Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? (1989)
The 1989 game that traded geography for history, sending the player chasing V.I.L.E. through time aboard the Chronoskimmer.
Overview
Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (1989) takes the series out of geography and into history. Instead of travelling between places, the player travels between eras — from ancient civilisations through to modern times — to stop V.I.L.E. from plundering the past.
Gameplay
The chase plays out aboard ACME's time-travel device, the Chronoskimmer 325i. Witnesses scattered across history give clues to the crook's next time period and to their identity, which the player files on a warrant in the usual way. Destination clues now reference historical events, figures, inventions, and dates rather than flags and capitals.
The game shipped with The New American Desk Encyclopedia, a single-volume reference of more than thirteen thousand entries, which players consulted to interpret the historical clues and which also served as copy protection.