{{Alternate Reality Game}}s (ARG) are fictional storylines presented as existing in RealLife. An [[TitleDrop Entry Point]] is the way to start interacting with it.

Often, it's fashioned in such a way that the potential player is unaware they are entering said alternate reality. It might be presented as just puzzles lying around that you have stumbled upon. Or fake commercials. Anything goes as long as it's enticing.

It's also common for entry points to be found within other works, such as clues during the credits or written in a prop. Hidden ads, if you may.

For all these reasons, they are referred to as [[DownTheRabbitHole rabbit holes]], after the rabbit hole that led to the ''Literature/AliceInWonderland'' adventures.
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!!Examples:
%%Examples are sorted according to the medium of the entry point, not of the ARG itself. If the clues are hidden in our world (for example, arrows painted on the walls), it goes into the miscellaneous category.

[[folder:Advertising]]
* ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence'': The entry point for the InUniverse ARG ''The Beast'' is Jeanine Salla, a name which appeared in red in the credits of ''A.I.'' commercials. Googling the name would yield the first site in the game.
* ''ARG/ILoveBees'': An entry point can be found at the end of a ''VideoGame/Halo2'' cinema ad, which was screened during ''Film/IRobot's'' theatrical run.
* ''ARG/TheLostExperience'': The entry point is a TV commercial that aired during ''Series/{{Lost}}'', advertising the Hanso Foundation and giving the phone number to call that led to the first few clues.
* ARG/OmegaMart: There are RealLife commercials advertising it as a legit, if exceptional, grocery store. Everyone who doesn't know it beforehand takes their time to realize that they have entered a {{Surrealis|m}}t supermarket with its own lore and actors posing as employees.
* ''ARG/SignalAndNoise'': The first prompt appears in an ''Webcomic/MSPaintAdventures'' advertisement.
* ''ARG/SpectacularOrganic'': The titular (fictional) company publishes ads for their GM Juice and TV-Sports on Website/{{Youtube}}, Website/{{Twitter}}, and its website. Seemingly, a real company. However, the aforementioned ads have so many details off that they invite digging and, therefore, the discovery of hidden clues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Alternate Reality Games]]
* ''ARG/ILoveBees'': Veteran ARG players who participated in ''[[Film/AIArtificialIntelligence The Beast]]'' were sent plastic bears full of honey, with nine letters that spelled [[TitleDrop I Love Bees]] when unscrambled. This led to the website ilovebees.com.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''Series/DoctorWho'': Two of the Alternate Reality sites for the first Creator/RussellTDavies era are simply shown on-screen: Clive's webpage in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E1Rose Rose]]", and the UNIT webpage in "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS27E5WorldWarThree World War Three]]".
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Music]]
* ''{{ARG/Erratas}}'': The eponymous Music/DJRozwell album details the ARG's lore and serves to attract people into playing it.
* {{Music/Nine Inch Nails}}'s ARG ''Music/YearZero'': The entry point is a number of USB drives left at concerts with intriguing data. Some contain web addresses to pages from the dystopian future, some contain distorted audio that causes spectrographs to produce simple pictures.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Print Media]]
* ''ARG/OngsHat'': Initially, the creators spread homemade brochures and {{magazine|s}} articles about ''Ong's Hat'' through mail and other forms of physical distribution but later found a larger audience by utilizing the newest medium at the time, the Internet.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''ARG/{{Gleemax}}'': Creator/WizardsOfTheCoast mail plastic brains labelled "moctodsdraziwtaxameelg" ("gleemax@wizards.com" [[SdrawkcabAlias backwards]]) to people who've played more than one of their games (e.g., ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' and ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'').
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Video Games]]
* ''{{ARG/Aristasia}}'': was initially played à la [[RolePlayingGame RPG]] and, therefore, no entry points other than starting a game with a group of people. Nowadays, it has set up an embassy and a college in ''VideoGame/SecondLife''. From which you can access the ARG's content.
* ''ARG/SkyBox2022'': The way to start interacting with the game is by finding a distorted "umbrella man" graffiti in an alleyway in the ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' level "We Don't Go to Ravenholm". The corrupted part of the image reveals that an "INTERLOPER" console command is to be activated in multiple games that run on the Source Engine; resulting in new gameplay demos that hold clues.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Websites]]
