The thing I love about BX is that it will never get any more complicated, slow, in-depth, or heavy than it already is. There are implementations of "heavy classes" in BX, where they go into an almost 5E level of depth in a class design, but the base gameplay is not affected as much as you might expect.
There is no dozen-page character sheet hidden by thousands of pages of JavaScript code on a VTT, making the game playable. This "backend code support" that makes 5E work is also what will kill the game. 5E was never designed to be played by hand, and once you get to a certain character level, you will find out why. Like a mobile game that eventually forces you to buy something to play more, 5E, after a few levels, requires you to sign up for some online service somewhere to "make it all easier to manage."
BX never, ever, needs a VTT or a digital character sheet.
5E is an inferior game for designing software code support into the game's requirements.
"All you need are pencils, paper, dice, some friends, an imagination ...and a subscription website with a few million lines of JavaScript code maintained by Wall Street."
Yeah, it is that last part that makes it a hard no from me. The problem is, I liked the websites! Roll20 is cool! Shard is amazing! Foundry VTT is mind-blowing! They were cool ways to play the game, and massively convenient. The maps and tokens are cool. Roll20 with the multi-game support is amazing.
I don't have time for any of it, though.
And a game that requires that much time from me is going to be a net negative in my life, and I will eventually need to cut the game off to make myself happier. Sorry, subtraction theory as a life-improvement strategy is a valid way to deal with a life that asks too much of us.
Yes, "D&D makes me happy" is a valid statement for me.
"5E sucked every free moment from my life" is also a true statement.
To make myself happy, I make a dramatic choice, kick 5E to the curb. Stick with an easier game that does "most of the same thing." Eliminate the constant revenue drain of VTTs and crowdfunding projects. Box up, sell, or store all the 5E books. Stick with a few, small, easy, simple OSE books.
Subtraction theory is life simplification.
Less is more.
Pathfinder 1e was this way for me. I enjoyed the heck out of that game. My library got too big, and the game died. The game needed software to build characters. It is in storage now. OSE does most of what it did, and exists as two tiny books on my shelf. One thing I found with these "huge games" is that they often try to make up for weak stories, worlds, and adventures with hyper-detailed characters. With BX, I need compelling adventures, worlds, and stories to engage players. I can't "fall back on the rules" to maintain interest, which often happens with 5E and other big games.
If OSE and BX do 80% of what 5E and Pathfinder do, and take ten times less time, space, shelf, software support, and "head space" requirements - then OSE and BX are the winners for me.
And BX is such an easy game; I can store the entire thing "in my head," like a micro "operating system," and run it from memory. From here, I have science fiction with Stars Without Number or White Star. I have the cyberpunk genre with Cities Without Number. I have post-apoc with Ashes Without Number. I have a few different fantasy games: Old School Essentials, Worlds Without Number, and Swords & Wizardry.
Even without OSRIC and ADAD, I have enough here to keep me busy for a lifetime. GURPS is a guilty pleasure of mine, my last "big game" that isn't actually all that big. That is non-negotiable and sticks around. If I am playing a game with complicated, in-depth characters and relying on "rules interest to drive game interest," I am sticking with the best character-building game ever invented, GURPS. GURPS killed 5E for me. If I am playing one game that in-depth, GURPS will kill anything else that it is put up against.
Plus, I don't need game designers to tell me what my characters can do. I decide that. I am the game designer. I always do a better job. And GURPS can be played with just two books; it is never a huge game if you take it on the road. With 5E, I do not have a choice.
Swords & Wizardry sticks around as "AD&D Lite," honestly. It is math-compatible with OSE, gives me a huge monster list for both games, and is a different way to play. If I have a world that feels more "1E" then S&W will do nicely; otherwise, OSE covers it.
OSE, S&W, Without Number, and even the 2d6 sci-fi games like FTL Nomad exist happily with each other, and alongside GURPS. A collection of "tiny games" and one heavy one that does it all makes a nice library where I can sell everything else off, and be happy again.
Less is more.
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