Besides "Fun" what else do you want to get out of gaming? 101 gaming pleasures.

[Aberzanzorax]

I'll be the first to admit that fun is both subjective and has a lot of overlap with other concepts.

However, unless it overlaps 100%, maybe we can come up with some other components of gaming that make tabletop gaming a sought after experience.

I'll start:

1. Creativity (a creative outlet for storytelling)
2. Morality exploration (in some gaming, exploring what people do and why)
3. Kicking butt (putting something on the line and using skill and luck to succeed)
4. A project (sometimes, like building a model or painting a mini, or making a detailed character, it's the work that is of value)

 

[SnowleopardVK]

5. Social interaction (I've been in plenty of groups where the game first and foremost been a reason for friends to get together for an evening)

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

5. Social interaction (I've been in plenty of groups where the game first and foremost been a reason for friends to get together for an evening)

That's it right there: sometimes, game night is more like sit-around-griping-about-stuff-and-drinking-with-buddies night.

I'll add:

6) Character generation. To me, designing a PC is at least as involved as rounding out a major character for a story. For the ones I love the most, designing the PC- his class, race, abilities and history is akin to writing a short story itself.

 

[Dice4Hire]

7 Exploration of new worlds.
8 Pushing the boundries. In my real life, the boundries are pretty close, not in RPGs)
9 Interaction My friends are different when we play. We talk about different things.

 

[Nagol]

10) Building imaginary sand castles

 

[wolfpunk]

Uhmmm are we forgetting the most obvious one?

11) The ability to expereince the myriad number of unique gamer funk smells present at any given gaming table at any given session of gaming? Or to truly appreciate a table devoid of any players with gamer funk.

 

[Mallus]

I like to make shi stuff up.

 

[Evilhalfling]

I like to make shi stuff up.

I like to make shi blow stuff up.
scenery, PCs, cities, plans, (especially my own), you name it I wanna see it SPLODE.

 

[SnowleopardVK]

Continuing the "splode" train of thought...

14) I want to buuuuuuuuuuuurn things.

 

[howandwhy99]

Imagining your dreams and desires and attempting to reach them in a fantasy world.
Working together as a team to aid everyone in accomplishing the above.
Devising strategies to these ends.
Expressing one's self coherently to both entertain and communicate effectively to everyone at the table.
Performing an alternate persona to explore new modes of behaving.
Testing one's memory through exploration of a fantasy world.