{"slug": "dwarf-fortress", "name": "Dwarf Fortress", "category": "media", "category_name": "Media and creative", "description": "", "recommenders": 4, "commenters": 9, "warners": 1, "score": 3.911, "rising": 1.35, "first": "2026-02-05", "latest": "2026-10-11", "why": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it.", "why_is_quote": true, "has_verdict": false, "sentiment": {"recommend": 4, "neutral": 4, "compare": 0, "warn": 1}, "spark": [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1], "listed": true, "loved": [], "caveat": "", "short_quote": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it.", "kind": "game", "icon": true, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/", "pricing": "", "aliases": ["Dwarf Fortress"], "verdict": null, "praise": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 800619664, "item_id": 50038729, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50038729", "by": "thrance", "date": "2026-10-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it.", "excerpt": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it. Same with the city builders TFA is trying to mimick. > Also those https://research.wmz.ninja/projects/phd/index.html style games are a bit vapid. I agree, but please try to engage with what I'm saying. Both the PhD game and TFA are made with the goal of teaching an issue to a broader audience. Do you think TFA is an effective tool of communi", "context": "", "use_case": "Playing the game", "switched_from": "", "story": "A city-building game in which the city would prefer you didn't"}, {"id": 791949264, "item_id": 49496829, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49496829", "by": "kalekold", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dwarf Fortress is awesome to come into today, give it a try.", "excerpt": "Dwarf Fortress is awesome to come into today, give it a try. I started playing it a year ago and I love it.", "context": "", "use_case": "Roguelike simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "EVE Online moves to Python 3"}, {"id": 774468688, "item_id": 48404293, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48404293", "by": "ZeWaka", "date": "2026-06-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The \"raws\" that drive the game are completely configurable and accessible by a user.", "excerpt": "I was speaking in the sense that the base game is free and you can buy it with non-ascii graphics for a price. However, The \"raws\" that drive the game are completely configurable and accessible by a user. It's more like the engine being closed source and the gamedata being source-available. Modding isn't quite the right word - that implies it being less open. You can delete stuff from being present in your game, add ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Stop Killing Games"}, {"id": 766257216, "item_id": 47891076, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47891076", "by": "randusername", "date": "2026-04-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dwarf Fortress is known for the absurd scale of its simulations", "excerpt": "> Story of my life is how to align that demon to force me into things I actually want to do. My favorite example of creators discussing the drive to create is from the video game Dwarf Fortress. It has mechanics for it [0]. Dwarves that are stuck with inspiration to create a masterwork will go mad and destroy themselves if they can't find the raw materials they need. Dwarf Fortress is known for the absurd scale of it", "context": "", "use_case": "Simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why I Write (1946)"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "", "summary": "", "quotes": [{"id": 789346752, "item_id": 49334172, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49334172", "by": "done_lurking", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Performance doesn't seem to be a priority for Tarn.", "excerpt": "Experimental multithreading was added in 2023 https://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=181776 I'm not sure if it's improved since then. Performance doesn't seem to be a priority for Tarn. It's kind of unfortunate, since I think DF would be an interesting problem space for optimizations, similar to Factorio, and it really needs it.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Improving Heuristics for A* Pathfinding"}]}], "who": [], "tags": [], "use_cases": ["playing the game", "roguelike simulation game", "game", "simulation game", "terminal ascii game exploration"], "compared": [], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49467636", "title": "Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates", "mentions": 4}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036864", "title": "A city-building game in which the city would prefer you didn't", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49433328", "title": "EVE Online moves to Python 3", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49079995", "title": "Improving Heuristics for A* Pathfinding", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48356449", "title": "Stop Killing Games", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47884768", "title": "Why I Write (1946)", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {}, "2026-01": {}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-03": {}, "2026-04": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-05": {}, "2026-06": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-07": {}, "2026-08": {"warn": 1, "neutral": 2, "recommend": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-10": {"recommend": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 800619664, "item_id": 50038729, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50038729", "by": "thrance", "date": "2026-10-11", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it.", "excerpt": "Except Dwarf Fortress is an actual game, and I've sunk a lot of hours in it. Same with the city builders TFA is trying to mimick. > Also those https://research.wmz.ninja/projects/phd/index.html style games are a bit vapid. I agree, but please try to engage with what I'm saying. Both the PhD game and TFA are made with the goal of teaching an issue to a broader audience. Do you think TFA is an effective tool of communi", "context": "", "use_case": "Playing the game", "switched_from": "", "story": "A city-building game in which the city