The Carmen Sandiego computer games inspired two PBS game shows for kids that taught geography and history by turning the children into detectives that must track arch-criminal Carmen around the world and through time.

Where in Time is Carmen Sandiego? replaced its predecessor show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? and brought back Lynne Thigpen as the wise Chief of ACME Detective Agency. Three players--aged 10 to 14--competed as "Time Pilots," and the show opened with the Chief briefing them on what Carmen had stolen and when in time she had stolen it. The Time Pilots got their clues from short skits being performed and tried to guess the correct location of Carmen or one of her associates. The player with the lowest score was eliminated.

In the next round, the two remaining contestants received a list of eight historical events and had to put them in the correct chronological order, starting with the most recent event. The first player to do so successfully won the game and the opportunity to play in a Bonus Round, called the Trail of Time.

The Trail of Time was a sort of trivia obstacle course. The player had 90 seconds to race around six gates set up, answering a historical question at each gate. The correct answer opened the gate automatically allowing the player to advance, but a wrong answer meant the Time Pilot would have to open the gate manually which took up precious seconds. Completing the course earned players a shiny new computer.

Like the previous Carmen game show, Time taught kids that history (and geography) was more than places and events to be memorized; it was a vital part of the world of today and would continue to influence the world of tomorrow.