Treasures of Knowledge (2001)

Overview

Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego? Treasures of Knowledge (2001) closes out the original computer-game line. Developed by ImageBuilder Software and released under The Learning Company label, it drops the warrant loop for a full point-and-click adventure aimed at roughly ages eight to twelve.

Gameplay

Carmen steals a rare edition of The Travels of Marco Polo, which turns out to map a trail of artefacts toward a lost city. Two ACME agents take the case — veteran Jules Argent, once Carmen's partner, and rookie Shadow Hawkins — working through eight missions and more than thirty destinations on all seven continents. You travel via a laptop “Global Transportation System,” draw on a database of some 50 countries, collect ACME gadgets from field agents (the first in Cuba), keep Jules's journal, and call the Chief for hints. Fifteen puzzles use what you learn, from a hieroglyph sequence in Egypt to Hanafuda cards in Japan and panpipes in Peru.

Reception

Reviews were generally favourable — praised for a more serious, character-driven story and its geography and history, dinged for puzzles that rarely challenge and for dated visuals. It took a D.I.C.E. Award in the PC educational category and a Parents' Choice Gold Award, and it is one of the few classic-era Carmen titles still sold digitally. Archived here as a Windows and Mac CD-ROM entry.