Keith Flint, in his Wargames, Soldiers, and Strategy #137 essay on wargaming as an escape (see WSS#137 Let's Escape pp 62-63) offers an interesting perspective covering several topics. Some of his brief thoughts on this topic can be read on his blog at In Which I Became a Global Influencer.
To briefly summarize the escapism portion of Keith's essay, Keith highlights a quote that he has heard from wargamers that,
Wargaming allows me to escape everyday life, and it allows me to be someone else for a while.
Now, I have never heard anyone utter similar words and if they did, I would take such claim in a figurative and not a literal context.
Given this statement's literal weighting, Keith argues that we should reject the notion of hobby escapism that allows one to step away from everyday stresses, work, or reality. Keith posits that this thinking is misguided since one cannot truly escape the real world. The wargaming hobby is an extension of the real world and an extension of who we are. Framing the hobby as an escape tends to discredit both daily life and the hobby. A more wholesome approach is to view hobby time as a constructive shift between different and complementary aspects of life.
How does this tie back to the Great Wargaming Survey?
In an earlier analysis, I examined the question of why we wargame. In Why We Wargame: A Closer Look, survey results show that when the top three choices are aggregated across all respondents that "Fun and escapism" contributes only about 13% of the top choices. "Fun and escapism" comes in at Rank #5 of 7.  |
| Figure 1 |
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| Figure 2 |
Now, "escapism" is lumped in with "fun" so separating the two is impossible from the 2025 survey. If this question is asked again, perhaps, "fun" and "escapism" ought to be separated to identify those seeking escapism solely?
A related question that examines the role of the hobby as an outlet for stress is present in the 2025 survey. That question asks,
Would you agree that wargaming helps you forget about the stresses of daily life?
The results are overwhelmingly one-sided. Figure 3 illustrates that 62.1% of respondents entirely agree that wargaming helps forget about stresses of daily life. Fully 93% either somewhat agree or entirely agree with this statement.
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| Figure 3 |
Rather than looking at the wargaming hobby as a literal escape, perhaps, wargaming ought to be viewed as a relaxing, constructive shift between our different aspects of life? I think Keith would agree. Keith, thank you for offering up some food for thought!
Do you view the hobby as an escape from real life?
Some interesting points raised by Keith and yourself there Jon. I wouldn't see the hobby as pure escapism for me, but I certainly view it as fun in all its apsects, as otherwise, why would I do it? Certainly when I'm playing my solo games I'm 'in the moment' so to speak, so for those few hours I tend to forget about the other demands upon my time etc. But then that was true when I played various sports over the years. I would venture that hobbies are meant by their very nature, to be fun and relaxing, as again why would we do them?
ReplyDeleteThanks, Steve. I agree that hobbies should be fun and relaxing, and not as a way to sidestep reality. As you say, if not, why do it?
DeleteVery interesting idea. Personally I don't. Gaming for me is the fun mental challenge, much like puzzle solving. It's also my top creative outlet. I don't find painting relaxing, but I enjoy the color research and working out complementary schemes fun too. Completing painting a group of figures is especially satisfying to me.
ReplyDeleteI agree that playing a game should offer a stimulating mental puzzle to solve. I design scenarios toward that goal. For me, painting is a relaxing part of the hobby, but I know that not everyone sees it the same. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteInteresting question Jon. I agree with yourself and Steve. I don’t view wargaming as an escape from the stresses of daily life. If anything at times of stress I wargame less, but maybe read more. Maybe I’m lucky that I don’t feel that I need to escape from daily life or maybe I’ve found coping mechanisms that don’t involve a mental escape.
ReplyDeleteEscaping doesn’t solve anything anyway and if something is at the back of your mind it finds a way to the front anyway. Mind you, a bit of timely respite to recharge the batteries is helpful now and again.
Chris/Nundanket
Thanks, Chris! Like you, I feel no need to "escape" from real life. Keith makes the point in his essay that when his life is encountering a rough patch, hobby motivation slips away too. I agree the notion of escape solves little but only results in kicking the can down the road a bit. "Escape" to wargaming, to me, would be in a figurative sense only. Good comment!
DeleteJonathan,
ReplyDeleteFirstly, this is not intended as criticism or disparaging on Mr Flint. I apologise in advance for ant offense I may cause.
I'm afraid I disagree with Keith Flint (I suspect not just on this from what I've read - each to their own). He constructs his argument on two different concepts; escaping from everyday life AND being someone else. The two are independent concepts.
When I'm painting or modelling or even gaming I am not thinking about work or problems - I am in the moment and absorbed with that particular activity.
