The clearer a game is about "what to do, what to earn", the less you want to play it. It sounds counterintuitive—doesn't transparency in information mean good things? But the fact is, when incentives are precisely quantified, the game turns into a calculation problem. And once someone starts calculating, more people lose interest in playing. Oddly, a game with a completely opaque reward system keeps me hooked.
It's not the designer's fault. When a system clearly tells you "do X to get Y", your brain automatically starts crunching the efficiency numbers. It's not about being forced, it's instinct. Once optimization kicks in, the gameplay takes a backseat, leaving only repetition. Predictable rewards create predictable behavior. Efficiency becomes the goal, and fun is just a byproduct.