# What is “AR marker”?

An AR marker is a printed card or image that triggers an augmented-reality reveal or game when scanned in the app, linking a physical object to digital content.

Also called: AR card, augmented reality marker

SSociana team·19 Oct 2026·2 min read

## AR marker in detail

Augmented reality at events works best when it is simple: point your phone at something and something appears. The AR marker is the something. The organiser prints cards or uses images on signage, and scanning one inside the app displays a reveal, a game or a piece of content tied to that marker. At a cultural offsite, AR reveals were part of a scavenger and puzzle programme, and image-scan cards have been used with games such as memory challenges. Design considerations are practical: lighting, print quality, marker contrast, how many markers and where to place them. Test every marker on a range of phones. Sociana runs QR and AR cards and offline games; it does not run GPS-based outdoor missions, so markers belong to places the organiser controls. Keep content short and rewarding, and link completion to points or a clue in a larger hunt. A fallback instruction, such as ask a host, avoids dead ends.

## How Sociana uses it

AR markers are part of the treasure hunts and games modules, triggered by scanning inside the attendee app. Markers are organiser-placed.

## Example

A cultural offsite used AR reveals as part of its themed programme.

[Treasure hunts, QR scavenger hunts & AR cardsWhere this term lives in the Sociana app.See how it works](https://sociana.in/features/treasure-hunts-qr-and-ar/)

## Questions

What does an AR marker do?

Scanning it in the app triggers an augmented-reality reveal, game or content tied to that printed card or image. The AR marker is the something. The organiser prints cards or uses images on signage, and scanning one inside the app displays a reveal, a game or a piece of content tied to that marker.

What affects reliability?

Lighting, print quality, marker contrast and placement, so test every marker on several phones before the occasion. An AR marker is a printed card or image that triggers an augmented-reality reveal or game when scanned in the app, linking a physical object to digital content.

Does Sociana support GPS missions?

Not as a claimed capability. Sociana runs QR and AR cards and offline games, so markers belong in places the organiser controls. AR markers are part of the treasure hunts and games modules, triggered by scanning inside the attendee app.

## Keep reading

[Treasure hunts, QR scavenger hunts & AR cards](https://sociana.in/features/treasure-hunts-qr-and-ar/)[Games library (15+ game types)](https://sociana.in/features/games-library/)[Cultural offsites & team activations](https://sociana.in/event-types/cultural-offsites/)[Festivals & cultural events](https://sociana.in/event-types/festivals/)[Image scan](https://sociana.in/glossary/image-scan/)[Treasure hunt](https://sociana.in/glossary/treasure-hunt/)[QR scavenger hunt](https://sociana.in/glossary/qr-scavenger-hunt/)[What is Offsite? Meaning at events](https://sociana.in/glossary/offsite/)

[Back to Glossary](https://sociana.in/glossary/)

## Want this live at your event?

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Canonical: https://sociana.in/glossary/ar-marker/
Publisher: Sociana by Alien Brains Private Limited (https://sociana.in/)