I don't want to put the person with this take on blast, but I absolutely want to put this take on blast.

"Deep gameplay" doesn't mean "lots of rules" ESPECIALLY when all of those rules result in a pass/fail mechanic where pass gives you what you want & maybe roll some extra dice, & fail means your turn stops.

Monsterhearts' rules are quick to learn, but they make the mechanical consequences make sense in the fictional stakes.

The fictional stakes matter to the roll in deciding which Move is triggered & the context it exists in. The depth is in that interpretation.

How do you react to a situation? What compromises do you make? do you spend your strings, social leverage to get what you want?

These questions have meaning before AND after a roll, the rolls serving to escalate & add momentum to the situation.

A longer novel isn't necessarily deeper than a shorter one. The quality of the writing is where you find the depth.

D&D demands "rules mastery," rote learning of the procedures.

PBTA often demands "situation mastery," the ability to contextualize the situation to its stakes & the motivations of the players & characters/forces involved. Situation mastery calls on more social skills like empathy, co-operation, communication, flexibility, & improvisation.

I COULD make the claim that a lot of the skills PBTA relies on are seen as 'soft' or 'social' skills that are often seen as more feminine & undervalued in tabletop gaming spaces, but I don't have the experience or academic background to make that argument with any authority.