what is winning

In things we call games we typically consider someone as a winner, there is a point where someone wins. in single player video games, traditionally there is a win, Mario saves the princess, you defeat all the zombies and save civilization, you complete all your missions, etc. there are now new games (some considered simulations) where there is no such win condition. no civilization is saved in simcity, the point is to create cities. no princesses are saved in Farmville, but you continue to harvest crops and grow your farm. in games like these, commonly considered casual games because they don't require as much time an effort, winning can best be defined as not losing. losing is clearly the opposite of winning. however, some casual games have losing, and no winning. in simcity your city can die, it can become overcrowded, it can go bankrupt. in farmville your crops can die, you can spend all your money. you can lose, but you can't win. so, why do people play games you can't win? what do people do with the games if they can't move toward winning?