Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?: Game Guide, Developer and Facts

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? is an educational video game released by Broderbund on April 23, 1985. It is the first product in the Carmen Sandiego franchise. The game was distributed with The World Almanac and Book of Facts, published by Pharos Books. An enhanced version of the game was released in 1989, which did not have the almanac-based copy protection and instead used disk-based copy protection. A deluxe version was released in 1990, and features additional animation and a reworked interface from the original version. Some of the bonus features include digitized photos from National Geographic, over 3200 clues, music from the Smithsonian/Folkways Recordings, 20 villains, 60 countries, and 16 maps. CD-ROM versions for MS-DOS and Mac were released in 1992. A Windows version was released in 1994. In the game, the player takes the role of a rookie in the ACME Detective Agency, tasked to track down crooks from the V.I.L.E. organization who have stolen famous works from around the world. They do this by using their knowledge of geography (aided by the Almanac) to question witnesses or investigate clues to track down where the crook has gone. Successfully solving these crimes increases the player's rank in ACME, leading to more difficult cases and later being tasked with finding the leader of V.I.L.E. and namesake for the game, Carmen Sandiego. The game was initially developed as a menu-driven interface to replace the text-driven interface of adventure games like Colossal Cave Adventure for graphic-enabled computers like the Apple II. Along the way, the idea of introducing geography as part of the game and distributing the Almanac with the game shifted its approach. While it was not intended as an educational game at release, the game proved very successful as an educational tool for schools. By 1995, over four million copies of the game had been sold, and established the Carmen Sandiego franchise. This game is not to be confused with the 1996 rebooted version sometimes mistakenly called the "Deluxe" version.

Quick facts about Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?

• Title: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?
• Developer: Broderbund
• Released: 1985
• Type: Video game
• Wikidata ID: Q16205643

Compiled from public Wikipedia and Wikidata data. Details can change over time.