Critique a TTRPG mechanic, ask a design question, or point out a flaw in something like D&D, and you’ll see it pop up like clockwork.
“Just house rule it.”
“Fun is different for everyone.”
These responses might sound open-minded, but they rarely are. More often than not, they’re used to shut down conversations, not open them up. They don’t engage with the question. They dodge it.
When someone takes the time to examine how a rule impacts gameplay, how a mechanic drags or how a system unintentionally punishes certain playstyles, they’re inviting a conversation. Saying “just fix it at your table” might sound helpful, but it skips past the real work of understanding and improving the system.
Fun might have personal flavor, but it isn’t unknowable. Most players come to the table for tension, drama, clever decisions, challenge, narrative payoff, or the thrill of pulling something off in the moment. These are recognizable patterns. There are tools and philosophies in game design that can foster those experiences reliably and intentionally. That’s what good design does.
Waving away critique with “fun is different for everyone” avoids responsibility. It puts the burden of fixing problems on the GM or the players instead of acknowledging where the system itself could be stronger.
And look, homebrew is great. House rules can be incredible. But they shouldn’t be used as excuses for why broken or inconsistent design doesn’t matter. If people are regularly tweaking or ignoring a rule, that’s not a defense. That’s a red flag.
When someone points out that a mechanic slows things down or causes friction, or that a spell always dominates play, or that a class feels weaker in practice, the honest response isn’t “well, everyone’s different.” The honest response is to dig in and talk about why it happens, what it means, and how it could be better.
Game design deserves that. Players deserve that. GMs deserve that.
“Fun is subjective” doesn’t mean “all design is valid.”
It means design needs to work for people.
And that only happens when we stop dodging and start engaging.
