Which edition is best for you?

Everyone’s system of choice depends on what they want. With perhaps the exception of some fringe 3e games, D&D never really excelled at much beyond fantasy combat adventures, simply because it’s core elements are derived from a ruleset crafted explicitly for the purpose.

For a “streamlined” game, any argument for any edition after the 1980′s revisions to the original game are shameless lies. The oldest editions built themselves the combat and player wealth framework upon which the following editions would build, and simply ignored everything else. Perhaps these are the ideal editions for getting players into the game quickly, and rely on GM initiative to keep things running.

AD&D and AD&D 2 expanded on the basic games simply by adding tremendous amounts of detail, and thus as a fantasy simulation these editions succeed. They were designed to be comprehensive, and this is evident in their steep learning curves. Gamers who enjoy the rigid hierarchical structure that D&D lends itself to, and want to play detailed characters without tremendous customization will be happy here. A well-read or patient DM can get by with minimal adjudication, excepting perhaps some fringe non-combat situations.

3e and 4e are the modern entries, clearly distinct from the others on their twin evidence of detail and tactical depth. The games no longer import anything from their wargame roots, and have their own tactical systems designed specifically for combat and skill resolution. These are the games for those who crave customization, mastery of tactics and minimal GM adjudication out of the box. To this end, they feel the most “gamey” and least “realistic” of all the editions. Players and GMs alike face a steep barrier of entry, as a grasp of many of the game’s intricacies are expected.

0e: Adaptation of the Chainmail wargame into a fantasy adventure game. Essentially an extension of the man-to-man rules of the former system, a large collection house rules.

0.5e/Basic: A refinement of D&D into a game with a unique identity. The “alternate” combat system of 0e is adopted. Rules are regimented and detail added.

1e/AD&D: A reconstruction of 0e for tournament play, with a vast extension of detail at the expense of cohesion. Intended to be an accurate fantasy adventure simulation.

2e/AD&D: A restatement of 1e, with most of the outlying bits omitted or refined. Highly detailed and expandable.

3e/D&D: Reconstruction of the game from the ground-up. System is made uniform at a slight expense of verisimilitude. Detailed and highly extend-able. Wargaming style combat statistics and measurements eschewed for new tactical battle system.

4e/D&D: A near complete recreation of D&D with a modernized style. A further emphasis on tactical play is achieved with the simultaneous downgrading of the importance of roleplay, with both mythos and verisimilitude sacrificed to this end.

At the end of the day, it is up to you to decide what works best. Despite the flaws of some editions, they are (almost) all worth a go.