Throwback Thursday: Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego

By on Jul 22, 2010 at 1:35 PM
Software July 22, 2010

carman_sandiego

We’ve been on a little bit of a retro software bender lately, and today’s Throwback Thursday is no different. So, step one: open this YouTube link (it will open a new window) and press play. We’ll wait for you, go ahead… Back? Great.

Now, there is a rumor that one “Vick the Slick” — one of Carmen Sandiego’s mustachioed marauders – is on the loose. We’re counting on you, young gumshoe, to help capture Vick the Slick and track down Carmen Sandiego.

The original Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego was a computer game created by Brøderbund in 1985. After its huge success in schools and homes, subsequent versions were made and had users trying and track down Carmen — and her gang of criminals — in the United States, Japan, Time, and even Space. The software’s leading lady quickly turned into a brand empire, and eventually spun-off into a cartoon, a board game, a book series, and a game show for grade schoolers (which originally aired on PBS).

Go ahead, let us know what your favorite Carmen Sandiego memory is. Personally, Carmen taught me what the meaning of spelunking is… to explore caves of course.

BGR Throwback Thursday is a weekly series covering our (and your) favorite gadgets — and in this case software — of yesterday and yesteryear

Tags:
,
46 Comments

Related Articles

  • Wcurr

    grew up with this too….i think it is partly responsible for me actually moving on to Junior High and beyond….TV show was pretty cool I always remember that lady who played the chief’s voice….this might have been my first computer game I actually owned, it was this or monkey business…

  • http://www.absolutefiction.com Rono

    Never played this game, but the title does bring back some fond memories. Time does fly. Another blink and somebody is pouring dirt on our casket.

  • Ari

    Friend of mine had a birthday party at the TV show. Very cool (for a 5th grader) to be in studio, got on TV with camera run by past the entire audience, and saw the a capella group sing “Where in the world is…CARMEN SANDIEGO”. Plus a buddy of mine who had the first Mac on the block had the video game. Good times.

  • Topher86

    I remember playing the game in computer class back in elementary school, and then watching the game show on PBS, and then the cartoon, which I hated, that came on in the afternoons.. Geez, man, memories.

  • CARMEN SANDIEGO

    I AM NOW RETIRED WITH 20 CATS AND I EAT CAT FOOD FOR FUN

    • SHARTATTACK

      Retired from what? Carmen ain’t had no job!

  • Colin

    do it, rockapella!

  • http://www.austinpickett.com Austin Pickett

    >.> KGB Couldn’t even tell me.

    I DEMAND A REFUND

  • Joe

    I had the game and loved playing it until I got to Mogadishu. You were supposed to find two sets of olympic rings somewhere in the world. I clicked on every inch of the screen in every city in the world and never found the second ring.

  • DJH

    Let’s face it: Rockapella was everyone’s favorite Carmen Sandiego memory.

    • SHARTATTACK

      The WARRANT!

      • tomm

        Haha beat me to it. RIP chief

  • Enlightened

    Andrew, another GREAT Throwback Thursday pick! I remember playing this with my dad on our IIgs and being a little shocked every time he got an answer wrong. That was before I realized he didn’t know the answer to EVERYTHING.

  • Chellykay88

    I loved the tv show!!! It had a great theme song lol like all good 90′s shows.

  • Taylor

    Rockapella’s theme song, and the general awesomeness of geography.

  • CatatonicBug

    I was just cleaning my basement yesterday, and actually tossed the user manual for the windows version of the game! I too remember hoping to play it in elementary school on the old Apple IIE computers, then we had it at home, where we played on our IBM clone 8088 PC. Fancy stuff back then!

  • Jay

    I had the “Where In Space” version and it came with a star map which I thought was the coolest thing ever. I was only 9, ahh I miss being a kid. I loved the cartoon series as well, always thought it was well written and entertaining as well as educational.

    Wouldn’t it be cool if there was a Carmen San Diego movie? Angelina Jolie or a slightly older Megan Fox could play Carmen… just a thought :)

1 2
blog comments powered by Disqus