The article focuses on the qualitative role of metaphor in social research. Metaphor facilitates visualization of complex ideas, which makes it an invaluable interviewing tool. Topics otherwise difficult to access in conversation may be analysed through metaphor. This can be achieved with the application of the "tomen", an artifact/experience design identified in the speech of the respondents. The article also employs the sociological construct of "the game", which the author links to metaphor.