I have never considered I am "someone else" - that's an extreme statement to make. Has he encountered someone who thinks he's Napoleon or whoever when gaming? Very odd.
I am always me; just doing something different - dare I say more enjoyable?
If Keith or anyone else, cannot escape real life for short periods while indulging in their hobby, something is wrong somewhere. Passion for a hobby is all consuming in my experience; not just wargaming.
Perhaps he is a very literal person and his argument (such as it is) is based around the concept of "reality" and the "here and now" idea of being present and grounded. It just sounds rather unimaginative to me.
That or rather unhealthy - often seen in things like depression where you cannot divert your thoughts from the problems of everyday life. As someone who suffers from that condition, I've found the hobby a great distraction and therapeutic.
Wikipedia describes escapism as: "Escapism is mental diversion from unpleasant aspects of daily life, typically through activities involving imagination or entertainment.[2][3][4] Escapism also may be used to occupy one's self away from persistent feelings of depression or general sadness."
Nothing here to suggest the idea of being someone else or even any cognitive dissonance, just harmless diversion.
I dread to think what he'd make of the Simulation Hypothesis!☺☺☺☺
Neil
Neil, thank you for your very thoughtful and interesting response! You pack a lot into your reply. I am guessing that you must have read Keith's original essay in WSS#137. Yes?
DeleteYou bring up many good points in rebuttal. When I read the essay (and re-read it several times before hammering out this post), my take-away was that the notion of a literal escape and becoming someone else was something of a strawman argument. That is how it struck me since I have never encountered anyone having such a position. I know of no one who actually believes they "become" Napoleon when they wargame.
Simulation hypothesis? Now that might be an interesting topic to cover and how wargaming fits into the general hypothesis.
Very good, Neil!
Jonathan,
DeleteI think I read it. I've stopped buying the magazines. WSS was one of the better, but too often filled with articles of minimal content and heavy on the "eye candy". The personal articles were occasionally interesting, but often felt either like a sinecure or deliberately controversial. The occasional contributors being especially prone to this. TBH, I was quite interested to read Mr Priestly, but was irritated by Richard Clarke on a regular basis!
It was the opinionated nature that rankled me most; everyone is entitled to an opinion, but there are ways to express it.....
Strawman came to mind, but I was trying to be tactful!
Neil
Using the term "strawman" was not tactful? Whoops!
DeleteI subscribe but I agree with many of your sentiments on content.
I have to agree with a fair amount of what Neil says.
ReplyDeleteAm I someone else when I engage in the hobby? No. Do I think about work, family and life's commitments when I game/paint? No. Sounds like an escape to me. When we engage all know that the "escape" is temporary but like the welcome cup of tea or night at the theatre or movies it helps to divert us, provide fun and recharge the batteries.
Thanks, Richard! Neil is a wise man! Wargaming as a fun diversion is what a hobby is supposed to provide.
DeleteI’ve got to agree with your man Mr Patterson (above) who explained my own sentiments far more eloquently than I could’ve managed. As a certified nut job suffering from anxiety and depression (long before it became the new rock n roll) I can affirm that the hobby gives me brief periods of worry free absorption in something creative but has never (yet) encouraged me to pretend to be someone else. Real life is sadly ever present.
ReplyDelete"My Man" Neil is more eloquent than I could have been too! I simply laid out the case and supplied some data for readers to make their own decision.
Delete"Certified nut job"? I hardly think so! You are a crafty and cunning opponent with, sometimes, more luck than an opponent wants to see!
Good post.
ReplyDeleteI think the escapism aspect is more prevalent in a tabletop roleplay setting, DND and the like. Players create a character and spend the next "X" amount of time pretending to be that person as far as the game is concerned, making choices ingame as though they were "that character", not as themselves. It takes a certain amount of escapism to detach oneself from reality and take on a persona in that way.
Wargaming... doesn't really demand it's players to do the same. Even in a fantasy or scifi setting, players are rarely acting as though they are hacking at the orcish enemy, or blasting apart aliens - it's more, moving those pieces about with maybe a "pew-pew" or "charge(!)" effect for good measure.
I like wargaming. I don't think in the least that I'm some Stalinist Officer facing off against the Nazi invader when I roll dice and move game pieces.
Dai, you make a very interesting point about the possible different approaches in "escapism" between historical wargaming and fantasy/sci-fi RPGs. Great contrast, actually. You provide much more to ponder. Thank you!
