Reference
The common tongue of rabbit holes. Every term you need to navigate, solve, and discuss alternate reality games.
Explore TermsThe foundational concepts every ARG player should know
A story that behaves like it's happening in the real world. You follow clues across websites, emails, videos, phone calls, maybe even real locations. You solve things together. The world reacts. The line between fiction and reality gets blurry on purpose.
A chunk of story. When an ARG shifts tone or stakes, you've probably entered a new act. Players often sense the transition before it's announced.
A story told as if it's really happening. Clues scatter across platforms, players investigate together, and the narrative responds. Reality is the interface.
Any piece of in-game content: documents, posts, audio, videos, photos, props. Players collect and analyze these constantly. Everything could be a clue.
ARG Netcast/Network. A now-defunct but influential news site and podcast that covered ARGs during the genre's golden age (2004-2010s). Many foundational discussions happened there.
A quiet, behind-the-scenes communication line between puppetmasters and trusted players or community leads. Used responsibly, it stabilizes the game. Used recklessly, it breaks trust.
When emotions from the game spill into real life, or real-life feelings spill into the game. Players should recognize it so they can catch it early. Borrowed from live-action roleplay (LARP) communities.
Small details that nudge you toward a clue or puzzle. Patterns, repeated numbers, odd phrases. Nothing by accident. Follow the trail.
Trying every possible password or URL until something opens. Usually discouraged. Good puzzles reward insight, not spreadsheets of guesses. Most communities have rules against it.
The "official truth" of the story world. When players debate contradictions, they're arguing canon. Some ARGs deliberately leave canon fuzzy.
Encoded text you have to decode. Common in ARGs, but not always obvious. Context usually hints at which method to try. Caesar, Vigenere, and substitution ciphers are frequent visitors.
Anything that points somewhere. Could be a phrase, a glitch, a time, a symbol, or a weird comment from an NPC. Trust your pattern radar.
The barrier between the story and the people running it. When puppetmasters "step out from behind the curtain," they're talking openly as themselves, breaking the fiction.
A player community that formed around "The Beast" (2001), one of the first major ARGs. The name became shorthand for dedicated ARG players and collaborative problem-solving culture.
A real-world location where something is hidden for players to retrieve. Always treat these with respect: safety first, no trespassing, no suspicious behavior around strangers.
Anything that exists inside the fictional universe. A character's blog? Diegetic. A moderator announcing a schedule? Not diegetic. From film theory.
A batch of new in-game materials released at once. A big night in most communities. Everyone descends on the new content together.
Bonus content. Fun secrets. Not required for progression, but rewarding to find. Sometimes nods to other media or inside jokes.
A physical letter or package from inside the story. These feel personal. Handle with care, and never share private addresses unless you fully trust the process.
The invisible line between "this is a story" and "this is happening." ARGs blur it on purpose, but players should keep their grounding. Safety over immersion, always.
Media that looks like it was "discovered" rather than produced. Often mysterious, sometimes disturbing. Analyze the metadata, framing, and context carefully.
When someone's actions break or derail the game: harassing real people, vandalizing property, exploiting mistakes. Never acceptable. Report and distance yourself.
Something locked behind a solved puzzle or milestone. Opens once the community progresses. Creates natural pacing and shared achievement moments.
A clue tied to a specific real-world spot. Bring a buddy. Bring common sense. Tell someone where you're going. Inspired by the geocaching hobby.
The official way to ask for help. Some ARGs have scheduled hints, others have a "request a nudge" channel. Use it. It keeps the community moving and prevents frustration spirals.
The collective intelligence of players working together. No single person solves an ARG alone. The hive does. One person spots the cipher, another cracks it, a third connects it to earlier clues.
Your central navigation zone: a Discord, a wiki, a site, a pinned message. When lost, return to the hub. Every ARG community needs one.
The feeling that the fiction is brushing against reality. When done well, you forget you're "playing" and start investigating naturally. The magic of a good ARG.
Anything that happens inside the story. "That's IG" means it's part of the fiction. Used to distinguish from out-of-game discussion.
Story facts and lore. Often used when documenting discoveries. "IU, the company was founded in 1987" means that's what the fiction says.
The shared agreement to treat fiction like it's real while knowing it's still play. Players maintain kayfabe in character spaces to keep the story alive. Borrowed from professional wrestling.
The destination where puppetmasters want players to arrive after following a trail of clues. Unlike a trailhead (entry point), a landing zone is where a puzzle chain resolves: new story content, the next challenge, or a reward. Borrowed from aviation terminology, where it means a designated arrival area.
A real-time moment: a scheduled call, a character appearing in chat, a livestream, a countdown. These are high-energy. Don't miss them if you can help it.
