Running a game means driving one session from start to finish: open the room, start the timer, help the team along the way, and bring the session to a close. You do all of this from the control dock at the edge of the Control page. This guide walks through the session states, the buttons that move between them, the timer adjustments, and the Session Details you capture for each run.
Session states
As a game runs, ARC moves through a series of states. The current state shows as a chip in the control dock, so a glance tells you where the session is.
| State | What it means |
|---|---|
| Idle | No session running. The room is waiting to start. |
| Intro | The game introduction is playing before the clock starts. |
| Running | The timer is counting and the team is playing. |
| Paused | The session is held — the timer has stopped temporarily. |
| Outro | The ending sequence is playing after the clock stops. |
| Success | The session ended with the team winning. |
| Failed | The session ended without the team finishing in time. |
| Resetting | The room is being returned to its starting state for the next group. |
The session buttons
The control dock shows the buttons that apply to the current state. You will not see every button at once — ARC offers the next sensible action.
| Button | What it does |
|---|---|
| Start | Begins the session. If the game has an introduction, it plays the Intro first. |
| Skip Intro | Skips the introduction and starts the timer immediately. |
| Pause | Holds the session and stops the timer. |
| Resume | Continues a paused session and restarts the timer. |
| End | Ends the session. Depending on the game, the Outro plays next. |
| Success | Ends the session as a win for the team. |
| Failed | Ends the session as a loss. |
| Skip Outro | Skips the ending sequence. |
| Reset | Opens the Game Reset System to return the room to its starting state. |
Intro and Outro are optional
A game only shows an introduction or ending sequence if it has one configured in the Editor. If a game has no Intro, Start goes straight to Running, and you will not see Skip Intro.
Adjusting the timer
Sometimes you need to give a team more time, take some away, or run the clock faster or slower. The control dock has two tools for this, one on either side of the countdown.
- Timer Adjust — opens a small panel with -1m and +1m buttons, plus a running total of how much time you have added or removed this session.
- Timer Speed — runs the clock faster or slower than real time, from 0.25× up to 2×. It is only available while the game is running or paused, and only if timer speed has been enabled for that game.
Be consistent with adjustments
Time changes appear in the Timeline log. If you regularly add time for the same reason, that is usually a sign to revisit the room’s design or difficulty rather than adjust by hand every session.
Session Details
Each session can capture a few details for your records and for the Insights analytics. You can fill these in before the game starts or while it runs. Find them in Session Details on the control dock.
- Staff member — who is running the room. If staff tracking is turned on you pick from your staff list; otherwise you type a name.
- Team Name (optional) — the group’s name, for your records.
- Players — how many players are in the room, set with the − and + buttons.
- Hints Used — a running count of hints given. You can nudge it up or down.
- Hint Language — which language hints are sent in. This only appears when the game has translated hints.
- Include in analytics — a checkbox to count this run in Insights. Turn it off for practice runs, staff tests, or sessions you do not want in your averages.
If a game ends before you have filled these in, ARC asks for them again before it lets the room reset, so a finished run is never lost.
Run a game from start to finish
Here is a full session, beginning to end.
- On the Dashboard, press Control on the card for the room you are running.
- In Session Details, set the staff member and Players, and decide whether to Include in analytics.
- When the team is ready, press Start. If an introduction plays, press Skip Intro once you want the clock to begin.
- Watch the team in the objectives panel. Send hints when needed and respond to help requests — see Hints and Objectives.
- If you need to step in, use Pause to hold the session and Resume to continue. Use Timer Adjust to change the time remaining.
- When the game ends, press Success if the team won or Failed if time ran out. Use End to close the session in other cases. Skip the ending sequence with Skip Outro if you wish.
- Press Reset to open the Game Reset System and return the room to its starting state — see Resetting a Room.
The previous game at a glance
After a run finishes, the information bar shows a short Previous game line: the outcome (Success, Failed, or Ended), tinted green on a win and red on a loss, and underneath it the time left on the clock, the time played, the hints given, and the number of players.
It stays put through the next game, so you can still see how the last group did while you are running the current one. It is only replaced when the next run finishes.
Moments
If your business uses cameras, automations in a game can capture Moments — photos and short clips from the room while a team plays. There is no capture button on the Control page; a builder decides in the Editor when Moments are taken, for example on a big puzzle solve or at the winning moment.
Once a session has captured at least one, a Moments cell appears in the information bar with a count. Click it to open the Moments panel for this session:
- Photos and clips appear as a grid of thumbnails.
- Hover a thumbnail for Details (camera, when it was captured, length, size, whether audio is included), Download, and Delete. Delete asks you to press again to confirm.
- Click a thumbnail to open it full size, with Previous / Next arrows and Download. Clips get their own Play and Mute controls.
- A capture still being made shows as a tile reading Capture in progress…, and one that did not work shows Capture failed with a plain-language reason.
You can reopen a past session’s Moments later from that session in Insights. How long ARC keeps Moments, and where they are stored, is set once for the whole business in System → Overview → Moments.
Switching between games
If you run more than one room, you do not need to leave the Control page to move between them. Click the game nameplate in the control dock: it lists your other games, each with a live status dot and its current timer, and a marker on any room where players have asked for help. Select a game to jump to its Control page. Each room keeps its own session, so switching never disturbs a game in progress.
Where to go next
- Hints and Objectives — guide a stuck team and track their progress.
- Displays and Audio — control what players see and hear.
- Resetting a Room — prepare the room for the next group.
- Session timelines — look back at a finished run, its Moments, and what happened minute by minute.