To create the illusion of a longer game, designers would often ratchet up the difficulty level and force players through multiple recycled environments.
One that consumers regularly bring up is reviewable whole-of-life insurance policies, which allow providers to ratchet up the cost of premiums as people get older.
Older pinball machines used an electromechanical system for scoring wherein a pulse from a switch would cause a complex mechanism composed of relays to ratchet up the score.
