Can You Catch Carmen Sandiego? Quiz

Answer: Montreal

REVIEW OF CLUES: Montreal is a city in Canada and the local currency is the Canadian dollar. Montreal is located in the province of Quebec, as are the 84m high Montmorency Falls. The falls are actually closer to Quebec City, but Montreal is the only Canadian city included in the PC game which this quiz simulates.

INTERPOL UPDATE: Although the game will tell you that Canada is divided into ten provinces and two territories, this is no longer true. As part of land claim negotiations between the Indigenous people of the area and the Canadian government, Nunavut was established, and the new territory was officially brought into existence in 1999. Canada now has ten provinces and three territories.

SUSPECT: You now know you are chasing a female suspect. When you have enough information you will obtain a warrant.

Answer: Moscow

REVIEW OF CLUES: Moscow is the capital of Russia, a country well known for having ousted its royal family during the Russian Revolution. Prior to 1917, Russia had a long history of being ruled by royalty, and the Russian equivalent of a king was called the Tsar. The Kremlin is a famous citadel which today is the official residence of the Russian President.

INTERPOL UPDATE: When "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" was released, Moscow was still the capital of the U.S.S.R. but in 1991 the Soviet bloc broke up. A number of the game's clues which are supposed to direct you to taking the flight to Moscow refer to areas which are no longer in the same country as Moscow: for example, the clue which makes reference to Ukrainian Easter eggs.

SUSPECT: Your suspect has reddish-brown hair.

Answer: Kigali

REVIEW OF CLUES: Kigali is the capital of Rwanda, an African country which is home to the endangered mountain gorillas. The three official languages of Rwanda are Kinyarwanda, French and English, but Swahili is widely spoken in commercial centers.

INTERPOL UPDATE: The game lists Kigali's population as 150,000, but a rapid population growth saw the city's population rise to more than 850,000 in 2005. Over the same period the population of Rwanda grew from around 6.5 million to over 8.5 million. This population growth is all the more remarkable when considering the drastic population loss suffered during, and in the aftermath of, the 1994 Rwandan genocide.

SUSPECT: Your suspect's hobby is tennis.

Answer: Budapest

REVIEW OF CLUES: Budapest is the capital of Hungary, and the Hungarian flag is three horizontal stripes, one red, one white and one green. The Roma (often called Gypsies) constitute a sizable minority of Hungary's population. Magyars are the ethnic majority in Hungary.

INTERPOL UPDATE: According to the game, Hungary's neighbors are Czechoslovakia, Austria, Yugoslavia, Romania and the Soviet Union, but the national borders in the region have changed drastically since the game's release. As of 2008, Hungary's neighbors are Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia.

SUSPECT: Your suspect drives a convertible.

Answer: Moroni

Moroni is the capital city the Comoros, a nation comprised of a collection of islands, located between Madagascar and the African continent. Between 1841 and 1975, the Comoros was under French colonial rule and so French, along with Arabic, remains an official national language. One of the nation's major exports is perfume essences (most notably, the Comoros is the world's leading producer of ylang-ylang). Mount Karthala, an active volcano, is the highest point in the Comoros.

INTERPOL UPDATE: If you were basing your guesses on current knowledge, you might find the game's clues for this location confusing. For example, one of the most common clues you will see when your suspect has fled to Moroni refers to a green and white flag. In 1999 the nation's official name was changed from the Federal and Islamic Republic of Comoros to the Union of the Comoros. Along with the name change came a new flag. The Union of the Comoros abandoned the green and white flag and adopted a design that included a number of colored horizontal stripes and a green triangle featuring a crescent and stars insignia.

Answer: New Delhi

REVIEW OF CLUES: New Delhi is the capital city of India. Cobras are snakes indigenous to much of Asia and Africa. The Indian Cobra, or Naja naja, is often associated with snake charmers. Over many centuries, India has been an important hub in the international spice trade.

INTERPOL UPDATE: "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?" lists India's population as 750 million. By the year 2000, India's population exceeded 1 billion people, and demographers estimate that by the year 2050 India could overtake China as the world's most populous country.

SUSPECT: Your suspect wears a ruby necklace.

**CONGRATULATIONS** You have collected enough information to identify your suspect. You now have a warrant to arrest Carmen Sandiego.

Answer: Athens

REVIEW OF CLUES: Athens is the capital of Greece. Mykonos and Crete are both famous Greek islands.

INTERPOL UPDATE: One of the clues the game will frequently provide when trying to direct you to Athens involves the suspect converting currency to drachmas. The drachma was used as the unit of currency in ancient Greece, and was also the name used in modern times. Greece joined other European countries in converting to the euro, and, in 2001 it became the official currency of Greece.

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

REVIEW OF CLUES: Rio de Janeiro is the second-largest city in Brazil and was the nation's capital from 1763 to 1960. The Amazon Rainforest covers most of the Amazon Basin, and 60% of the rainforest is in Brazilian territory. The Golden Parakeet, also called the Golden Conure or the Queen of Bavaria Conure, is native to certain parts of the rainforest. Deforestation has severely impacted upon the Golden Parakeet's habitat and the bird is listed as an endangered species.

INTERPOL UPDATE: When providing clues designed to suggest you head to Rio de Janeiro, the game occasionally refers to your suspect changing currency to cruzados. This clue was out of date before the game was even released. Brazilian currency has undergone many changes. The 'first real' was the currency of Brazil between 1690 and 1942. From 1942 to 1986 the cruziero was the Brazilian currency; it was replaced in 1986 by the cruzado; 1989 saw the introduction of the cruzado novo; a new version of the cruziero became the currency in 1990; in 1994 the real was once again floated as the official Brazilian currency.

Answer: Colombo

REVIEW OF CLUES: Colombo is the largest city in the island nation of Sri Lanka. The local currency is the Sri Lankan rupee. Although a fairly small country in terms of area, Sri Lanka is one of the world's leading producers of citronella, an oil derived from the leaves of some species of coarse grasses. Serendip is an old Persian name for Sri Lanka.

INTERPOL UPDATE: Almost all of the clues and information about Sri Lanka provided in "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego" emphasize the agricultural production of the nation. From the nineteenth century Sri Lanka's was a plantation economy, and products like tea, rubber, rice, sugar and coconuts were very important. While agriculture remains a feature of the Sri Lankan economy, they made up only 20% on the nation's exports by 1990 and this trend has continued.

Answer: San Marino

THERE GOES THE SUSPECT! Carmen Sandiego was bound for San Marino (via a complex route designed to put you off her trail). If you got at least seven questions correct, congratulations, you just caught the ring-leader and world-famous thief Carmen Sandiego, and you will be a hero to the people of Kathmandu who will gratefully accept the return of their much-loved Abominable Snowman. If not, unfortunately you have arrived in San Marino after 5pm Sunday, and the thief has left the city - better luck next time.

REVIEW OF CLUES: The City of San Marino is the capital of the Most Serene Republic of San Marino. San Marino is a land-locked country, completely surrounded by Italy. The other options are all cities in island nations. San Marino is the oldest constitutional republic in the world, dating back to the year 301. Tourism accounts for 50% of San Marino's GDP, other noted products being postage stamps, ceramics, and electronics.