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What is it?
Alternate reality games (ARGs) weave together real-world artifacts
with clues and puzzles hidden online to create an engaging,
collective experience for players. In an ARG, players follow a
narrative through clues, puzzles, and events orchestrated by the
“puppetmaster” or game designer(s). ARGs are not computer or
video games, though electronic devices—including computers,
cell phones, and GPS-enabled handhelds—are frequently used
to access clues. ARGs are not role-playing games, in that players
generally function as themselves in a real-world environment.
Clues and pieces of the puzzle can be anywhere—websites,
libraries, museums, stores, signs, recorded telephone messages,
movies, television programs, or printed materials (textbooks, reference
books, novels, and so forth). Players can meet and talk
with characters in the narrative and use resources like postal mail,
e-mail, the web, or the public library to find hints, clues, and various
pieces of the puzzle. Since no one is expected to find all the
clues, the game’s solution depends on collaborative effort. Several
characteristics are common to most ARGs, including a narrative
that must be inferred, rules that are not specified at the outset but
must be uncovered in the process of the game, and a suspension
of disbelief—in this case, the sense that “this is not a game.”

How does it work?
Players put together story scraps and clues that lead them through
a narrative. They enter the game through “rabbit holes”—sites or
events that point the way into the game by suggesting that at a
certain website or a certain physical location there is a curious
matter to be investigated. ARGs often have multiple entry points,
and participants researching an initial strange occurrence or peculiar
posting may find an e-mail address or telephone number
that draws players into interaction with the fictional world of the
game and the characters within it. Frequently the games, puzzles,
and mysteries encountered in an ARG are challenging enough to
require input from multiple players working in cooperation. In general,
ARGs offer easy entry points for beginners and rely on collaborative
play throughout the activity. Most, but not all, ARGs offer
a definite conclusion that closes the game.