A pack-in app for the Nintendo 3DS handheld, AR Games is a collection of action-oriented mini-games that appear to take place in the physical space right in front of the player. "Augmented reality" games are played in the "heads up" display interface of a camera viewfinder. 3DS' AR Games make use of the player's current surroundings, through the device's built-in stereoscopic cameras, to project virtual objects and characters in real-world backgrounds. The software works using cards with special markings that 3DS can recognize and read.

To play a game, its card placed somewhere in plain view -- on a nearby tabletop, for example. The player then finds the card in the view screen, using the 3DS cameras. The software takes a few moments to calculate the distance and angle to the card, and then creates virtual characters and objects that appear to exist in real space, on the tabletop where the card is actually sitting. Games can be controlled by moving the handheld and changing the point-of-view on the scene, such as leaning to the left or right around a virtual blockade to take aim at a target that appears to be behind it. ~ T.J. Deci, All Game Guide