The ClueFinders Reading Adventures

The ClueFinders Reading Adventures: Mystery of the Missing Amulet is a computer game designed for ages 9–12 in The Learning Company's The ClueFinders series, where the ClueFinders embark on an adventure in an alien world to save the planet Millenia from the evil sorceress Malicia. Along the way, the game intends to help the players learn and practice language arts skills, hence the title.

At one point, it was also included as a bonus disc with the other ClueFinders games (though, in this context, it was called only by its subtitle, The Mystery of the Missing Amulet), in much the manner of The ClueFinders: Mystery Mansion Arcade and The ClueFinders Real World Adventure Kit, two other games which were both included as bonus discs at various points in time.

Synopsis

The game begins in the Sierra Mountains, where an asteroid has crashed. The ClueFinders approach the asteroid, discovering it is significantly cool despite its recent crash. Joni wants to touch it to know if it is "like volcanic rock". Despite Santiago's warning, Joni touches it, and the ClueFinders get beamed across space, arriving on the planet Millenia. While Joni, Owen and Laptrap arrive safely at a strange castle, Leslie and Santiago land on top of Mount Voldrak.

Joni and Owen then meet Malveera, the princess of Millenia who brought them to help save her planet (with Owen developing a crush on the princess Malveera). She explains that Santiago and Leslie are prisoners of the evil sorceress, Malicia and confides in Joni and Owen that the only way to stop her is to locate the two halves of the Amulet of Life, which were buried by the two civilizations that inhabit the planet: the Doldreks and the Sorrens. However, Malicia had the Doldreks encased in ice and the Sorrens petrified in rock because they refused to reveal the location of the hidden Amulet halves. Malveera explains to the two Cluefinders that the imprisoned Millenia denizens kept clues that gave the location of the Amulet of Life and freeing them would help them acquire the clues. The princess gives Joni and Owen her blessing, confessing that she is forbidden to leave her lands, leaving the two Cluefinders to brave Millenia's dangers.

Joni, Owen and Laptrap begin their adventures by going to the Crystal Caverns where they collect Thermagems to operate machines and free the Doldreks encased in ice. During this process, they discover a mural of a demented sorceress bearing a certain resemblance to Malveera, causing Joni to become suspicious of the princess. Once all the clue-holding Doldreks are freed, they use those clues to solve the puzzle sequence on the Crystal Gateway, which opens up to reveal the first of the missing Amulet halves.

After escaping a pair of gargoyles, Malveera appears and explains that the team must go to the Mystic Mountains and collect LavaRocks that will activate the devices to free the Sorrens, who have been frozen in stone. After she departs, Joni questions the princess presence, remembering what she had said earlier about not being allowed to leave her lands. Alas, Owen, still enamored by the princess, ignores Joni's suspicions and resumes their adventures.

While they travel through the Mystic Mountains, Joni and Owen discover a plaque stating that the Amulet of Life is evil and can only be destroyed in the fires of Mount Valdrok. This confuses the ClueFinders. Why would the Amulet of Life be evil if it's supposed to save the planet? Once the clues from the freed Sorrens are recovered, Owen and Joni use the clues to solve a puzzle that reveals the story of the planet Millenia's invasion from Malicia. Once the puzzle is finished, they recover the second half of the amulet and join both halves together. The princess appears again, this time accompanied by the two gargoyles that attacked the Cluefinders earlier, revealing herself to be the wicked Malicia. She grabs the Amulet around Joni's neck and takes off with her goons. Owen, confused by the situation, comes to terms with the truth (with Joni's assistance) that princess Malveera was just Malicia in disguise. Joni reveals to Owen that Malicia did not take the Amulet of Life and instead took a necklace she had bought at a flea market. Joni and Owen set off for Mount Voldrak to stop Malicia's evil plans to use the Amulet's power to make herself immortal (as well as moving on to Earth as her next victim) and to free Leslie and Santiago as well.

Joni, Owen, and Laptrap face a series of puzzles ascending the volcano all while Malicia discovers the switch but decides to wait for Joni and Owen to arrive with the real Amulet, using Leslie and Santiago as bait. They finally show up and attempt to destroy the Amulet by throwing it into lava, but Malicia's gargoyle minions recover the amulet and turn it over to Malicia. Malicia attempt to utilize the Amulet's power to eliminate the reunited Cluefinders before moving onto the destruction of Millenia and Earth, but Owen's quick thinking and Laptrap's reflective underside manage to repel the amulet's ray, bouncing back at Malicia, trapping her inside the Amulet forever.

Once Malicia is imprisoned inside the Amulet, the two gargoyles transform into a Sorren and a Doldrek, confessing that they were ensnared by Malicia's power and forced to serve her. They explain to the Cluefinders that the amulet's power is the only way they can return to Earth. However, since the Cluefinders have proven themselves worthy, they are permitted to use it to return home on the condition that they hide the Amulet so that nobody will misuse its power. The Cluefinders agree and return to Earth. Once home, the ClueFinders give the amulet to Socrates, their intelligent dog and mascot, who buries the Amulet along with the trapped Malicia.

