Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego? (1986 video game) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego?
Apple II Cover art
Developer(s)	Broderbund
Publisher(s)	Broderbund
Series	Carmen Sandiego
Platform(s)	Amiga, Apple II, Apple IIGS, Commodore 64, MS-DOS, Macintosh
Release date(s)	1986 (Apple II, MS-DOS) 1987 (C64) 1989 (Amiga,GS, Mac)
Genre(s)	Educational
Mode(s)	Single-player

Where in the U.S.A. Is Carmen Sandiego? is a video game that was released by Broderbund in 1986 and is part of the Carmen Sandiego series. The game is a sequel to 1985's Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. A deluxe version with updated graphics and interface was released in 1992 and a remade version was released in 1996. The goal of the game is to track Carmen Sandiego's henchmen across the United States, arrest them, and ultimately arrest Carmen Sandiego. The game received generally positive reviews but some critics compared it unfavorably with its predecessor game, which had a global perspective.

Gameplay and plot

The gameplay is similar to that of its predecessor, Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?. The goal of the game is to track Carmen's henchmen across the United States, arrest them, and ultimately arrest Carmen Sandiego, who has escaped from a European prison and has gone to the US to assemble a gang of V.I.L.E. members to steal the country's treasures.

The player, an agent of ACME Detective Agency, must gather information on the suspect and use it to obtain a warrant to reduce the potential suspects to one of the V.I.L.E. members in the database. The player must then track the criminal to the final destination and make an arrest. The player advances in rank throughout the game, eventually reaching the level of Super Sleuth. The player captures 16 of Carmen's crooks before having a chance to arrest her.

The main screen interface is divided into four sections showing the day, time, and location; textual information, an image from the current city, and the available actions. The game was supplied with a special copy of Fodor's USA encyclopedia as a reference guide and a travel guide book. The deluxe version of the game includes more than 50 digitized photographs, numerous state topographical maps, digitized sounds, and music.

Characters