The ClueFinders facts for kids

Quick facts for kids The ClueFinders
The members of the ClueFinders team from left-to-right: Leslie, Santiago, Owen, LapTrap (above), and Joni.
Genres	Edutainment, adventure, mystery
Developers	The Learning Company (formerly SoftKey)
Publishers	The Learning Company (1998–1999) Mattel Interactive under The Learning Company label (1999–2000) The Gores Group under The Learning Company label (2000–2001) Riverdeep/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt under The Learning Company label (2001–2018) Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2018–present)
First release	The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures: The Mystery of Mathra January 1998
Latest release	The ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade 2002

The ClueFinders is a fun computer game series for kids aged 8 to 12. It's all about a team of teenagers who solve mysteries! The Learning Company created these games to be like a big brother or sister to their Reader Rabbit games, which are for younger kids. People really liked how these games mixed learning with exciting adventures, and they even won many awards!

The ClueFinders' History

How The ClueFinders Started (1998–2001)

The ClueFinders games were made to be a new adventure series, following the success of the Reader Rabbit games. The very first ClueFinders game, The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures: The Mystery of Mathra, came out in January 1998. Another game, The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures, was released in July of the same year.

The Learning Company used these games to try out new internet technology. This allowed players to download extra activities from the ClueFinders website. The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures also had special "A.D.A.P.T." technology. This helped teachers and parents see how players were doing. It also made the game levels change automatically based on how well a player was learning.

In 1999, a company called Mattel bought The Learning Company. A year later, Mattel sold The Learning Company's games to another group called Gores Technology Group. In 2000, there was even a plan to make a ClueFinders TV show, but it never happened.

In 2001, The Learning Company held a writing contest for kids in 3rd to 6th grade. The winner got an iMac computer for writing a new adventure for the ClueFinders team!

New Owners and More Games (2001–2021)

In 2001, a company called Riverdeep bought many of The Learning Company's games, including ClueFinders. Later, these games were available on the KidsEdge Website. In 2003, The ClueFinders' Reading Adventures was updated to work on Windows XP computers.

By 2004, you could even stream ClueFinders games online through a service called RCN InterACTION. Over the years, many ClueFinders games were put together into special collections, like ClueFinders Adventure Pack and ClueFinders Triple Pack. These often included one ClueFinders game with other learning games.

In 2010, some of the 3rd to 6th grade ClueFinders games were released for iOS devices, like iPhones and iPads. By 2017, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (which took over from Riverdeep) was looking for companies to license the ClueFinders brand.

The ClueFinders Today (2021–present)

In 2021, HarperCollins Publishers bought the rights to all the video games from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. This means HarperCollins now owns The ClueFinders series.

Game Design and Story

The ClueFinders' Adventures

It took about 16 months to create the stories for the ClueFinders games. The adventures happen in our modern world, but they also include some exciting fantasy and science fiction elements.

The main characters in the games are:

• Joni Savage: She started the ClueFinders and is their strong leader.
• Santiago Rivera: He's great with machines and fixing things.
• Owen Lam: A cool skater dude on the team.
• Leslie Clark: She loves books and is very smart.
• LapTrap: This is a floating, super-smart laptop that helps the team. In one game, he gets a friend named AliTrap! LapTrap also acts as the pause menu in the games.
• Socrates: An intelligent dog who tells the story in The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures.

The creators wanted the characters to be around the same age as the kids playing the games. They tried out different character ideas with groups of children. Some ideas, like animals or FBI agents, didn't work because kids felt they were more like babysitters than teammates. Each character was given a unique personality and even some flaws to make them more relatable. The game designers used a special "character grid" to help them write, which included details like their fears, how they met, and how they would react to different situations.

Mystery of Mathra (3rd Grade)

In The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures: The Mystery of Mathra, a huge city was built long ago in a rainforest. But a monster named Mathra attacked! After Mathra was caught, the people left their city and hid the key to it. Now, animals are disappearing again, and Joni's uncle, Dr. Horace Pythagoras, is also missing. The ClueFinders fly in with Mr. Limburger to help. They need to find the lost doctor, the animals, and the keys to the city. But it seems there's a bigger, secret plan behind everything!

Puzzle of the Pyramid (4th Grade)

In The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid, the ClueFinders are in Egypt with Professor Botch and their dog, Socrates. They find an old tomb, and Joni puts on a mysterious ring that gets stuck! Later, a bad guy named Alistair Loveless kidnaps Professor Botch and steals valuable items. Loveless wants to release Set, an ancient Egyptian god of evil. The ClueFinders must get the items back, save the professor, and stop Loveless and Set from causing trouble.

