Ask Slashdot: Explaining Role-Playing Games To the Uninitiated?

An anonymous reader writes "As a kid in the late 1970s and the 1980s, Dungeons and Dragons, as well as many other fine tabletop roleplaying games, figured heavily in my life. From learning about various forms of governments (theocracies, oligarchies, etc.) and Greek, Norse, and Egyptian mythology, to what N.B. and et al. mean, to the social glue that enabled people like me to get together, write cool adventures, problem-solve, and have a blast doing it all, role playing games were a powerful force in my life. The thing is, I still enjoy playing them. A lot. I get together once a month with friends and we play for sometimes up to eight straight hours of epic battles, puzzles, legends, lore, and camaraderie. All of this, unfortunately, seems totally alien to someone who did not grow up with RPGs and who has never experienced the sheer joy of a dungeon crawl. Have you ever had to explain to your spouse or significant other why you value gaming so much, or why it is ok to spend a hunk of time with other gamers? How do you begin to relate it all to them?"

Simple way to explain

[Anonymous Coward]

Serial improv within (usually) numerical/statistical constraints.

Here's a "Don't", IMO

[OakDragon]

Please don't start with the example of "remember when we were kids, and we played Cops & Robbers?". I've heard well-meaning role-players start with this, and it just seems to me that it infantilizes the experience.

Re:Simple way to explain

[BoogeyOfTheMan]

Have them listen to the Penny Arcade podcasts of them playing D&D 4th before it came out. With Mike being a pen and paper RPG noob and no one of them ever having played 4th edition (since it wasnt out yet), there is a lot of explaining things going on. Also, its funny as all hell. It got my ex wanting to play. And I have another friend that now wants to play thanks to the podcasts.
Obviously, starting at the beginning is the best way for it to make sense. Also, the second session has Will Wheaton in it.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/podcasts.aspx [wizards.com]

They did another session at PAX that has video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uqXqK3ZlqWI&feature=related [youtube.com]

If you subscribe to the podcast, theres also a video series with the makers of Robot Chicken playing.

Its a game.

[Ginger Unicorn]

Its a game where you all make up a story as you go along - one person knows what the general plot is going to be and everyone else gets to make up the details as they find out more of the plot. To keep things interesting no one has absolute control over what happens. Players suggest what they think should happen and dice are used to see if it pans out exactly the way they wanted. The bits you aren't in control of are compelling for the same reason a movie or a book are compelling and the bits you do control are satisfying for same reason any creative act is satisfying. There may be more to it but anything else might be more difficult to relate.