&gt; What factor(s) then make the game-play enjoyable while the heavy-lifting dev-work feels sometimes more tedious?<p>Speaking as a gamer, it&#x27;s escapism. If my brain is so busy trying to solve the mental challenge on the screen (or in front of me as a board game), all other thought get pushed out and I&#x27;m not thinking about them. If I didn&#x27;t have a sufficient mental challenge in front of me, then my subconscious would spend time working on those things.<p>Also, it&#x27;s low stakes, so I don&#x27;t have to be stressed out while I&#x27;m engaged in it. I&#x27;m not being judged on how well I do, or even that I solved the problem at all, I know I can put down the game whenever and no one cares. This is why I don&#x27;t think gamifying work is too useful in the long run, because deep down we know we&#x27;re expected to solve those problems and get results.<p>So yeah, gaming is essentially my alcohol, and part of the reason why I don&#x27;t feel the need to drink or take drugs all that often (besides caffeine and aspirin).