Guide 15 · Sleuth
Crack your first case in Time
≈ 2 min readThe Chronoskimmer 325i, four historical time bands, and the Evidence Database that arms the Capture Robot.
Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (Brøderbund, 1989) adds a second axis to the chase: every jump is a place and a period, chosen together on the Chronoskimmer 325i's destination panel, spanning roughly 400 AD to the 1950s. The reference book changes too, The New American Desk Encyclopedia replaces the almanac. The underlying loop, and the warrant rule, are the ones you already know.
01
Read the briefing for place and era both
The chief's brief names the stolen treasure, where and roughly when it was taken, and the suspect's gender. Because your search space is now two-dimensional, note both halves before you touch the travel panel.
02
Pick a destination on the combined panel
The Chronoskimmer's destination panel lists locations and time periods together, documented time bands run roughly 400–1299, 1300–1699, 1700–1899, and 1900 to the present, so a clue that narrows the era first can cut your options before you've even settled on a country.
03
Cross-check clues against real history
Clues lean on historical figures, inventions and events. The manual's own worked example: a clue reads “you find a telescope,” which the encyclopedia ties to Galileo, and Galileo places you in Italy during the 1300–1699 span, “time to take a trip to Italy.” That's the whole method: one concrete fact, looked up, resolved to one place and period.
04
Feed the Evidence Database
Suspect traits, gender, hair colour, eye colour, favourite author, favourite artist, go into the Evidence Database. Once your entries match exactly one dossier, a warrant is issued automatically and, per the manual, it “activates the Capture Robot” for the arrest.
05
Keep climbing: eighty cases, seven named ranks
You start as a Time Cadet and rise through Time Patroller, Time Investigator, Time Inspector, Time Detective and Ace Time Detective before reaching Super Time Sleuth. Clearing the game means capturing eighty criminals in total, so pace yourself, this is a long career, not a single afternoon.