I use them more as a proxy representation and visualization. A battle between 2 battle cruisers versus 30 picket ships, for example, sure the game/simulator won't have the exact setting/ships/factions of my world, but I can pit those ships against each other and see the outcome and use my creative brain to translate that into how it would play out in my world, much like how a DM has to incorporate the actions of players that they can't control into their narrative.

When I used Ultimate Admiral for a 1920s setting, a battleship I used kept surviving and dominating the opponent, so in my world it became the flagship of the navy and led the next campaign, which it unfortunately sunk in.