Rock climbing, collecting, role-playing, backpacking, and many other complex activities are part of the expanding cultural repertoire of modern societies. Participants in such game-like pursuits occasionally find themselves contributing to public concerns beyond their own interests; altruistic motives and/or oppositional identities develop among them by virtue of the actors being enmeshed in a specialized activity apart from political organizations or social movements. The aim of the article is to contribute to an understanding of why and how such communities stretch their commitments into the real world. The contention is that complex leisure constitutes a democratically important but somewhat concealed political channel that fits modern citizens’ way of life. The analysis is essentially theoretical but relies on empirical materials for illustration.