I've been playing regularly since 2006. Met my RL partner there, we have been dating for over 5 years (like in real life, not just second life). We live about 8 hours apart and have kept a long distance relationship going by hanging out in SL together. We visit each other in person every month or so.
It's not a game, you can't "win" or beat it. It's a social virtual world. It does have a steep learning curve but all the building and scripting you can create almost anything. I run a skate park. I played as a human for the first few years, I've been a feisty little pink skunk since then