ARC has its own small vocabulary. Learn these few words and the rest of the software reads like plain English.
Games
A game is one escape-room experience you’ve set up in ARC. Each game has its own timer length, objectives, displays, devices, media, and automations. You build a game once in the Editor, then run it again and again.
Objectives
An objective is a puzzle or task players need to complete — a lock to open, a code to enter, a switch to flip. ARC tracks each objective’s progress, the hints tied to it, and any devices linked to it. Objectives can be grouped to mirror the flow of your room.
Hints
A hint is a clue you send to players. Hints can be text, an image, a video, an audio clip, spoken aloud by ARC, or verbal (a script you read out yourself). You prepare hints ahead of time on each objective, and send them with a tap while a game runs.
Timer
The timer is the countdown players race against. Staff start it, can pause and resume it, add or remove time, and end the game from the control page.
Sessions
A session is a single run of a game — from the moment it starts to when it’s reset for the next group. ARC can capture details about each session (like who ran it and the group size) and keep its history in Insights.
Reset
A reset returns the room to its starting state between groups — re-locking locks, clearing displays, and putting devices back. ARC’s Game Reset System walks staff through it so nothing gets missed. See Resetting a room.
Displays
A display is a screen players see — most often a countdown with room for hints and video. You set up displays per game and put them on TVs or monitors around the room. See Displays for how a screen becomes a display.
Devices and connections
A device is a piece of hardware ARC reads from or controls — a maglock, a light, a sensor, a sound player. A connection is the bridge ARC uses to talk to a family of devices (for example, a Z-Wave controller or an MQTT broker). You add a connection first, then add devices that use it. See Devices.
Automations and scenes
An automation runs an action automatically when something happens — “when this objective is solved, release that lock.” A scene is a set of actions you trigger on demand, with no automatic event behind it — handy as a one-tap button during a game. See Automation.
Build a mental map
Most of these connect: a game contains objectives; objectives carry hints and can link to devices; automations react to all of it; and staff watch it unfold on the control page while players see displays.
What’s next
Ready to put it together? Walk through Create your first game.