DeleteI thought the article took the notion of escapism too literally. Hobbies are personal to people, it might shock you that I don’t like knitting, but the next person loves it, so my take is that all hobby time regardless of where it originates is precious and allows us all a moment of immersion of pleasure in what is special to us and is an escapism from all those other things that we service in life …… like the bosses objectives and targets, the daily grind of work, paying bills and all that good stuff. Norm
ReplyDeleteMy problem is, I cannot separate escapism from obsession ….. Napoleon!
DeleteThank you for your thoughts, Norm! I don't like knitting either, but my wife does! That is a new quote to me.
DeleteI really wish I could remember my responses to the survey as when I reread the options I could have ranked anyone one of the top five as the top choice. I very much agree with the sentiments above in that I have always viewed the word escapism to mean the ability to switch off from the outside world and become completely absorbed in something unrelated to the every day for a while rather than a literal flight or escape, so I do think the hobby offers a form of escapism in a figurative sense without actually having to become or pretend to be someone else.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Larwence! Next time, take notes! Or, put some identifying mark into your Comments/Observations field and I can track your response to help jog your memory.
DeleteIf I do that and my answers differ, then you'll just think I'm making it up as a go along. Which I am.
DeleteVery funny!
DeleteJonathan -
ReplyDeleteWhy does one read stories, watch movies, watch or play sports, even listen or play music? Are they not forms of escape?
One infers from Mr Flint's tone that he thinks of the form of escapism he's talking about is the 'flight of the deserter'. And he might be right about that ... sometimes. But the 'prisoner's breakout' might equally well describe one's escapism.
Possibly the most well known in literature is R.L. Stevenson's verse, 'World of Counterpane' - a world created by a bed-ridden invalid. Created worlds expand horizons far beyond the constraints of one's 'real world'. What war gaming offers me also are narratives without the constraints of a written novel or history.
One might liken the war gamer in terms of lepidoptera: the everyday person as caterpillar; the process of creating armies and battlefields and the 'natural laws' the prevail in this fantasy world; and the breaking out into this creation with its horizons as broad as the imagination can reach.
Many decades ago a friend - an accountant for a multinational corporation - once remarked: 'If this is reality, give me Disneyland!' I could sympathise, but I didn't need Disneyland. I already had the world of Trockenbeeren-Auslese...
Cheers,
Ion
Ion, I appreciate your response! Of course, all of the activities you mention are for entertainment. Some are more serious leisure than others, but all offer a form of escape. You offer a deep and inspired observation of the topic at hand. I don't need Disneyland either! Great insights. Thank you!
DeleteAt the top level. It sounded to me like an 'argument ' being posited, as in a logic course. The definitions were hazy totrying to I km ʼn me, and the logic followed the word choices made. The result, if logically correct , still did not provide a definition of escapism, much less tie behaviors to a standard of values. At least to me.
ReplyDeleteThat no player I have ever met thought the dice in thier hands made them Napoleon is an accurate portrayal of my experience.
A friend of mine in high-school would always make noises for his moves that sounded like a crowd and provided the invisible host with a running commentary of the activity. Did he really think he was playing pro ball in the moment? Hardly.
How about the gamers who will sing "Men of Harlech" when playing a game ?
MLB fans who yell at the referee on TV for a call they don't agree with?
Playing with miniatures is already abstract, likening the tabletop to actual acreage really has made it hard to believe the dangers of being Boney in a game. Besides I roll too poorly to ever be the Emporer, ;_).
I have never gamed with anyone who actually thought they were Napoleon either. I never (OK, rarely hear anyone) make "pew-pew" noises at the gaming table. Sometimes, songs do break out, however, but not in the character of the game. Like you, I never roll well enough to last long as Emperor. Good comments!
DeleteMisspelled phrase should be " hazy to me"
ReplyDeleteNoted!
DeleteI too will take the easy option and agree with what most of Neil said. I read " real life" as a pejorative reference to the mundane and irritating BS...like paid employment, household chores, grocery shopping etc... that most of us have to put up with....I don't think anyone transforms into a commanding officer as they play a wargame...it's just a turn of phrase we all use as code/ shorthand to differentiate something we actually enjoy doing from all the other crap!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Keith. Lucky for you and others that Neil responded early on to set the stage for others! To me, the phrase is simply a figure of speech not to be taken literally.
DeleteGreat post and comments Jonathan. I do agree with Neil - "When I'm painting or modelling or even gaming I am not thinking about work or problems - I am in the moment and absorbed with that particular activity."
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the category "Fun and Escapism" could just be seen as escapism as surely all wargamers are having fun with their hobby? (except when they roll a one instead of a six or those reinforcements don't arrive 😂)
And is escapism just focusing on something other than your daily problems. I do find wargaming good for that. A way of taking my mind off my problems, although that is not why I wargame I certainly find it a handy side benefit.
