> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://game-theorists.gitbook.io/master-tracker/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://game-theorists.gitbook.io/master-tracker/useful-resources.md).

# Useful Resources

Here's a few resources to help understand ARGs. If you are new to ARGs or puzzle-solving in general, please consult the Game Detectives Academy here for some basic puzzle-solving tools. Good luck.

## glossary

* **acrostic** - a form of steganography where a message is spelled by the first letter of each line, word, or other segment
* **ASCII** - the American Standard Computer Information Interchange; a common method of encoding characters into numeric representations. Numbers are encoded at points 48-57 (0x30-0x39), uppercase from 65-90 (0x41-0x5A), and lowercase from 97-122 (0x61-0x7A)
* **ARG** - an "alternate reality game"; a game where events play out in the "real world".
* **anagram** - a word or phrase formed by rearranging the letters of another, such as cinema from iceman
* **binary** - a number system consisting of only zeroes and ones; used as the basis for modern computing
* **base64** - a number system consisting of normal digits, uppercase letters, lowercase letters, "+", "/", and "=". An "=" can only appear at the end. Base64 can be used to encode text through a system like ASCII or other media (images, etc.) as a binary stream.
* **Caesar cipher** - a cipher where each letter is shifted over by a set offset.
  * **ROT13** - The most common version of a Caesar Cipher, rotating all letters by 13.
* **cipher** - a method of modifying data to hide it from other people who don't know how to decipher it.
* **hexadecimal** - a number system with 16 digits (0-9, A-F); used in computing as each character can represent four binary digits. Usually prefixed with 0x.
* **Morse code** - an alphabet or code traditionally used by radio operators where characters are represented by dashes and dots (or long and short signals)
* **trailhead** - the initial clue or event that starts an ARG. For example, one can type "!trailhead" into #bot-spam to get access to the rest of the ARG channels.
* **pigpen cipher** - also known as a tic tac toe cipher, a simple substitution cipher in which letters are fragments of a grid
* **rabbit hole** - an endless descent into the unknown, commonly referring to a combined stretch in logic
* **red herring** - a "clue" with no purpose, meant to mislead the players of an ARG.
* **spectrogram** - often abbreviated "spectro"; a graph of frequencies used in audio with respect to time
* **steganography** - the act of concealing messages within another medium. Should not be confused with encryption or ciphertext.
* **substitution cipher** - a family of ciphers involving monoalphabetic codes, where letters of the original ciphertext correspond to different letters or symbols.
* **Vigenère cipher -** a Caesar-like cipher where the offset varies based on a keyword.

## resources

* [**dcode**](https://www.dcode.fr/tools-list) - a site with decoders for a whole lot of common ciphers
* [**GameDetectives Academy**](https://gamedetectives.net/academy) - a bunch of tutorials on finding clues for ARGs
* [**Pangram Translator**](https://kiki40367.itch.io/gt-arg-pangram-translator) - a theorist made site to decode the symbol alphabet used in the ARG