Retreat? We're Advancing in Another Direction

Offense wins games; defense wins championships.

Conventional Wisdom

The objective of any game is simple: to win. This is made more interesting by the fact that there are other entities that are also trying to win. However, in adversarial game play, the parties involved can also spend their energy in attempting to not allow the others to win-- a concept known as defense.

Defense is often touted as an unsung hero of strategy because while most people are trying so hard to win, defense is about trying not to lose. But this argument is flawed-- the only way to ensure avoiding a loss is by winning.

Imagine a scenario of a contest between two opponents that focused solely on defense. It would be a complete stalemate, as neither would make an aggressive attempt to score. Neither would win-- neither would accomplish the objective of the game.

Now consider the opposite: what if both contestants were focused solely on offense? With no attention paid to defense, both players will score constantly. Who would win this match? The party with the better offense would score more often. With both parties focused on offense, someone is guaranteed to win (assuming the contestants are competent).

In the first example, the entirety of the defensive efforts of both parties are nullified because they are not fighting off an offense. Defensive effort is useful only up to and including the amount of the opposing force's offensive effort-- after that, it is wasted. However, in the second scenario, every ounce of offensive effort is useful toward attaining the ultimate goal.

I conclude, therefore, with regard to being feared and loved, that men love at their own free will, but fear at the will of the prince, and that a wise prince must rely on what is in his power and not on what is in the power of others, and he must only contrive to avoid incurring hatred, as has been explained.

Niccolo Machiavelli (The Prince)

At the end of the day, those who are fantastic at not losing are not guaranteed to win, while those who are great at winning will avoid losing by default.

Note: team sports players, where the number of offensive and defensive players (who are all playing to the extent of their ability) is set by the rules, have no reason to think about this. This is more focused on a one on one situation where each player would be forced to divide his attention.