Fun vs Rules - When is too much fun a bad thing?

[whswhs]

Originally Posted by Mark Skarr

But, really, the answer is nevar. There is no wrong way to play any game (so long as everyone consents). The goal is to have fun. And if you're having fun, then you're doing it right.

I think that "fun" is too narrow a definition.

Let me compare. Many people would say that one goes to the movies for fun, and they're considered to be part of the entertainment industry. But there are other sorts of pleasure to be had from a movie. I've watched movies that were emotionally harrowing, from The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (the Swedish version, not the American one) to the latest Avengers film, the one about Thanos; I took pleasure in them, but it wasn't what I'd call "fun." Similarly movies like La Belle et la Bête or Let the Right One In, which were emotionally touching and beautifully filmed but not "fun."

Now, my feeling is that it's posslble to gain a similar range of emotional rewards from RPGs. I'm doing all those sorts of things for pleasure, but not so much for "fun" in many cases.