Ironmen

Ironmen is a term that can refer to several different concepts, primarily within the realm of sports and video games. In professional wrestling, the Iron Man match is a type of bout where the winner is the competitor who scores the most falls within a predetermined time limit, often an hour. This format emphasizes endurance and sustained performance, requiring athletes to maintain a high level of intensity and strategic acumen for an extended duration.

In the context of gaming, particularly within the popular sandbox title Old School RuneScape, an "Ironman" is a player-created character with specific, self-imposed restrictions. These players cannot trade with other players, use the Grand Exchange, or receive any items from other players. Their progress is entirely self-reliant, fostering a unique challenge and a distinct playstyle focused on solo achievement and resourcefulness. This mode significantly alters the game's economy and progression, demanding players to gather all their resources, train all their skills, and defeat all their bosses without external assistance. The term has also been adopted in other video games as a name for similar high-difficulty or self-imposed challenge modes.