Alternate Reality Game
Story-driven puzzle game that spills into the real world — websites, phone numbers, real locations and social media are all part of the game.
What is Alternate Reality Game?
Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are collaborative story-and-puzzle experiences that use the real world (websites, telephone numbers, physical locations, social media, print media, dead-drops) as the playing field. Pioneered by 2001's The Beast (marketing for Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence) and definitively established by 2004's I Love Bees (marketing for Halo 2). Devoted communities collaborate for weeks or months to solve the mystery; recent examples include Playtime, Cicada 3301 and Year Zero.
Quick facts
Category
Escape & Immersive
Type
Team sport
Players
100–100000
Where played
both
Country of origin
🇺🇸 United States
Estimated origin
2001, Microsoft's The Beast (marketing for A.I. Artificial Intelligence); genre-defining ILoveBees (2004)
Olympic
No
Popularity
regional