Arcade Castle - Episode 16 - Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Double Feature!

Arcade Castle: A Gaming Podcast

In Episode 16, Arcade Castle takes a look at another giant in the Edutainment industry: Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? A facts based learning game at heart, WitWiCS has players tracking V.I.L.E. henchmen across the planet and, later, both time and space, as they attempt to stop these henchmen from stealing iconic cultural icons, items, concepts, buildings, geographic locations, and more by gathering clues, answering questions, and following the trail of the V.I.L.E. henchmen until they are captured and placed behind bars. If you are a good enough A.C.M.E. Detective you may find yourself on the trail of Carmen Sandiego herself and finally answer, once and for all, just Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?, issue a warrant for her arrest, and place her in jail and stop her crime syndicate for good.

Additionally, Arcade Castle takes a look at a series of bookends, or sorts, for the Edutaiment franchise, by looking at the earliest and the most recent entries in the Carmen Sandiego board game adaptations library by playing and examining the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Board Game from 1992 and the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Card Game from 2017. Can 25 years make a difference in game design and how a company adapts a video game icon to the tabletop?

In Episode 16, Arcade Castle sits down to discuss the Carmen Sandiego franchise, its time and place in Edutainment history, and their ow connections with it as they play these two games to see how you can adapt an Edutainment video game franchise into cardboard and dice and, if after 25 years, whether all our knowledge paid off in the form of a better game in 2017 than in 2018 or if, as they say, history repeats itself...

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Episode Outline:

00:00 - 35:00 - Arcade Castle talks for length about the Carmen Sandiego franchise; from video games and a game show to the numerous board games and animated series, they discuss Carmen Sandiego's impact not only in the video game industry, but culture at large. Arcade Castle also discusses the fate of Carmen Sandiego since the turn of the new millennium and its status as of 2018.

35:00-50:00 - Arcade Castle sits down and plays the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego Board Game from 1992 and looks at how University Games interpreted the Edutainment title, how to play it, what strategies you can bring to the table when playing it, and how well it captures the franchise.

50:00-75:00 - After a quick break, Arcade Castle plays the latest entry in the series via the Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Card Game from 2017 by Pressman Games. By playing it and comparing it to the board game from 1992, it is Arcade Castle's hopes that they will see a difference in not only board game design, but how designers approach a video game franchise in 2017 and whether or not it is different than that of designers in the late 80s and early 90s.