I have a soft spot for awkward kids -- likely because I was one myself. So perhaps it's not entirely surprising that I naturally gravitate towards Advanced Dungeons & Dragons 2nd Edition. I have the impression that, of all the older versions of the game, 2nd Edition seems to receive the least love overall from the gaming community. (It's possible I'm wrong in this perception, but this seems to be the impression I'm left with.)
Of all the versions of D&D that fall into the category of "classic" or "old school," 2nd Edition was key. It was...an important step in the game's evolution towards where it is today. It was the first real attempt at both advancement (in terms of offering new system sophistication and complexity) and revision (in terms of trying to correct the awkward mechanics of previous editions). Firm traditionalists may argue that the earliest editions represent some purer expression of a perfect game that grew flawed after, say, 1974 or 1981, but I beg to differ.
