Undoubtedly the most successful edutainment franchises, the Where in [xxx] is Carmen Sandiego? is Brøderbund 's flagship series that has spawned numerous sequels, TV shows, and even board games. Premiered in 1985 with Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, subsequent releases have sold millions of copies collectively worldwide. But until multimedia CD-ROM versions of the game appeared in 1995, the individual Carmen Sandiego titles were not all blockbusters.
The premise behind every Carmen Sandiego game is identical: starting out as a rookie detective, your job is to track down a gang of thieves who are stealing the world's (or the galaxy's/USA's/Europe's/history's as the case may be) most precious treasures. After each assignment briefing, you are given a deadline to capture the thief. Then it's off to the travel screen, where you pick the next destination to track the thief.
At each location, you must interpret various clues from a number of sources (informants, etc.) to figure out the thief's next stop, as well as his/her identity. Your mission is a success when you track the thief to the right final hideout (plus time period, if you are playing Where in Time version) with the arrest warrant issued for the correct suspect before the deadline. Missions are progressively more difficult as you solve cases and win promotions.
Every Carmen Sandiego game contains hundreds of clues, attractive graphics and cartoons, and fun gameplay that will captivate kids and adults alike. Between the original 1985/86 CGA versions and after 1995 (where CD-ROM era began), Carmen Sandiego games can be categorized into 2 groups, each based on the underlying engine: the first group comprises "VGA enhanced versions" releases between 1989 and 1992. In this group, in the order of release, belong Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego?, Where in The World is Carmen Sandiego? (Enhanced), and Where in The USA is Carmen Sandiego? (Enhanced).
The second group are games released between 1992 and 1994 that are based on the improved game engine that offers high-res VGA graphics, thousands of clues (as opposed to hundreds), and a more polished interface. These include Where in The World is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe Edition, Where in Space is Carmen Sandiego?, and Where in The USA is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe Edition.
Of all these games, Where in Europe is Carmen Sandiego? and Where in The USA is Carmen Sandiego? Deluxe Edition are the hardest to find. All 8 aforementioned releases are now available for download from this site, as a tribute to one of the best edutainment series ever made.
Whether you have a kid in your house or not, Carmen Sandiego games will glue you to the screen for hours on end if you have even a slight interest in geography, history, or trivia in general. Two thumbs up for all the games - and happy hunting! :)
Review By HOTUD
English 
Comments and reviews
The biggest issue before Microsoft got royally screwed was the switch over to 64 bit language. A lot of people seem to be new to it the last few years when in actual reality 64 bit was done way back in 2006.
64 bit processors actually came out in 2003 to the general public but a lot of people resisted the changes for obvious reasons. I had an early 64 bit I got at circuit City in the summer of 06 and still played a lot of older software titles that today's 64 bit machines won't even read and automatically spit the CD back out.
My 08 computer will not play a lot of games a computer from 2006 would which actually sat on the store shelf for a year so I guess I can say my early 64 bit machine is from 2005 when it got to the store.
Microsoft is actively making it so CD games do not work on either Windows 10 or 7 with bad updates. There was an article at a security website that stated to forget about discs on new versions of Windows.
Microsoft is also ran by Nokia phone people now and they only know how to program for smart phones which are literally dumbed down PC's at a minimum which always require being online.
Love this game
Mom talk and love it so I try
Runs beautifully! Anyone else looking for the 1990 Fodor's guide, I've found this link helpful. http://www.abandonia.com/vbullet/showthread.php?t=15403
(I am able to download the game but not run it.) The computer is telling me that the game is not compatible with my version of windows.
AWESOME
I have downloaded the game and dosbox(dfend wont install). I have windows 7. I am unable to even mount the drive. im not sure why, i am typing what ive read im supposed to. mount c:/dosgames. the only issue i am having there is that in the instructions the slash is the opposite direction and i dont have that on my computer and my colon and semi colon are on the same key and it will only type a semi colon no matter what i do. this is all i can think is the issue and i dk how to fix it
unable to download Where in the usa is Carmen Sandiego if you can assist please do. My grandchildren loves this game.
This game asks you questions like which state is featured on page 195? If you open the question.ask in notepad you will see all the possible questions and the answers.
No comment nor review for this game at the moment.