Thanks @kriegaex!
But I think this is getting too convoluted. I tried various things:
@Around("execution(* createGame*(..))") This was recognized but it threw an error because it found the controller method, not the service
@Around("execution(* com.phil.cardgame.service.GameService.createGame*(..))") This worked
@Around("crap") This should have thrown an exception "Pointcut is not well-formed...", but didn't and obviously the aspect was not called.
@Around("execution(* com.phil.cardgame.service.GameService.createGame())") This was the original which didn't work, but now it does work.
So it seems this is some subtle intermittent thing which I believe is not worth further attention. I have gotten AOP working in other applications, so I won't waste your or my time on this. Thanks very much for your help!