Hi, I'm the creator of Minethings.com and can tell you a bit about the game.
At its core, it is a trading game and most of the professions are geared toward that. Someone mentioned the map where you can see various cities where people live and work. Each city has its own types of mines that you can buy using real-life cash or in-game gold. Those wanting goods from another city must either move them there or buy from someone who already has. This creates incentive to trade between cities. There are pirates who try to steal from those en-route, and there are guards who try to defeat the pirates. Then there are the fishermen who just want a peaceful journey to turn their bait into food but they too are subject to pirate harassment. This is all player-vs-player and in real-time.
I'd be glad to answer more questions if there are any. I've opened a
new thread here.