Play Where in America’s Past is Carmen Sandiego? Online

I first played Where in America's Past is Carmen Sandiego? on MS-DOS back in 1991. It was published by Brøderbund Software, and it fit right in with the other educational titles of the era, though it never felt like a lecture. You step into the shoes of a rookie detective for the ACME Detective Agency, tasked with tracking down Carmen Sandiego's henchmen as they pilfer historical artifacts across different periods of American history.

You control your detective by moving from location to location on a map of the United States, gathering clues from witnesses and examining local newspapers for hints about the thief's next destination. The main objective is to collect enough evidence to secure a warrant, then correctly identify and arrest the culprit before they escape the country. Signature mechanics include using a time machine to jump between historical eras and consulting the in-game almanac to verify facts and cross-reference clues. The pacing is deliberate, requiring patience and attention to detail, and the difficulty comes from piecing together vague or misleading information. It feels like a genuine puzzle, one where your own curiosity drives the investigation forward.

Each game uses different controls, most DOS games use the keyboard arrows. Some will use the mouse , "Alt" ,"Enter" and "Space bar".