The Puppet's Game is a series of Twitters and Blogs, focusing on one of the Jester's infamous games. This specific game was an ARG that involved helping the protagonist Grace find her brother Derek, whom the Jester had kidnapped and locked in a cabin at an unknown location.
It also has a sequel called The Puppet's Game 2.
Summary[]
Derek[]
Derek told his part through the blog trappedinacabin. He woke up a cabin with the doors locked and windows barred. Slowly, he found out that someone called the Jester had kidnapped him and was playing a sadistic game: the Jester would post a riddle on their Twitter account and if someone got it right in the allotted time, Derek would get food, potable water, or other amenities (such as a dishwasher and a refridgerator). Another site is revealed where players can ask questions at the Mummer's Farce formspring.
Eventually, the Jester only gives the prize as "Right ring or left?" The next morning, Derek wakes up missing a ring finger. The game starts to take its toll on Derek, who is pleading for his sister Grace to find him, until the end of the blog, where he thinks he sees Grace outside.
Grace[]
Grace tells her side through the blog Sola Gratia. The Jester leaves her a note telling her that she needs to find Derek. Soon afterwards, she is nearly attacked by the Jester's group of servants called the Misfits. She is given a clue that leads to the Griffith Observatory, but she is also distracted by the need to go to work. This ends when the Jester (or one of the Misfits) violently kills her boss and leaves her with an envelope full of cash.
Now following the trail of clues across state lines, Grace heads towards Las Vegas. In the blog, she is given hints by the Misfits, as well as a mysterious person called the Vagabond (who has his own Tumblr where players can ask questions). In Vegas, a clue is given to her by a man in a seersucker suit, but none of the players can figure it out. Another man who appears to be the first man gives Grace another clue which leads her to Moon Lake. In the center of the lake is the diary of "Karen B." "Karen" tells of encountering "the Motley Man" who wants to bring her back to the "Court of Threads" to meet the "Queen of Puppets," where Karen would become the "Princess of Puppets." Karen wants to go at first, but then bonds with her brother and so doesn't want to leave him alone. Grace wonders why the Jester would leave this for her.
Eventually, Grace is led to Kill Devil Hills where it's revealed in a blog post by Derek that "Karen" was an alternate personality of Grace's. Their father, Ruggiero Magro, created a children's show called Il Ballo di Fortuna ("The Dance of Fortune") and always favored Karen over Grace and Derek. Magro was eventually taken by the Wooden Girl (and the American version of his show became the show in Debasing the Beef Canoe - and the Vagabond is revealed to be Neville from that blog). Karen eventually became "Kevin, the Lonesome Artist," another personality that Grace didn't know she had.
Grace is given the final clue as to Derek's whereabouts: he is in Seven Devils. She buys a gun and goes there to find the cabin. When she does and breaks in the door, she finds that Derek is a Doll - and has been a Doll this entire time (this was the "Mummer's farce" that the Jester and the Misfits warned Grace and the players about). Grace is forced to shoot Derek multiple times, then drops the gun and leaves.
The last post of the blog is from Kevin, the Lonesome Artist. He says that Grace is sleeping, but he will make sure to take care of her. "That's my job."
Sites[]
As with most ARGs, the story and game were spread out across multiple sites. This is a list of the complete sites:
- Derek: http://trappedinacabin.wordpress.com/
- Grace: http://lookingforderek.blogspot.com/ and https://twitter.com/#!/LookingGrace
- The Jester: https://twitter.com/#!/ThePuppetsFool
- The Mummer's Farce: http://www.formspring.me/MummersFarce
- The Vagabond: http://ilballodifortuna.tumblr.com/
- The Lonesome Artist: http://www.facebook.com/people/Lonesome-Artist/100002754276774