[don1reed]

Simulation. Immersion. Game-Play.
All excellent responses--pro and con. As I approach my septuagenarian years and think back over years to some of the military schools I’ve attended, as many of you have; we’ve a pretty good idea of what “simulation” is and means.

The difference between a board-game and a simulation, from my pov, is imagination. With a board-game, after a successful roll of the die, a player must imagine a torpedo running and hitting a target. With a computer sim, a player can see the animation actually accomplish the mission due to the result of good tactics, seamanship, planning and execution, all simulated, of course.

The ultimate “Immersion”, I suppose, would be to feel a brief spike of joyous pride for having hit what you were aiming at, followed by a twinge of guilt having just killed defenseless merchant sailors by sinking their unarmed ship.