Guide 01 · Rookie
Your first case
≈ 2 min readThe complete loop of a case, what to do in what order, and the one mistake every rookie makes.
Every game in the classic series, from Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? (Broderbund, 1985) to Where in Space (1993), runs on the same loop: a member of Carmen's V.I.L.E. organization steals something, and you, an ACME Detective Agency agent, chase the crook from city to city, gathering two kinds of clue, before time runs out. Destination clues tell you where the crook fled next; suspect clues describe the crook so you can name them on a warrant. Win the case and you only keep the credit if your warrant names the right person. Here is the whole loop, in order.
01
Take the briefing
The chief tells you what was stolen, where the crime happened, and your deadline. Read it carefully: the deadline is a hard limit, and every flight plus every wrong city burns real hours off your clock. In the original 1985 game you have roughly a work week to close the case. Note the crime city, because that first location is where your trail of clues begins.
02
Interview all three witnesses
Each city gives you three places to investigate, and you should visit all three before you fly anywhere. Destination clues point to the next country or city; suspect clues describe the crook's hair, eyes, hobby, vehicle or other trait. The two kinds are mixed across the three spots, so skipping one risks missing the trait you need for the warrant. Write everything down, the games expect you to keep notes.
03
Decode the destination
Witness clues are riddles tied to real geography, history or science. A line like "she changed her money into rubles" plus "asked about the Kremlin" both point to Russia. This is where the bundled reference earns its place: the 1985 game shipped with The World Almanac and Book of Facts, later titles bundled atlases and encyclopedias. When two clues agree on one place, fly there. If they seem to disagree, you misread one, so re-check before wasting travel time.
04
File the warrant early
This is the mistake every rookie makes: chasing the crook without a warrant. The moment your suspect clues narrow the dossier to a single person, file the warrant for that suspect (with Interpol in the world games, through ACME's Crime Computer in U.S.A.). You usually need several matching traits before the database will issue one. An arrest with no warrant, or a warrant naming the wrong suspect, lets the crook walk and the case is lost.
05
Close in for the arrest
Near the end of the trail the crook starts lurking in the scenery, so you know you are close. Keep following the destination clues to the final city. With a correct warrant already on file, arriving at the right place triggers the capture and closes the case. Solve enough cases and ACME promotes you up the ranks, and at the top of the ladder you finally earn a shot at Carmen Sandiego herself.