Is reinforcement (machine) learning overhyped?

Imagine you are about to sit down to play a game with a friend. But this isn't just any friend -- it's a computer program that doesn't know the rules of the game. It does, however, understand that it has a goal, and that goal is to win. Because this friend doesn't know the rules, it starts by making random moves. Some of them make absolutely no sense, and winning for you is easy.