Anyway, if someone in the privacy of their home wants to pretend to be Napoleon or Darth Vader as they move their toys soldiers about, I do not see that as being in the top 1,000,000,000 of all the problems that we have on the planet. 😂
Thanks, Ben! Reader commentary is always a highlight for me. Interesting point on fun vs escapism. I guess to find out, the two attributes need to be broken out. Yes, live and let live, I say. As long as I am not affected, do what you want.
DeleteYes I must admit I come down on the same side as Neil, when I paint or do some research I find myself immersed in what I am doing and not worried about work ow whatever, I find the same result when I am in the garden my focus is what I am doing and I forget about "real life" problems or whatever. Really interesting post Jon and it has certainly received some cracking replies to it.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Donnie, and welcome back! Yes, some really cracking replies to this post.
DeleteI’m probably just parroting what people have already said, but ‘escape’ for most people is probably as simple as ‘doing something I enjoy’ rather than work etc. No different to any other hobby or interest. I had my first ever sighting of a Grey Wagtail at the weekend. For 10 minutes I completely forgot I had to check if my mum had changed her underwear that day. It’s that simple.
ReplyDeleteParrot away, Jeffers! Seeing that doing something you enjoy as an escape works for me and defines a hobby.
DeleteI shall also take the easy option and agree with what Neil said. He has expressed it far more eloquently and possibly more politely than me. There is more than one correct way to play with toy soldiers, and I find being able to live in the moment while gaming very helpful dealing with a range of things. I'm afraid I do occasionally add sound effects to games as well, I just can't help it.
ReplyDeleteYou guys! I guess when Neil makes the perfect response, it is hard to either top or add to it! It would be fun to listen into one of your remote games and hear the sound effects accompanied by silly hats!
DeleteI have read this thread with interest. You do have a knack of getting us all thinking.
ReplyDeleteAn element that I think may be key that hasn't arisen is whether the wargamer is working or retired.
My job was very time intensive and any time for the hobby was precious providing several somethings very different to work.
Now the hobby is the nearest thing I have to work in terms of time, planning, goals etc. I still do a couple of things I did when working fulltime but have no real [command or oversight] responsibities now and they take up a very small amount of my time. In a way work and hobby have reversed roles. [The buck nolonger stops here with me unless it's to get X unit painted and on the table]
Fortunately I get a lot out of both so neither is an escape from the other but just a change of focus. In both conditions of life the hobby has given me a great deal and I would not be without it.
Have others found retirement a similar game changer? [Pun intended]
Stephen
Thank you, Stephen! Glad to see that this topic interested you. Thinking about wargaming from different angles is a useful exercise.
DeleteI wonder if there is a big distinction between the working vs retired wargaming population. Even retired wargamers must still have obligations and "work" commitments to accomplish. It is not all leisure, is it? Is retirement a game changer for wargamers? Retirement has given me the time to put more effort and energy into the hobby I enjoy. Could I manage without the hobby? Perhaps, but not likely! You provide something more to ponder.
Stephen does make a very good point. I really dud use the hobby for escapism when I was working, both while painting or playing and also in the occasional interminable meeting just thinking.
DeleteWargaming (well, mostly painting) was played an important role during my working career.
DeleteI agree with most of the previous comments given. When I paint figures, I'm in the zone, concentrating on what I'm doing and enjoying that. I'm not thinking of anything else. When I play a game, I try (although it tends not to work), to put myself in the commanders of the day's shoes, be in Napoleon, Alexander or whoever. To try and play the game to the period, but that's about it really. By the sounds of it, that's what most of us do?
ReplyDeleteThank you, Ray! We can put ourselves into the commander's shoes, but I wager that few of us actually believe we have "become" that commander. At the gaming table, I have seen you walk away with plenty of success and victories. You sell yourself short!
DeleteI'm very much in a zone when it comes to painting figures, which helps me de-stress from work. As for the actual gaming side, I try to immerse myself in the game, how would the commanders of the day react, can I replicate the tactics of the day etc.
ReplyDeleteI am with you, Neil, in your assessment but I am no longer constrained by being in the productive labor force.
DeleteDoes this mean the spare room I paint in is an Escape Room?
ReplyDeleteWhy not?
DeleteIsn't an escape room one you're trying to get out of? Perhaps it's a panic room where you lock yourself in.
ReplyDeleteStephen
Could be, my wife says I rarely escape though🙂
DeleteGood one, Stephen!
Delete