I’ve definitely turned into the paranoid nutcase within my friend group in recent years, I hate that everything is “smart” nowadays requiring an app/internet connection & account, just to do basic things that didn’t require any of that before.
What’s some things currently making you ramble like an old man?
I used to play paper Magic the Gathering; I liked the game, but it became unaffordable after a while. Magic the Gathering Arena has been a good alternative. You don’t have to spend money (nor much time) to get good things, and you can easily find players in formats that accept old and new sets, for example, Historic mode which accepts everything that has been playable in Arena, except for some banned cards.
About D&D being fun… I have played Dungeons and Dragons only a couple times in my life, but some friends invited me to Baldur’s Gate 3 and it is a great game that has a lot of the things I remember from the tabletop game. However, this is entirely subjective, so I am just sharing my experience.
My point is not to defend the Wizards of the Coast executives, as I have heard they are terrible. I guess my point is that there are still options to enjoy their games or the essence of their games (Arena, BG3) without falling into their cash grabbing.