re: Anyone here ever play Dungeons and Dragons? (DnD)

I liked 4e, but it was very influenced by computer RPGs. It was extremely rules heavy and very simulation like. You absolutely needed a hex map for combat and it involves tons of tactics and working on your build. Cooperating with your party and creating synergy among them really paid off. Basically it really leant itself to character optimization and meta gaming but at the cost of a lot of the role playing and fun. A given combat, with my group, might last 2 or even 3 hours which is more like Warhammer or some other tactical combat game than a true tabletop RPG.

A huge part of the fun for me in 4e was researching character optimization and figuring out interesting concepts and builds to play with. I haven't played 5e, but it's supposedly a return to the roots of the game. I see lots of kids playing it, and it definitely seems very casual and non-intense as far as the amount of research and lnowledge they have.