would prefer you didn't"}, {"id": 792320688, "item_id": 49520043, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49520043", "by": "foo12bar", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "So, the developer updates both the free version and the paid version with the latest features", "excerpt": "So, the developer updates both the free version and the paid version with the latest features (the only difference is the free version is sans GUI), and continues to serve the older free keyboard only 0.47 version on his website, and I'm supposed to be upset by this? Because he dropped the keyboard UI feature? DFHack already added back the keyboard cursor, anyway: https://docs.dfhack.org/en/stable/docs/tools/toggle-k", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates"}, {"id": 792299776, "item_id": 49518736, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49518736", "by": "foo12bar", "date": "2026-09-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The free version is still being updated.", "excerpt": "The free version is still being updated. Both the free version and the paid version are on v53.16: https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/ https://steamdb.info/app/975370/history/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates"}, {"id": 792251664, "item_id": 49515729, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49515729", "by": "threedliams", "date": "2026-08-31", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "the classic keyboard-only version was kept up to date with the Steam version", "excerpt": "I was under the impression that the classic keyboard-only version was kept up to date with the Steam version? They're both on patch 53.16[1][2] which was released simultaneously on 8/5, so it doesn't look to me like keyboard-only is forgotten or left behind unless I'm missing something. [1] https://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/ [2] https://store.steampowered.com/app/975370/Dwarf_Fortress/", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates"}, {"id": 791949264, "item_id": 49496829, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49496829", "by": "kalekold", "date": "2026-08-30", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dwarf Fortress is awesome to come into today, give it a try.", "excerpt": "Dwarf Fortress is awesome to come into today, give it a try. I started playing it a year ago and I love it.", "context": "", "use_case": "Roguelike simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "EVE Online moves to Python 3"}, {"id": 791521856, "item_id": 49470116, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49470116", "by": "monospacegames", "date": "2026-08-27", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "It's been a while since I last played DF", "excerpt": "It's been a while since I last played DF and I'm surprised to see that both this article and the video are a bit light on details, IIRC they used to showcase upcoming updates a lot more. Digging a bit more it looks like the magic system will be built around deities, spheres of influence [1], and workshops/professions centered around magic leading to procedurally generated spells. I'm really excited to see how it'll t", "context": "", "use_case": "game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Dwarf Fortress is getting the mother of all magic updates"}, {"id": 789346752, "item_id": 49334172, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49334172", "by": "done_lurking", "date": "2026-08-17", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Performance doesn't seem to be a priority for Tarn.", "excerpt": "Experimental multithreading was added in 2023 https://www.bay12forums.com/smf/index.php?topic=181776 I'm not sure if it's improved since then. Performance doesn't seem to be a priority for Tarn. It's kind of unfortunate, since I think DF would be an interesting problem space for optimizations, similar to Factorio, and it really needs it.", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Improving Heuristics for A* Pathfinding"}, {"id": 774468688, "item_id": 48404293, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48404293", "by": "ZeWaka", "date": "2026-06-04", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "The \"raws\" that drive the game are completely configurable and accessible by a user.", "excerpt": "I was speaking in the sense that the base game is free and you can buy it with non-ascii graphics for a price. However, The \"raws\" that drive the game are completely configurable and accessible by a user. It's more like the engine being closed source and the gamedata being source-available. Modding isn't quite the right word - that implies it being less open. You can delete stuff from being present in your game, add ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Stop Killing Games"}, {"id": 766257216, "item_id": 47891076, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47891076", "by": "randusername", "date": "2026-04-24", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Dwarf Fortress is known for the absurd scale of its simulations", "excerpt": "> Story of my life is how to align that demon to force me into things I actually want to do. My favorite example of creators discussing the drive to create is from the video game Dwarf Fortress. It has mechanics for it [0]. Dwarves that are stuck with inspiration to create a masterwork will go mad and destroy themselves if they can't find the raw materials they need. Dwarf Fortress is known for the absurd scale of it", "context": "", "use_case": "Simulation game", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why I Write (1946)"}, {"id": 750377985, "item_id": 46898624, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46898624", "by": "brimtown", "date": "2026-02-05", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "via Dwarf Fortress instead of SimCity", "excerpt": "This is wonderful. Consider decoupling the core from Emacs, or packaging in a way that doesn\u2019t require it as heavily. I\u2019ve been doing my own exploration of terminal ASCII games via Dwarf Fortress instead of SimCity. I\u2019ve learned that letting a coding agent play is an interesting way to get feedback as well :) https://github.com/brimtown/claude-fortress", "context": "", "use_case": "terminal ASCII game exploration", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Micropolis/SimCity Clone in Emacs Lisp"}]}