In this deleted scene from the film Indie Game: The Movie, Team Meat's Edmund McMillen discusses the ways "irresponsible" social and casual games trick players into wasting time and money. He's discussing some basic psychological principles, of course, but it's interesting to find out how an experienced indie dev sees things.
That's not to say that these games are inherently bad—I believe that many games, even good ones, are guilty of stringing players along to a certain extent. But this is something to think about the next time you find yourself playing something long past the point of actual fun.
