Getting started

At first, Alternative Reality Games (ARG's) might look overwhelming and really hard. You might feel discouraged, but fear not! This guide should help you to get a hang on this amazing world of puzzles!

Build your toolkit!
First of all, you should start with getting some software which will help you along the way. Clues are usually hidden in pictures, audio files, compressed files, and so on, so you have to be able to get them.

- paint.net is commonly used to edit images, as it is easy to use.

- Audacity can be used to work with audio files, as it is free and powerful.

- programs like ExifTool can help to get the metadata out of the file.

Side note: you can find many helpful tools online, simply by googling what you want (example: "binary to text decoder").

Understanding what you see
Usually the trailhead gives a lot of information at once, and it's hard to notice the important bits. Keep in my mind that the clues are usually hidden in unexpected places, which, sometimes, can be in plain sight. If the trailhead has a description, read it carefully a few times and try to fully understand what it says. If the trailhead has a picture, audio file, or any other file attached to it, it is a good idea to download and analyze it. If the description looks encrypted, it's advisable to check for possible base encryption or ciphers. If the description has a weird layout, unnecessary capitals, punctuation, bonus letters, or something like a few different fonts, you should try text analysis.

Looking for help
It is uncommon to be able to solve a puzzle right away, so don't feel discouraged if you first few attempts fail. Googling for answers is encouraged, and you might want to join forces with other solvers, either via discord or other platforms. It is usually more fun to solve it together, although sometimes solvers aren't allowed to collaborate with each other.

Have fun!
Don't forget that it's a game that you are playing, so the key element is to have fun! If you feel that the puzzle doesn't give you any entertainment, you should probably stop solving it and find a better one.