Edgar Ironpelt
Adventurer
As a 1e player (and to some extent a pre-1e player) it was 'the only game in town.' As a 1e DM, I really wanted to house-rule the heck out of it (and when TFT came out, I immediately changed my campaign over to that system).
OK, not literally the only game in town. I also played some 1st/2nd edition Runequest.
In hindsight, D&D games back then tended to be fun despite the annoyances in the rules - or in some cases the annoyances in the lack of rules. At the time, there was a lot of not knowing any better. The state of RPG theory (what makes a good rule set, what makes a good game) was really primitive back then.
OK, not literally the only game in town. I also played some 1st/2nd edition Runequest.
In hindsight, D&D games back then tended to be fun despite the annoyances in the rules - or in some cases the annoyances in the lack of rules. At the time, there was a lot of not knowing any better. The state of RPG theory (what makes a good rule set, what makes a good game) was really primitive back then.