ARC (Automation Room Control) is the software that runs your escape rooms — timers, hints, displays, locks, lighting, audio, sensors, and the automations that tie them together. It runs locally, on one computer at your location, so your games keep working even if the internet drops.
Staff don’t install anything special to use it day to day: ARC opens in a normal web browser, and everyone on the same network works from the same screens.
You can try everything free
New accounts start with a 30-day free trial, so you can sign up, install ARC, and build a room before paying anything.
What you’ll set up
Getting started takes about four short steps:
- Create your account in the ARC Portal and start your trial.
- Download and install ARC on the computer that will run your rooms.
- Connect that computer to your license.
- Open ARC in a browser and start building.
The order to follow
Work through these guides in order — each one picks up where the last left off:
- Create your account
- Download and install ARC
- Connect ARC to your license
- The ARC launcher — starting, updating, restarting, and quitting
- Open ARC in a browser — using
arc.local - How ARC works — the big picture
When you’re set up, the Basics section walks you through finding your way around and creating your first game.
How ARC runs, in one minute
One computer on-site is your ARC server. It runs the ARC software in the background and serves everything the rest of your computers need. Staff, displays, and control stations all reach it over your local network — usually just by going to arc.local in a browser.
That’s the whole idea: everything important lives on-site and keeps running on its own. The rest of these guides get you there.