Review: “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” Card Game

I’ve played a few games over the last few months that I planned on reviewing. First on the list is the card game based on the kids’ TV show, Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?. Thoughts on it come after the Break.

Calling all ACME Detectives! Carmen Sandiego is on the loose again!

Publisher: Pressman Toy Corp.
Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+
Time: 20-45 minutes, depending on the no. of players

The “Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?” Card Game (“WWCS”) pits the ACME Detectives against Carmen and her henchmen. Carmen has stolen some of the world’s greatest treasures and landmarks, such as the Crown Jewels and the Grand Canyon, and you have to stop them!
WWCS is a memory/matching card game, where you try to match 3 types of cards together into a “Suspect Package” (not an official name – just what I call it): Henchman Cards , Loot Cards, and Location Cards.

Yes, The Abominable Snowman is a Henchman. Carmen must have a great employment package.2 rows of 3 cards are laid out; each row has a Henchman, Loot, and Location card.

The players have cards in their hand. Each player also has a “Top-Secret Evidence Journal” and an erasable marker, for jotting down which cards have been revealed and what slot in the row they were revealed from. For example, The Abominable Snowman might be in the Center of the Top row, while the Grand Canyon could be in the Bottom row, in the Right slot. Once the player can match a Loot, Location, and Henchman to sets of 3 in their Journal, they announce that “I have a Warrant!”. Eliminating Henchmen narrows the focus down to Carmen. If you are certain that you have Carmen pinned down (her, what she stole, and where she’s at), announce a Warrant for her arrest. A correct Warrant leads to a win for the player! An incorrect Warrant, and you are out of the game. Use your detective skills wisely!

I am not sure about this game. For starters, our Game Night group may have misinterpreted the rules when we played (I won that game, BTW). The game has potential but the rules were not clear or concise. If you have the nostalgia factor for the TV show, pick up this game. Otherwise, I’d wait until a revision or updated version was released.