I would argue that those bits of unfairness is part of what makes the game so addictive. As long as you have the right mix as to not to frustrate the player th

I would argue that those bits of unfairness is part of what makes the game so addictive. As long as you have the right mix as to not to frustrate the player they'll keep coming back for more. I think you can see this in more modern games as well. There were other rogue-like games that were just as much fun, super-rogue comes to mind...