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CARMEN SANDIEGO

VITAL STATS

Lifespan: September 1991 - September 1996 (Where in the World is...) September 1996 - September 1998 (Where in Time is...)
Host: Greg Lee, Kevin Schinick
"The Chief": Lynn Thigpen
Produced by: WGBH Television

Front Game Rules (World version)

Three kids competed. They were each given 50 "Acme Crimebucks" to start out, as well as a case to search for one of Carmen Sandiego's henchmen who has just stolen a world monument. For each turn, host Lee turns to one of a number of sources to get a clue as to the villain's location. After the clues are given, the contestants are given three choices as to where the crook might be. Each player chooses a location and gets 10 Crimebucks for being right.

The contestant podiumsAfter three changes in scenery, the "Lightning Round" is played. Host Lee reads five toss-up questions involving the last location they went to. Each right answer is worth 5 Crimebucks. After three more moves, a game called "The Chase" is played. In this round, the players attempt to follow the crook through five more countries that neighbor each other, buzzing in to identify the new location. Each right answer is again worth 5 points. One final clue is played, with the players being shown the three possible answers in advance, and wagering 0-50 Crimebucks on their answer. At the end of this round, the lowest-scoring player is eliminated.
The second round board, through a stained glass windowIn the second round, the players are shown a board listing 19 of the points of interest found at their last destination. The leader after the first round chooses who goes first, and the players take turns selecting points off the board, in the hopes of finding either the stolen object, an arrest warrant, or the crook him/herself. When one of those items is found, the player gets to choose again. The first player to discover the loot, the warrant, and the crook - in that order - wins the game.

Front Game Rules (Time version)

The contestants lock in their votesA Data Boost in progressAgain, three players compete. In the first round, questions were asked in the same fashion as before, with three choices for each question. (In this format, the players now practiced time-traveling as opposed to globe-hopping.) Like before, players score 10 points for each right answer. After every two questions, a "Data Boost" was played, a rapid-fire round where players had to buzz in and identify whether something fit in one of two categories, scoring 5 points for a right answer and losing 5 for being wrong. The third time around, they played a "Ultimate Data Boost" with three choices for each item and scoring +/- 10 points for each answer. Like before, the lowest score was knocked out at the end of the round.

A contestant navigates through the second roundIn the second round, players were given eight different events pertaining to the artifact they were trying to recover. The leader chose who went first, and each player tried to arrange the events in order from most recent to earliest. The first player to do so wins the game.

End Game Rules (World version)

Our winner runs across the country searching for CarmenThe contestant now is told the general location of supervillain Carmen Sandiego, and now must capture her by chasing her through that area. The player has 45 seconds to identify the approriate number of countries/cities (originally 6, then 7, and later 8) by placing a marker on the right country. If a player misses twice on the same one, they move on to the next one. If successful, the player wins a trip anywhere in North America (the contiguous U.S. in early episodes), as they had decided on prior to the bonus round.

End Game Rules (Time version)

A contestant stops at a gate in the Trail of TimeThe contestant now must chase Carmen through the "Trail of Time". The player is led to one of six stations, where they are read a question by Carmen with two choices. Answer correctly and the gate opens to the next station; answer wrong and the gate must be opened manually (by turning a crank, pulling a rope, etc.). The player has 90 seconds to get through all six gates, and if successful, s/he wins a computer system.


Loogaroo Looks it Over

Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?

Gameplay: 2 pts. (first two seasons), 1 pt. (third season)
The gameplay was decent enough, but continually extending the number of countries to win the bonus round made it almost impossible.
Host: 3 pts.
Greg lee fit the Marc Summers mold - cool enough to relate to the kids, but geeky enough to not look like a poser.
Presentation: 2 pts.
Rockapella helped give the show a lot of energy, and the life-sized map in the bonus round was cool.
Execution: 2 pts.
A trip anywhere in North America is a pretty cool prize.
Total Score: 9 pts.

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?

Gameplay: 2 pts.
Held fairly true to the original format, and the bonus round was just as exciting.
Host: 1 pt.
Could someone get Kevin Schinick some personality? Please?
Presentation: 2 pts.
The set had a great sci-fi atmosphere.
Execution: 2 pts.
This show started the trend of giving away a computer as the grand prize for a kids' show.
Total Score: 7 pts.



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