Playing an RPG is like acting a part in a free-form play where you have a self-developed character appropriate to the environment who acts or reacts to an ever-changing environment controlled by the director (GM). Anyone who has ever caught the drama bug will definitely get it, and it will give non-gamers a more familiar theme to base their views on.

Lots of people don't get it, the same reason why I don't get why organized sports are fun. I understand why others like football or basketball, I just don't have any real feel for it. And you don't have to dump any kind of a relationship just because they don't get it unless they're being antagonistic about it.

John Christopher's The White Mountains" (1967), "The City of Gold and Lead" (1967), "The Pool of Fire - One of my first, and favorite, children's sci-fi trilogy. The books are a good read for a 3rd grader. It's a bit difficult to find, but well worth it. I believe there was even a mini-series production of it years back called "The Tripods".

Code is for code monkeys. I'm a JOAT for IT (Jerk of All Trades).

Your description of the process mirrors that of contract companies hired to build nuclear reactor sites. They have to adhere to strict measurements every step of the way when putting together a secure building designed to handle radioactive materials and energy production. It's okay to fudge a few inches on that 2x4 or a few inches on a concrete pour when it comes to building a house, but you CAN'T fudge even half an inch on the framework of a reactor shell or it could easily kill everthing within miles of a leak. Builders are held to very high standards based on that.