In this post, I will explain why, as a lifelong bachelor wealthy enough to retire at 50, I love to play historical boardgames and wargames. For me, these games are a way of refueling myself to tackle the main objective that Christian men have, which is serving God. Let’s start with some games I like, then see what purpose they serve in the lives of men who are committed to higher purposes.

Boardgames I like:

• Lanzerath Ridge
• Atlantic Chase
• Skies Above Britain
• Spruance Leader
• Silent Victory
• Silent War
• Carrier Battle: Philippine Sea

Computer wargames I like:

• Command: Modern Operations
• Cold Waters
• War on the Sea
• Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age
• The Troop
• Combat Mission: Fortress Italy
• Tank Warfare: Tunisia 1943

Let’s look at a specific example. Let’s look at “Task Force Admiral“, a game about naval warfare in WW2.

Here is the trailer:

And here is a gameplay video that got 100K views in a few days, made by Wolfpack345:

The trailer shows the action parts, but Wolfpack’s gameplay video shows what it is really like to command a carrier strike group. He shows how the game really involves managing the nerdy parts that boardgamers will love: the flight deck, the hangar deck, the Combat Information Center (CIC), etc. He monitors air and surface radar contacts, his own scout aircraft, and his combat air patrol (CAP), etc. If you have not read enough military history to know what these things are, then you’ll just sit there staring at the screen. For me, this is the kind of thing I dream about – being handed this responsibility, and knowing what to do to get results.

In order for men to do their real job, which is serving higher causes and purposes, they need to be able to refuel. And for many men, these hobbies do the work of refueling them to do their real job. Hobbies are only for a few hours a week – up to 10 hours, I would say. But they are necessary. Women should be supportive of men recharging in the ways that work for them. This allows men to return to their main job – the job that God designed men for – which is self-sacrificial service to God. (2 Tim 2:3-4 NIV)

Instead of blocking a man from his refueling activities, a woman should give him space, and even encourage him. So, my podcast partner Desert Rose is great at encouraging my refueling activities. She listens to an occasional audio book about military history, she watches an occasional war movie, she planned a birthday trip for me to tour a WW2 museum ship, and we play solo wargames co-operatively. We watch movies like “Midway” (she also read the book) and “Greyhound” and “Devotion“. She even buys me games that she thinks that I will like, like “The Troop“. It’s easy for her to support my refueling needs, because she takes care of herself very well. She agrees that the most important thing for us to do is to focus upward on serving God self-sacrificially.

You can find my reading list here, which shows the kinds of military history books that I read. I fed these books into Grok 3, along with the games I play, and the heroic actions that I remember, and asked it to explain to all of you why we should allow men to play video games. See if you think that what Grok describes is “problematic” and a symptom of male weakness and decline.

Here is what Grok 3 had to say about why a man who reads military history would want to play wargames:

For a man steeped in military history, particularly the naval campaigns of the Pacific Theater from 1941 to 1945, the appeal of playing board games like Carrier Battles: Philippine Sea or computer wargames like Task Force Admiral stems from a deep fascination with the strategic, tactical, and human elements of warfare. Having read extensively about the era and visited military museums, he’d be drawn to relive and reimagine the monumental challenges, heroic deeds, and technical ingenuity that defined the U.S. Navy’s struggle against the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN). Let’s explore this through the lens of Task Force Admiral, a game that simulates carrier-based naval combat in the Pacific, and tie it to the historical context he knows so well.

The Pacific Theater and Naval Supremacy

From 1941 to 1945, the Pacific War pitted two naval powers against each other: the United States and Japan. At the outset, Japan held the stronger navy in terms of experience, doctrine, and specialized weapons systems. The IJN had battle-hardened crews from years of aggression against China, a carrier force that executed the devastating Pearl Harbor attack, and surface ships armed with the fearsome Type 93 “Long Lance” torpedo. Their Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter outclassed early American planes like the F4F Wildcat in maneuverability and range.

Overcoming Specific Challenges

This man’s knowledge of military history would highlight the specific problems the U.S. Navy faced and overcame, many of which Task Force Admiral recreates:

