Once I launched my first rocket, I figured I’d try to aim for 100 Science Per Minute (spm) to see what the fuss was about in the community. That turned out to be a big and rewarding challenge. I still had a spaghetti base by the end, but it was far more orderly than what I had started with. It also forced me to learn game concepts deeper to hit that scale. Nuclear power production and coherent train system design each took me some time, but the result was well worth it.
Once you’ve launched the rocket, the real fun comes - try to get to one rocket per minute. :)
I had a similar experience. For the month or so I was hooked, I felt attached in a way I haven't felt to a video game since I was a teenager. It almost felt sad when my interest dropped, like I lost something valuable.
However, once I launched my first rocket, the desire to play the game dropped and I’m playing other games now. But for a few weeks, I was so engrossed in the game that I even thought about design optimizations in my dreams. I don’t think any video game had me this involved before. I hope they build on top of it to create more interesting mechanics.