If games were pure escapism with no remedial benefits, it would be a sad but inevitable irony. Games are a form of play, though, and play is practice for life. We are attracted to the forms of play that our biology or culture tells us will help us survive and prosper, from basics like body movement to chasing, fighting, collecting useful items and social engagement. The lessons taught in a game of The Sims are the skills we need in modern life: self-improvement, cleanliness, money management, working for career advancement, forming and maintaining relationships and so on. Whether the flat-screen representations of those things really become ingrained in the actions of the player is unknown – doubtful. But if the game’s themes represent the things we fear we cannot control, then they must appeal to our innate instinct to learn how to control and overcome those things.