Fake difficulty is defined by five criteria, in addition to the sub-category (The Computer Is A Cheating Bastard). If any one of these criteria are present in a game, fake difficulty is present.
1. Bad technical aspects make it difficult. Making a difficult jump is a real difficulty. Making a same difficult jump with overly complex controls, bad jumping physics, or an abrupt mid-air change of camera angle - and therefore the orientation of your controls - is not.
2. The outcome is not reasonably determined by the player's actions. Unlocking a door by solving a color puzzle is real difficulty. Unlocking it by pressing a button until you get the right number is not.
3. Denial of information critical to progress. A reasonable game may require the player to use information, clues, or logic to proceed. Witholding relevant information means the player cannot possibly win without a guide, walkthrough or trial and error is fake difficulty. Also includes hidden Unstable Equilibrium (e.g. a later level is much harder if you do badly at an early level, and you're not informed of this ahead of time).
4. The outcome of the game is influenced by decisions that were uninformed at the time and cannot be undone. A game that offered a Joke Character and was clear about the character's weakness is real difficulty. A game that disguises a joke character as a real one is fake difficulty.
5. The game requires the player to use knowledge that's either incorrect or has nothing to do with the genre. A football game that requires you to describe the position that Jerry Rice played for a power-up is real difficulty. A football game that forces you to do multi-variable calculus in order to train your starting lineup is fake difficulty.
