Raph Koster's Theory of Fun talks about this really well. There are things you learn while having fun. But real learning requires lot of repetitive boring stuff

Raph Koster's Theory of Fun talks about this really well. There are things you learn while having fun. But real learning requires lot of repetitive boring stuff, sort of like practicing piano everyday for a long period, before something clicks. Getting players to do that is always the challenge. But that book was written long ago, so fingers crossed game designers are making breakthroughs.