The ongoing work of running the game while it unfolds. Players often sense when live ops kick into high gear. It's the "flight control" phase of an ARG.
Someone who follows the story but doesn't actively solve or post. Totally valid playstyle. Many lurkers become active when they spot something others missed.
The social "bubble" of play. ARGs stretch that bubble out into the real world, so everyone should understand the safety boundaries. From game design theory.
Talking about the game as a game. Useful for analysis and logistics. Keep it in the right channels so it doesn't break immersion for others.
A big puzzle made from the outputs of smaller ones. Feels like assembling a secret machine. Often gates major story reveals.
The backbone story connecting everything. Players often spot pieces of it long before they realize how they fit together. The big picture.
Outside the fiction: mod notes, safety guidelines, technical help. The opposite of diegetic content.
Any character controlled by the puppetmasters. You meet them through emails, posts, videos, calls, even in person. Borrowed from tabletop and video game terminology.
The first small challenge designed to teach you how this ARG works. Quick win, confidence booster. Shows you the rules of engagement.
Clear, non-fictional communication. Use OOG labels when you don't want something mistaken as in-story. Essential for safety discussions.
When players dig too deep into a simple puzzle. Happens often. Check your assumptions before diving down the wrong rabbit hole. Sometimes the answer is simpler than you think.
How fast the game moves. Healthy pacing keeps players engaged without overwhelming them. Too fast and people burn out; too slow and interest fades.
A puzzle that relies on phone calls or automated menus. Dial, explore, collect digits or words. A classic ARG mechanic from the genre's early days.
In most ARGs, you play as yourself. But occasionally you're assigned a role inside the fiction. Either way, your actions matter.
The people running the ARG. Part writers, part engineers, part stage crew, part improv actors. Term emerged from the early 2000s ARG community.
A more structured cousin to ARGs. Tons of puzzles, a clean path, and usually one big finale. Less narrative ambiguity, more pure problem-solving.
The first odd thing that pulls you into the game: a strange site, a mysterious message, a QR code. Where the adventure begins. From Alice in Wonderland.
A clue that leads nowhere. Creators use them sparingly. Players learn to spot them. Sometimes they're intentional misdirection; sometimes they're just coincidence.
One full playthrough or season of the ARG. "The first run was wild" means the initial release. Some ARGs get multiple runs with different outcomes.
Systems that protect players: content warnings, no-trespassing rules, clear communication, opt-out options. Everyone benefits from them. Good games build them in from the start.
A flexible style of ARG where players have many paths and the story adapts. Great freedom, but you need to keep your bearings. More emergent, less scripted.
A complete chapter of the universe. ARGs may come back for more seasons with related stories. Think TV seasons but interactive.
Hidden information inside images, audio, or formatting. Classic "there's more here than you can see" technique. Tools like Ghostmark or SpectroGhost can help reveal them.
The magic moment when a big group attacks a problem together and suddenly everything clicks. Pure collaborative energy. ARGs at their best.
The guiding style where in-world content never admits it's fictional. Players keep kayfabe in IG spaces and use OOG spaces for real talk. Coined on the Unfiction forums around 2001-2002.
A running record of everything solved so far. Crucial for new players joining late. Usually lives in a wiki, Google doc, or pinned channel.
A deliberate starting point: a website, flyer, coded message, teaser video. Look for signals that invite investigation. The designed entry point.
A story told across multiple platforms: videos, sites, messages, documents, events. Each piece matters. ARGs are the most interactive form of transmedia.
Something that only unlocks at a certain moment. Players often gather to watch the countdown. Creates shared anticipation and community moments.
Fan-made creations: recaps, theories, art, side stories. Communities thrive on it. Some of the best ARG analysis comes from players, not creators.
A legendary ARG community forum (2002-2016) where much of ARG culture and terminology was developed. The birthplace of many terms in this glossary.
A site that looks "ordinary" but hides hooks into the ARG. Often where players first notice something is off. Corporate pages, blogs, and social profiles are common formats.
A breakdown of how puzzles were solved. Shows up after the run or when the community documents everything. Spoiler-heavy but invaluable for analysis.
The player-assembled brain of the ARG. Timelines, puzzles, characters, all organized for quick reference. The hive mind's memory.
The moment the mystery lands: the reveal, the rescue, the truth, the final piece. You'll know it when you reach it. The emotional payoff.
The deeper texture of the universe: organizations, history, rituals, weird documents, scraps of lore. You discover it piece by piece. The iceberg below the surface.
Now that you speak the language, you're ready to dive into any ARG community and contribute to the hive mind.