1. Cracking JN-25: Japan’s JN-25 naval code was a cryptographic fortress. American codebreakers, led by Station Hypo under Joseph Rochefort, cracked it before Midway in 1942, revealing Japanese plans and enabling a decisive ambush. In Task Force Admiral, this translates to the player leveraging intelligence to anticipate enemy movements—mirroring the real advantage that turned the tide.
2. Countering the Zero: Early in the war, the Zero’s agility humiliated American pilots. The U.S. countered with tactics like the Thach Weave, which was invented by Jimmy Thach. This is a dog-fighting tactic where Wildcats worked in pairs to trap Zeros, and later introduced the F6F Hellcat, which outgunned and outlasted its rival. The game lets players experiment with these evolving air tactics.
3. The Long Lance Torpedo: Japan’s oxygen-powered Type 93 torpedo had unmatched range and stealth. U.S. destroyers learned the hard way at battles like Java Sea. Countering it required better radar use and night-fighting adjustments, which players must master in Task Force Admiral’s tense surface engagements.
4. Japanese Night Tactics: The IJN excelled at night operations, as seen at Savo Island in 1942, where they sank four Allied cruisers with minimal losses. The U.S. adapted with radar-directed gunfire and trained crews for nocturnal combat, a dynamic simulated in the game’s night missions.
5. Kamikaze Tactics: By 1944, Japan’s desperate kamikaze attacks sank or damaged dozens of U.S. ships. The Navy countered with layered air defenses—fighters, flak, and picket destroyers—requiring precise coordination that players replicate in Task Force Admiral.
6. Amphibious Assault Defenses: Japan fortified islands like Tarawa and Iwo Jima with bunkers and artillery. The U.S. perfected naval bombardment and Marine landings, overcoming these through sheer firepower and grit—scenarios the game challenges players to execute.
7. Submarine Tactics (Morton and O’Kane): Submariners like Dudley “Mush” Morton of USS Wahoo and Richard “Dick” O’Kane of USS Tang crippled Japan’s merchant fleet with aggressive tactics. Their success came despite early torpedo failures, a problem players must navigate in submarine-focused titles like Silent Hunter IV.
8. Sonar, Radar, and Mark 14 Limitations: Early sonar was rudimentary, radar was temperamental, and the Mark 14 torpedo often failed to detonate or ran erratically. Engineers fixed the Mark 14 by 1943, and radar improvements like the SG set revolutionized detection. In Task Force Admiral, players grapple with these technological growing pains.
9. Japanese Battleship Threat: The IJN’s super-battleships, like Yamato and Musashi, with their 18.1-inch guns, outranged U.S. ships. The Navy countered with air power, sinking Musashi at Leyte Gulf in 1944 with relentless airstrikes and crippling Yamato off Okinawa in 1945. Players in Task Force Admiral must orchestrate such carrier strikes to neutralize these behemoths.
10. Logistical Strain Across the Pacific: Operating thousands of miles from home, the U.S. Navy faced fuel and supply shortages. The solution was the underway replenishment system—fleet oilers and cargo ships refueling task forces at sea—perfected by 1943. The game subtly reflects this in resource management mechanics.

Heroic Actions and Self-Sacrifice

This man’s reading and museum visits likely ingrained tales of valor, which games let him relive:

• Richard Best at Midway: On June 4, 1942, Lt. Cmdr. Richard Best dive-bombed the carrier Akagi, landing a fatal hit despite intense flak. His precision under pressure is a moment Task Force Admiral players can emulate.
• Torpedo Bomber Squadrons at Midway: The sacrifice of Torpedo Squadron 8 (VT-8) from USS Hornet, along with VT-6 and VT-3, was pivotal. Flying obsolete TBD Devastators, they attacked the Japanese carriers at low altitude, drawing the Zero combat air patrol (CAP) down and expending their 20mm cannon ammo. Of VT-8’s 15 planes, only Ensign George Gay survived; VT-6 lost 10 of 14, and VT-3 lost 10 of 12. Their selfless assault left the IJN carriers vulnerable, allowing five SBD Dauntless dive bombers—including Best’s—to strike Akagi, Kaga, and Soryu, sinking three in minutes. In Task Force Admiral, players can orchestrate this desperate coordination.
• Howard Gilmore of USS Growler: In 1943, Cdr. Gilmore ordered his sub to submerge while he remained on deck, wounded, to save his crew from a ramming Japanese gunboat. His sacrifice echoes in the game’s command dilemmas.
• Edward “Butch” O’Hare: In 1942, O’Hare single-handedly attacked nine Japanese “Betty” bombers, downing five to protect USS Lexington. Players can channel his audacity in air combat.
• Destroyer Escorts off Samar: In 1944’s Battle off Samar, tiny ships like USS Samuel B. Roberts charged the battleship Yamato to protect Taffy 3’s vulnerable aircraft carriers. Cdr. Ernest Evans led his destroyer against a vastly superior force, sinking a cruiser before his ship was lost.  Their self-sacrificial bravery is a highlight of Task Force Admiral’s surface battles.
• Taffy 3’s Pilots: Outgunned aviators from escort carriers strafed Japanese battleships with empty machine guns and dropped dummy bombs, after they had exhausted their ammunition and ordnance, buying time for the carriers to retreat.
• Eugene Fluckey of USS Barb: In 1944, Cdr. Fluckey destroyed a Japanese train by landing a shore party armed with demolition charges from his submarine —the only U.S. ground combat on Japanese soil during the war.

Why Play These Games?

For this man, wargames like Task Force Admiral offer more than entertainment—they’re a bridge to the past. First, they let him test himself against the same problems his historical heroes faced: managing carriers under kamikaze swarms, outwitting a night ambush, coordinating torpedo runs like VT-8’s, or sinking a Yamato-class titan with airpower. Unlike static history books, games demand active problem-solving, letting him ask, “Could I have done it?” Second, they honor the self-sacrificial ethos he admires—mirroring the torpedo squadrons’ doomed runs, Fluckey’s audacious raid, or Evans’ charge in interactive form. Third, they keep the memory of these feats alive in a world where such history risks fading. Board games like Carrier Battles: Philippine Sea add a tactile, social layer, while computer titles like Task Force Admiral immerse him in visuals and sound, recreating the skies and seas of World War 2. Ultimately, these games are a way to engage with his passion intellectually and emotionally, blending strategy, history, and reverence for those who shaped it.