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I agree wholeheartedly that this is one of the beauties of games. The issue I have is that I see it often presented as "what makes games games". I disagree with that, I think games - even simpler, less deeply systemic ones - have other appealing facets.

It is but a matter of personal taste, of course, but although I love games, thinking about thinking about games bores me to death. I get no pleasure from being able to read the system and estimate output probabilities better than my opponents. I get little pleasure having opponents to begin with.

I am more in line with the definition that present games as the space of freedom within a constrained space. The space can be large and intricate, or small and fairly restrictive in the freedom it gives you. You may enjoy trying to escape it, exploring it, or discovering where it will let you go...