Simulations within Simulations?
Fantasy games are an interesting social phenomenon. Are they merely a distraction from real life, or are they possibly much more? After all, there is serious conjecture that our known universe may itself be a simulation.
Within our existence (whatever it is), we are struggling to adapt our biological instincts evolved/coded in the pleistocene to an ever-changing world 
. Tribalism/us vs them on a planet teeming with 8->10 billion people. Addressing problems that develop over decades and centuries with brains 
wired to focus on immediate survival and prosperity.
We were always a longshot. The jury is still out on whether we will be a brief flash on the stage, appearing and disappearing all within far less time than other species dominated the planet, or whether we can grow into something more stable and persist for millions of years. If the latter, perhaps we can even grow into something that makes a lasting positive difference.
It could be argued (I am still in contemplation) that MMORPGs - massively multiplayer online role-playing games - are simulations within our simulation, allowing us to process together repeatedly. World of Warcraft, for example, features recurring themes of faction conflict resolving into cooperation in the face of shared threats. Do we grow at all by processing these themes repeatedly? Who knows? Perhaps our entire known existence is an elaborate simulation established (by who?) to help accelerate our growth for some other existence.
