Where in the U.S.A. is Carmen Sandiego?/Hints and tips

As you progress through the game, the clues will become more obscure and difficult, the number of cities you must travel to will increase, and the amount of time you have to catch the suspect will decrease. Because of this, later in the game, you must make the search as efficient as possible in order to catch up to the suspect in time with enough clues to issue a warrant. Here are some general tips to help you find and identify the suspect in the least amount of time.


 * To balance the number of witnesses you talk to with the amount of time it takes to interview them, only talk to two witnesses per location until you have enough clues about the suspect.


 * Once you have issued a warrant for a henchman, it is only necessary to talk to one witness per location. Each additional interview costs you additional hours.


 * If you aren't sure of the next location, it takes far less time to talk to one more witness than it does to fly to the wrong location and back.


 * Charleston can either refer to West Virginia or South Carolina. You will need another clue if both are possibilities.


 * Similarly, clues about the Wright Brothers can refer to either Ohio or North Carolina.


 * Instead of computing the henchmen clues in the computer every time, simply hit esc to return to the main screen. Computing takes away precious time, and there is really no point in submitting clues if you know you don't have enough information to get a warrant.


 * For male henchmen, food and music always correlate. That is, if a male henchman likes Tex-Mex food, he will also like rock music. The same applies to Southern food and Opera music, Seafood and Classic music, as well as Creole food and Country music.


 * For female henchmen, hair and food and sports are all correlated. If a female henchman has black hair, she will also like Tex-Mex food and basketball. The same is true with blond hair, southern food, and hockey; brown hair, seafood, and baseball; as well as red hair, creole food, and basketball.


 * If you only have the henchmen list narrowed down to two people and you know that you are in the same city as the henchmen, change the clues in the computer to issue a warrant for either one or the other. If you issue the wrong warrant, there are no consequences and at least you will have a chance of getting it right, while having no warrant at all will guarantee a failed mission.


 * If you are tracking a female henchman and you are not a Master Detective, you can be reasonably sure that you are not tracking Carmen Sandiego. Therefore, if the hair is black, the sport is basketball, or the food is Tex-Mex, you are probably on the trail of Gypsy Rose Lasagna. Similarly, a female henchman who likes gambling will be Wendy Pauper, and a female henchman who likes classic music will be B.B.D. O'Brien.


 * There is no way to skip the henchmen cutscenes. Sorry.