Frequently asked questions

ARC (Automation Room Control) is installed escape room software that runs on a computer at your business. It brings games, puzzles, sensors, locks, lighting, audio, timers, displays, hints, and automations into one system that your staff opens in a normal browser.

No. ARC's game engine is installed on a computer at your escape room business and runs your games, sensors, lighting, audio, and automations there. If the internet goes down, your rooms keep running. Internet is used for licensing, updates, and optional online services such as Cloud Connect and Cloud Backup.

Three things set ARC apart. Installed at your business: your games keep running without internet, and your data stays on your own network. Broad hardware support: ARC works with common escape room, smart-device, lighting, industrial, and custom-prop protocols. One system for the whole business: games, room logic, displays, audio, staff tools, monitoring, lobby systems, and resets all live in one platform.

No. The live control page is a single screen your staff use all day to see every room, send hints, manage timers, and switch between active games. Technical setup — adding devices, building game logic, configuring automations — is done once by an owner or builder and stays separate from the live control staff use every day.

Yes. ARC supports two automation scopes: Game automations (puzzle logic, room resets, hint sequences) and System automations (lobby lights, scheduled signs, background music, business-wide actions). Many escape room owners use ARC to tie their entire building together — not just the rooms.

Yes. Use your first 14 days free to build or import one room while your current system remains in production. Connect duplicate or test devices where possible, and do not attach two control systems to the same live outputs unless they are safely isolated. Move a live room only after objectives, automations, hardware, displays, resets, and the staff workflow have passed repeat tests.

ARC supports hardware across several categories:

• Smart devices and sensors: Shelly BLU, Z-Wave, Zigbee, Philips Hue, and Kasa
• Room and show control: MQTT, PLC/Modbus, DMX, OSC, and QLC+
• Custom props: Arduino, ESP32, ESP8266, and Raspberry Pi
• Displays and cameras: browser displays, Raspberry Pi kiosks, T-Watch displays, and RTSP camera views
• Node-RED: ARC's own @automation-room-control/node-red-arc nodes

The ARC documentation contains the current connection and device guides. If your hardware is not listed, it may still work through one of ARC's standard protocols.

Yes—ARC Portal includes migration tools for both M3 and Escape Room Master. The M3 tool converts a supported story export into an ARC starter package. The Escape Room Master tool brings over text and image hints plus supported custom-button HTTP automations. These tools create a starting point rather than a perfect clone: hardware mappings, room-specific logic, styling, and unsupported media still need review in ARC. You can run the migration and test the result during your first 14 days free.

Computer: a modern computer at your escape room business. Memory: 4 GB RAM minimum — most modern computers easily meet this. Disk space: 1 GB free. Network: a reliable local network so staff devices can reach the ARC computer. See the installation docs for current release availability.

Four steps:

1. Download ARC — it's free to try, and no signup is needed to download.
2. Install ARC on the computer that will control your rooms.
3. Create your account and connect your location. The launcher opens the Portal in your browser; signing in and selecting your license activates the computer.
4. Add your hardware, build your games, and go live.

The ARC documentation walks through the complete setup, and Discord is available when you need help.

Because the game engine runs on the ARC computer, games and control pages served by that installation stop if the computer fails. ARC does not currently provide automatic failover. Keep current backups and a replacement-computer plan. ARC can create and restore local backups, while optional Cloud Backup keeps off-site copies when enabled. Restoring a backup and reconnecting the license and devices is a deliberate recovery process, not instant failover.

Download ARC and install it — it's free to try. Create your account when you open it — no credit card needed. When you're ready for the full version, subscribe from the ARC Portal and your first 14 days are free.

$65/mo for your primary business location and $50/mo for each additional location. Each location includes every core ARC feature, unlimited rooms and devices, future updates, the complete documentation, direct support from the ARC team, and access to the Discord community.

Subscriptions are month-to-month with no contracts. You can cancel in the ARC Portal, and access continues through the period you already paid for. Billing is handled securely through Stripe; unused time is not prorated or refunded.

ARC's core device connections and features are included with every subscription. Optional extensions include:

• ARC's own Node-RED nodes — install @automation-room-control/node-red-arc to trigger ARC controls and react to game state, timers, objectives, and completed sessions from existing flows.
• Cloud Connect — a limited preview that is free for a limited time while development continues. Available features are still expanding.
• Cloud Backup — $5/mo per location for scheduled and manual off-site recovery archives, with 10 GB included. You choose whether an archive also includes media, text-to-speech assets, and chat data.

None of these add-ons is required to run games at your business.

Yes, when you configure a secure remote-access path. ARC can join a network you control through Tailscale so authorized users can reach the full ARC interface away from the business. Cloud Connect is currently a limited preview for selected online integrations; do not rely on it as the path for game control. Remote access still depends on the ARC computer, business network, and power being online. Treat it as privileged access and never expose ARC directly to the public internet.

A few options:

• ARC documentation — setup and feature guides you can follow at any time.
• Discord community — usually the fastest way to ask the ARC team and other escape room owners.
• Email support — [email protected].

Support comes directly from the people who build ARC. Video walkthroughs are being added over time.