I already know about DF so I know I'm not interested in games like that, but man, I'm glad I never tried to pick it up.
Usually the bugs are strange, hilarious or both. For example, here are some issues that have been fixed:
Werebeast arrives, attacks livestock and dwarves but is not attacked by dwarves while in its werebeast form. Necromancers afraid of/killed by their own undead Dwarves with permanent injuries inevitably spiral into depression Moody dwarves claim workshops outside their burrow, haul infinite number of items, never start construction Lye in wood barrels can't be used for making soap Haulers carry (heavy) full bin to pickup single item (lighter) Happy thoughts do not affect stress levels; Dwarves slowly spiral into depression Dwarf misses completely unrelated dwarf Bogeymen attack elf/dwarf sites while sleeping in them Brewing stack of >6 plants produces a stack of >30 booze, which doesn't fit in a barrel Tantruming dwarves perform dozens of fistfights/throws in a second DOES_NOT_EXIST does not remove creatures from embark list Large grazers (elephants and giraffes) can't eat fast enough to keep from starving
It's a distant grandfather of Minecraft, but complex and detailed in ways that make emacs look straightforward.
It's a lot of fun, but it's not a 'game'. :-)
At some point when you've mastered basic code writing, ideas become the hardest part. This is especially true in game design, but also true even in solving business problems.
A pity you've chosen to miss out, as the depth of simulation in DF truly is astounding.
you have more fun developing DF than playing.