My take on it is that fun comes from interacting with a system with enough depth for interesting stuff to emerge - maybe even things that will surprise you as a designer. I find that this happens when you get a few simple systems, get them working well independently, and then find as many ways as possible to interconnect them.

All human beings have the instinct to learn, discover and experiment. Fun comes when you can provide situations where they can practice the above.

In short, playing a game is learning in disguise.

People are the most engaged in an activity when they feel like they are highly skilled at it, and are using that skill to confront a great challenge.

That sets down the most essential considerations for designing good gameplay:

1. It has to present a challenge that the player can meet.


2. The player has to be able to get good at it.

The second part is... See more