Dungeons & Dragons
Tabletop role-playing game in Games & consoles
Recommended for strong rules, character progression, and the friendships formed through play. Critics say it is combat-heavy and rules-bound.
Recommended for strong rules, character progression, and the friendships formed through play. Critics say it is combat-heavy and rules-bound.
30 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 12
- criticize it
- 18
- approval share
- 40%
Recommended in 9 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 12 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 0.6 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 9 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Clear rules and ability progression
“D&D’s rules are very strongly laid out; it rule books spend lots of time on combat, looting, and buying.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Wizards of the Coast declines to voluntarily recognize Magic Arena union” “DnD has both and that combined with ability progression I think really locks people in to the system”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Dolmenwood: Fantasy RPG built around the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Rules-heavy, clunky and complex
“D&D’s rules are very strongly laid out; it rule books spend lots of time on combat, looting, and buying.”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Wizards of the Coast declines to voluntarily recognize Magic Arena union” “very rules heavy and opinionated to the point it makes adapting it to other genres awkward at best”
Comment from 5 May 2026 in “Wizards of the Coast declines to voluntarily recognize Magic Arena union” “its rules are this awkward hybrid of legacy cruft and some modern ideas”
Comment from 6 Oct 2026 in “Polars 2.0” - Comment from 3 Sep 2026 in “LLMs and self-referentiality”
- Comment from 17 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?”
Too combat-focused
“5e also assumes pretty high amount of combat encounters per day to keep all classes in balance”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Model-Based Testing for Dungeons & Dragons” “It is way too combat focused and video gamey.”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Model-Based Testing for Dungeons & Dragons” “D&D is better as a video game.”
Comment from 10 Apr 2026 in “Model-Based Testing for Dungeons & Dragons” Company stewardship and ownership concerns
“companies seem to use D&D as a base not because it serves the game, but because it has lower "buy-in" for customers”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Dolmenwood: Fantasy RPG built around the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules” “trying to take ownership over everything players create in the D&D universe”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “United Wizards of the Coast” “has been a horribly short-sighted steward of Magic and DND”
Comment from 27 Apr 2026 in “United Wizards of the Coast” Other systems seem better
“D&D is the most popular system while inferior imho to a lot of others”
Comment from 21 Sep 2026 in “ZuckOff is a free app that sees Meta glasses before they see you” “I have tired of the modern 5e/Pathfinder type games”
Comment from 28 Jul 2026 in “Dolmenwood: Fantasy RPG built around the acclaimed Old-School Essentials rules”
What people recommend instead
The same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dungeons & DragonsThis page | 12 | 18 | 40% | 9 | — | — |
| Pathfinder 2eby Paizo | 3 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
24 of the 33 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I like 4th edition D&D but if you're trying to make a story about nuanced inter-personal conflict in which there's no actual violence it's just not the right roleplaying system”
“its rules are this awkward hybrid of legacy cruft and some modern ideas”
“D&D is the most popular system while inferior imho to a lot of others”
“Dungeons & Dragons fails fundamentally as a rules/rulings-bound game.”
“I don't like D&D and trying to force yourself into something you don't really like just to meet people has low ROI”
“DnD has both and that combined with ability progression I think really locks people in to the system”
“I have tired of the modern 5e/Pathfinder type games”
“companies seem to use D&D as a base not because it serves the game, but because it has lower "buy-in" for customers”
“it just makes things a slog”
“the idea a level 20 fighter looks clean and shiny, almost fresh off the boat, is disappointing”
“D&D’s rules are very strongly laid out; it rule books spend lots of time on combat, looting, and buying.”
“D&D “rules” are guidelines, suggestions, it can be what you want it to be.”
“very rules heavy and opinionated to the point it makes adapting it to other genres awkward at best”
“I say this as a committed Pathfinder player who hasn't seen a good reason to return to D&D”
“trying to take ownership over everything players create in the D&D universe”
“has been a horribly short-sighted steward of Magic and DND”
“the sheer number of min-max players and rise(!) of murder hobos in 5e”
“5e also assumes pretty high amount of combat encounters per day to keep all classes in balance”
“D&D is better as a video game.”
“It is way too combat focused and video gamey.”
“which is really a bit clunky and overly complex, IMO”
“found D&D suits me much better”
“now it's hard-coded into the game”
“I've met a lot of people I'd consider my friends through the hobby”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.