So in Might and Magic 7 i keep finding these pedestals that say contest of luck, might, etc... and when i click on them... they say you lose!.... which you know, kinda makes me sad.... what are these for and how do i win!?

You just need to have high levels(25 to 100, varies randomly) of the basic STATs - raise them with the Barrels, Black potions, special wells and altars etc. I don't know if the White temporary boost potions work or not

Temp stat boost works. Try it out with Day of the Gods Pedestal + Game pedestal(req : 25 stat) at Emerald Isle.

temp boosts from equips, white potions, and conditions(tip : Insanity helps fighters) work as well.

There are four different levels: Game, Contest, Test, and Challenge.

The only Game you will ever see is on Emerald Island, on the hill behind the Temple of the Moon. You need 25 points in the appropriate attribute to win (Just use the Day of the Gods pedestal and you'll get those attribute points automatically), and you get 3 skill points for it.

Contests are the brass braziers that you've probably found in Harmondale, Erathia, Tularea, etc. You need 50 points in the appropriate attribute to win, and you get 5 skill points for winning.

Tests are stone pillars with red-orange flames. 100 attribute points wins you 7 skill points.

Challenges are stone pillars with white flames. 200 attribute points wins you 10 skill points.

Note that once you've won, say, a Contest of Might, you cannot gain skill points from any other Contest of Might. If Harmondale and Erathia happen to have contests of the same attribute, there is no use taking advantage of both.

Trials are randomly generated upon first entering an area. In order to achieve an optimal yield of trials, one can enter an area again and again until a desired trial appears.

In addition, areas are reset every year or two, so that you have another chance to pass an exam that you have not yet completed.

Correct... and the game just says "you've already won" , so you have no way of knowing if you already won THIS one or a previous one.

You can of course win four times - once with each character. The character whose stat is being examined gets the skill points. In that example you could have knight winning the Contest of Might in Harmondale, thief and cleric also winning it in Harmondale but months later and sorcerer winning it in Erathia.

MM8 also has these exams. (One map has both an obvious Challenge and an out-of-the-way Contest.) MM6 does not - it has the circus games instead, which are stat-% ? chance of a random prize as often as we like.

Day of the Gods helps with stats