* ''ARG/CaughtNotSleeping'': Initially, players are hooked by trying to help Caught, the [[ProtagonistTitle titular protagonist]], solve his insomnia problem. This is presented by means of Website/{{Youtube}} videos.
* ''ARG/CrystoreInc'': Players are assessed by the Varelse Bridge Society through a survey on their [[https://www.crystoreinc.com/join-v-b-s website]] to determine whether they are apt to join it.
* "Cipher Hunt" (''WesternAnimation/GravityFalls''): The ARG began with [[https://twitter.com/_AlexHirsch/status/755948098036260864 a tweet]] made by series creator Alex Hirsch, featuring a drawing of some architecture and some encoded messages.
* ''ARG/DarkDreamChronicle'': When it was being launched, the starting clue could be found on Eris Hunter's official social media -- mainly Website/{{Youtube}} and Website/{{Twitter}}, but also some chatlogs. However, it's now {{averted}} because the content was compiled into a scrapbook.
* ''ARG/EditorWilbur'': Wilbur reaches out for the potential player's help by means of edited ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' videos on Youtube.
* ''Blog/EndingTheCycle'': While fans could always interact through the Website/{{Tumblr}} ask function, they slowly started to notice there were definite puzzles to solve. With the introduction of the files and the creation of a Creator/{{Discord}} server, fans flocked together to solve the puzzles.
* ''ARG/EscapeFromEdenPark'': Riley, TheProtagonist, unlocks the first case when she encounters an angry ghost who seems devoted to blaming her for her brother's death.
* ''ARG/TheHuntForTheGangadiddle'': The entry point is the BigGood revealing in a Website/{{Youtube}} video that you are trapped in what is called an isolated world.
* ''ARG/HuntTheTruth'': Since it's part of a ViralMarketing campaign, the entry points are ads on ''VideoGame/{{Halo}}'' official social media that lead to the Website/{{Tumblr}} blog that hosts the ARG.
* ''ARG/PronunciationBook'': Most players are viewers of the eponymous Website/{{Youtube}} channel, seeking to learn how to pronounce certain English words. Then, one of the videos suddenly asks them for help to escape from an unknown place.
* ''{{ARG/Trick}}'': Players surfing through {{Website/Fantendo}} are bound to stumble upon a talking carved pumpkin called Renninger who can be asked questions about their ill-fated Halloween party.
* ''ARG/TheWallWillFall'': MysteriousEmployer Mister Administrator posted a very ominous announcement about the ''WebVideo/EchoChamber'' FourthWall cracking on Website/{{Youtube}} and Website/TVTropes. He assigns you the mission to fix the wall and find every fictional character who has managed to trespass.
* ''ARG/WhatHasBeen'': Several ''Franchise/TouhouProject''-related Website/{{Youtube}} videos have some strange comments posted on their boxes by the user 9a13 d514. They are made of dots and lines and look like utter gibberish. That is, until you realize they are Morse code.
* ''ARG/WorldOfTheseus'': The first clue is a {{Website/Reddit}} post on [[https://www.reddit.com/user/beansinjeans2019/ beansinjeans2019]]'s account.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Web Video]]
* When WebVideo/NeuroSama first streamed with her updated 2.0 model, her starting screen featured a QR code in the background, which upon scanning, led to the [=YouTube=] channel ARG/UnderscoreNeurosama.
[[/folder]]


[[folder:Miscellaneous]]
* ''{{ARG/Camdrome}}'': The first contact with the game is a bloody computer --the eponymous Camdrome-- inside a PAX booth that streams a supposedly live video of a doll-masked man murdering people.
* ''ARG/CrystoreInc'': A way to access the game is encountering a [[https://www.crystoreinc.com/flyer flyer]] from the eponymous company asking whether you've seen one of their products. Contact information --a telephone number and a QR-- is provided at the bottom.
* ''ARG/MITMysteryHunt'': MIT students form teams and access the game by means of puzzles scattered around the city or during special events hosted on the campus.
* ''ARG/PerplexCity'': The primary connection between the titular city and Earth is puzzle cards sold in randomized packs. The cards have clues hidden on them, as well as a code to enter online to earn points for solving the actual puzzle.
* ''ARG/Project863'': Matthias and his team encounter a couple of keys on the roof of their studio. The keys have the number 863 engraved on them, which comprises the first clue of the game.
* ''WebVideo/SMPEarth'': The first clue to the Octangula ARG is at the Southwest Octangula, where a giant {{sundial|Waypoint}}-like structure is located, which the players explored to find clues.
[[/folder]]

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