When do people become deeply engrossed in gambling, feeling that thrilling surge of dopamine?

It’s when they’re desperate and earnest.

When they have a goal they want to achieve at all costs, and they’re utterly consumed by the desire to make it happen, that’s when the roll of the dice contains all the emotions of a person’s hopes and fears.

Of course, in a simple game meant for fun, there’s no need to evoke, nor any desire to evoke, such desperation.

If a board game leads to knife fights, the whole point of the game is lost.

The key to …