I've been playing it for a long time, the game is not hard to learn at all. Anyone who says it is is likely to be stupid in one way or another. Dwarf Fortress is very detailed, and it astounds me. A billion symbols for a billion different things. There are mechanical things you can build, rooms, towns, etc. It's waaay more than just ASCII gameplay, there's serious strategy to it. I wish there was a peaceful mode (loel) because those damn goblins WILL get you sooner or later. Of my fifty or so dwarves living in my fort during the Goblin Siege of 2010, one was locked in his room for months waiting for the Miasma and goblins to leave the base. He went crazy and broke down the door, then destroying the entire goblin army. He died because of the Miasma his dead friends were excreting lol.
