Games are very important for learning and James Paul Gee has empirically proved this in his wonderful book " What Video Games Have to Teach Us about Learning and Literacy". Gee argues that games,particularly video games, require the players to learn and think in ways at which they are not adept. He further states that games provide a life enhancing experience for learners and they also revolutionize the routinized ways of learning through fusing learning and play. You can learn more about Gee's book in this post I have published a few months ago.