Well, I'm assuming that TAGs PM he sent you was an invitation to tea, a tirade about the unfair system of feudal land ownership or an offer to purchase a time share in Ft. Lauderdale. It's like I'm psychic, isn't it, Russell?
So I'll help you out. You obviously know how to surf the net, so one of us should let Russel read a Play By Post role playing game thread. I think that would show just how easy it is. Because while there are "game mechanics" involved, just like in chess, monolopoly and poker, with RPGs, the rules are not the most imortant part of the game; it's the "playing of a role" that is most important.
So if I said, "OK, Iron Man (let's assume that's you), some bad guys just robbed a bank, took a hostage and as you arrive on the scene, they peel out in their car and take off. What do you do?"
Well?
Hopefully, you'd take off after them. Or maybe check for injuries at the bank. But you'd describe your action. That is the basis of the game. All role playing games.
The one person describing the action for you is usually called something like: Game Master, Dungeon Master, Judge or Referee. You are the player. Iron Man (or whoever you decide to play or invent) is the player's "character" or Player Character or PC.
The mechanics come into play to add some realism and "fairness." They decide who gets to go first, how fast the car is going, how fast you can fly, whether you are able to hit a tire with a repulsar beam, whether a repulsar blast would damage a tire, all that stuff. But to most of us, that stuff is secondary. In some games, you don't even really have to have a full grasp, depending on how the Judge runs the game. He describes the world. You tell him what you're doing. He tells you what happens.
This has been true for all the RPGs I've played, whether I played a knight, a gunfighter, a spy or a super hero.
"My parents went to The Secret Wars Battleworld and all I got was this lousy T-Shirt..."