Secret of the Living Volcano (5th Grade)

In The ClueFinders 5th Grade Adventures: Secret of the Living Volcano, the ClueFinders are with Leslie's grandfather, Captain Clark. They are trying to figure out why so many ships are disappearing in the Pacific Ocean. Joni and Santiago find strange symbols on metal plates in a wrecked ship. Then, a huge wave hits their ship near a tiny island! Joni, Santiago, and LapTrap are stuck on the island. They need to rescue their friends and find out what's happening on the island.

Empire of the Plant People (6th Grade)

In The ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures: The Empire of the Plant People, Joni accidentally throws a frisbee into their neighbor Miss Rose's overgrown yard. When Joni and Santiago go to get it, the ground opens up and swallows them! Owen, Leslie, and LapTrap go to investigate. They find a maze under the yard filled with talking plants! A friendly plant tells them that Joni and Santiago have been captured. The plants are planning to attack the town above!

Mystery in the Himalayas (Math)

In The ClueFinders Math Adventures Ages 9–12: Mystery in the Himalayas, 24 valuable treasures have been stolen from a village high in the Himalayas. The ClueFinders are called to help find the treasures and the thief. Many people think a Yeti is responsible, but the clues point to different people stealing different items. The ClueFinders must solve the mystery!

Mystery of the Missing Amulet (Reading)

In The ClueFinders Reading Adventures: Mystery of the Missing Amulet, an asteroid crashes in the Sierra Mountains. When Joni touches it, the ClueFinders are beamed across space to a planet called Millenia! The team gets separated. Joni and Owen meet Princess Malveera, who needs their help to save her planet from an evil sorceress named Malicia. The sorceress has captured Santiago and Leslie. To stop her and return to Earth, they must find the two halves of a special Amulet of Life.

The Phantom Amusement Park (Search and Solve)

In ClueFinders Search and Solve Adventures: The Phantom Amusement Park, the ClueFinders see an SOS signal from an abandoned amusement park. They find Jacques Ramone, an art museum curator, trapped on a ride. He says he was kidnapped. After Joni and Owen rescue him, Santiago and Leslie are captured by Jacques's sister, Mimi Ramone. Joni and Owen explore the park and find clues that suggest an art forgery crime is happening!

The Incredible Toy Store Adventure!

In The ClueFinders: The Incredible Toy Store Adventure, the ClueFinders are heading to a new toy store. Owen, Joni, and LapTrap get separated from Leslie, Santiago, and AliTrap. Leslie and Santiago are shrunk by a ray and captured! Owen, Joni, and LapTrap need to get into the toy store and build a machine to make their friends big again. They also need to find out who is behind the shrinking ray!

Mystery Mansion Arcade

In The ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade, the ClueFinders explore a spooky house. They think Joni's uncle sent a message saying he was trapped there. But it's a trick! The four ClueFinders get separated. Some of their old enemies have teamed up with a new mystery person to get revenge on the ClueFinders.

How the Games Work

The ClueFinders games help players practice different school subjects for their grade level. You can choose to play the main adventure story or practice activities separately. In adventure mode, you follow a story and work towards a goal.

To move forward in the game, you travel between different areas and play educational activities. Usually, you need to complete one main activity in each area. To do that, you collect items from all the other smaller activities in that area.

In most games, the ClueFinders team splits into two groups. They use a special red videophone to talk to each other and give hints. The other team might be helping, looking for clues, or even need rescuing! The games have different activities in different places, each with its own skills and goals. You might also notice funny references to popular culture in the games.

The ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade is a bit different. Its activities are more like arcade games than traditional learning games. It has obstacle courses, matching games, mazes, and pinball. In The ClueFinders Math Adventures, the game is like the board game Clue. Your main goal is to figure out who stole a treasure, which treasure they took, and where they hid it. You get clues by playing games and helping villagers. With enough clues, you can solve the mystery!

Game Graphics

When you play the games, the graphics look like hand-drawn animated cartoons. They use thick outlines and bright colors on 2D backgrounds. Many people say the games look like a Saturday morning cartoon, similar to Scooby-Doo. However, the cutscenes (short movie clips) in the games use cool 3D graphics.

What You Learn

While Reader Rabbit was popular with younger kids, The Learning Company made ClueFinders for older kids, from third grade and up. The games were designed to be activity-focused and included more advanced topics like algebra, grammar, and spelling. To make sure kids really learned, the educational parts were always the most important, even before the puzzles and game goals.

Games in the Series

List of Games

Game Collections

Books

There are also two ClueFinders books! They are called The Mystery of Microsneezia and The Mystery of the Backlot Banshee. Both were written by Ellen Weiss and had pictures by Mel Friedman.