleet. The plan called for drawing the US Carrier Forces North by sending the Fifth Fleet towards the Aleutian Islands. Meanwhile, a separate strike force (Kido Butai, lit. "''Striking Force''") would seize the airfield on Midway Island to neutralize that threat. In response, the Carrier group was expected to turn back south to retake Midway, where Kido Butai would be waiting. On paper, it seemed to be an elegant and well-thought out plan, if [[ComplexityAddiction a bit too complex]]. What the Japanese didn't know is that the Americans had broken their codes, forewarning them about the attack and allowing them to set up their own trap. When Kido Butai approached Midway, they got ambushed by dozens of US Fighters and Bombers from the same carrier group they were trying to take out. [[DecisiveBattle And the rest is history.]]

** This also happens in one of the early [[ComicBook/ArchieComicsSonicTheHedgehog Archie SonicTheHedgehog]] comics, wherein the main cast has an all-out brawl with their MirrorUniverse {{Evil Twin}}s. The heroes start out fighting their own counterparts and neither side can gain an advantage, but after they switch partners the goodies handily tromp the baddies.

* In ''[[FanFic/SovereignGFCOrigins Origins]]'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, the heroes are faced with an AlienInvasion that's destroyed every attempt to stop it so far. It spreads like TheVirus by consuming any organic tissue it finds in order to create more of itself. What do they do? Build starships that need no organic crew, are run by artificial intelligence, and are [[MilitaryMashupMachine mobile factories]] capable of self-upgrade, self-repair, and deploying their own smaller ships while drawing power from [[EatingMachine consuming dead alien tissue]] as a PowerSource.