People are addicted to videogames because they’re fun and exciting, right? Not necessarily! According to Health Day News, the real attraction is this: videogames fulfill some of our most basic psychological needs. Researchers at the University of Minnesota studied over a thousand “gamers” to find out what motivates them to play, and what keeps them coming back to their favorite games.

The result? “Plain old fun” wasn’t the main attraction. In fact, fun was almost at the bottom of the list. The most popular games were those that provided the opportunity for freedom, achievement, and player-to-player bonds. For example, Massively Multiplayer Online Games – known as MMOs – like EverQuest, let thousands of people interact with each other in a virtual world. A place with parallels to real life, like earning money, making friends, and accomplishing goals.

Bottom line: the games that make players feel psychologically satisfied are the ones that players don’t want to give up. So, does that ring true for you?