Sid Meiers popularized the idea of asking of games, “but is it fun?”

That is a good quality test as to indicating whether a game design needs more work, but it is not a good guide for arriving at fun.

Trade-offs

Part of the issue is not all forms of fun are compatible. One form of fun can hinder another form of fun.

Sometimes, people identify a certain quality as un-fun, yet that quality is a key ingredient for a significant form of fun, as long as it is supported by additional elements. If designers only ever see that ingredient by itself, they may never see its potential and only see it as negative.

Much of innovation occurs when devalued ingredients are salvaged by recipes that make them shine.