Say what you want of AD&D 1e, I think that we loved it so much because we had to unlock the game in our own way, adopting bits of rules, ignoring most of it, making up the rest, so we could get to the full fantasy RPG experience it offered. It is the one thing I miss most about it. 1e was MY game because I had no choice to hack it otherwise I’d never would have been able to play it.