Activities

Thermagems

To operate the machines and free the Doldreks, ThermaGems will be needed, but the gap in the wall, behind which hide ThermaGems, is so small that even Laptrap cannot enter. LapTrap explains that Professor Horace (from The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures: The Mystery of Mathra) has invented a device so LapTrap can make Mini-Traps. The objective is to guide the Mini-Traps around obstacles and take the ThermaGem next to the word that doesn't belong in the same category with the other three gems.

Jukebox Jumbler

To free five of the Doldreks and collect their clues, you will need to feed ThermaGems to a jukebox. Once you feed it a gem, a crossword will appear. There will be some clues on a panel on the top of the jukebox indicating the meanings of the missing words. Also, the prefixes or suffixes will be on the crossword. You drag the letters under the clues on to the crossword to complete it. Once you complete one crossword, you will free a Doldrek and receive a clue. If you decide to change levels, or halt play to resume later, you must feed the jukebox another gem to begin anew.

Ice Breaker

Five more Doldreks need to be rescued. Insert a ThermaGem into the slot on the bottom right hand corner of the screen. Five spheres will be available for you to use in the game. Grab the shield and launch the sphere by moving it anywhere in the screen. Below the face of the Ice Breaker are the Doldreks that need to be rescued. Above them is a sentence. The Ice Breaker will tell you an instruction. Aim the spheres at any pad to break it, sometimes revealing a falling word. If the word matches the Ice Breaker's instructions and he is satisfied with your work, a Doldrek will be free. Like the Jukebox Jumbler activity, if you decide to halt and resume later, you will need to restart. If during a game the level changes, your scores will remain, but if you decide to change them in the middle of a game, the machine will want another ThermaGem.

Crystal Gateway

Once you have all ten clues, head to the Crystal Gateway. Use your clues and click on the correct symbols, called etchings on the wall. If you click on the wrong etching, or click on them in the wrong order, you will need to start again. When all the symbols have completed the puzzle, the gate will open, and you will obtain the first half of the amulet.

LavaRocks

To free the Sorrens in the Mystic Mountains, you will need LavaRocks, which can be found by using the Mini-Traps again. An analogy will appear for each rock, and you will need to find the odd one out. Beware the hideous monsters though or the Mini-Trap is Mini-Toast.

Rock Muncher

Feed the Rock Muncher a LavaRock and complete his puzzle to operate the drilling device which will free the Sorrens. Read the question on the sign. Then read the passage on the rock wall. Drag the rock that answers the question into the Rock Muncher's mouth. If it is the right rock, he will operate his drilling device. If you have drilled enough, the rock will collapse and the Sorren trapped inside will give you a clue. Like all other clue-earning activities, if you change levels, quit and resume, or make too many mistakes, you will need to feed the machine another rock. This activity's gameplay is identical to that in 'Set in Stone' from The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: Puzzle of the Pyramid.

Bridge Builder

The huge stone dragon can let out a ball from his stomach and roll it over to the other side of the cliff to free the Sorren, who will give you a clue. Alas, there is no bridge, so you will have to build one. The dragon will use his laser eyes and zap out a sentence. Then, a rock will come falling down from the sky. Categorize the rock into different parts of speech by landing it on top of the correct part of speech. Once you have layered enough rocks on top of each other, the stone ball can roll across and free the Sorren. Like all other clue-earning activities, if you change levels, quit and resume, or make too many mistakes, you will need to feed the machine another rock.

Mystic Gateway

Use the ten clues you have earned in the Mystic Mountains and click on the correct symbols, called etchings on the wall. If you click on the wrong etching, or click on them in the wrong order, you will need to start again. When all the etchings have been clicked in the right order, the gate will open. This game is identical to 'Crystal Gateway'.

Mystic Messages

After the gate is open, you will need to read the passage on the door and use context clues to fill in the missing words. As you fill in the correct words, letters from some of these words will appear below, creating a message. This puzzle reveals the backstory of how Malicia came about and how the Doldreks and Sorrens hid the Amulet of Life. Once this puzzle is completed, you will obtain the second half of the amulet.

Gates of Mount Valdrok

The gargoyles that guard the gate that leads to the mountain's summit will open the gates if you can guess their password. One gargoyle will tell you if you have any correct letters in the correct place. The other will tell you if you have any correct letters in the wrong place. Once you've figured out the word they are looking for, the gate will open. You will need to complete this task four times in order to reach the summit. This is a variant of the game Bulls and Cows.

Skills

ThermaGems - vocabulary, categorization and reasoning

Jukebox Jumbler - prefixes, suffixes, vocabulary, and spelling

Ice Breaker - vocabulary, antonyms, synonyms, homonyms

Crystal Gateway - sequencing, reading for meaning

LavaRocks - critical thinking, attributes, synonyms, antonyms, vocabulary, analogies

Bridge Builder - grammar, parts of speech, sentence structure

Rock Muncher - reading for meaning, main idea, detail, inference, vocabulary

Mystic Gateway - sequencing, reading for meaning

Mystic Messages - reading comprehension, using context clues, spelling, inference

Gates of Mount Valdrok - spelling, deductive thinking, hypothesis testing

Reception

A review at Superkids was mixed. Whilst the "teacher reviewers were especially impressed with the reading comprehension section", they felt that "unfortunately, too many of the [activities] require fast-twitch gaming ability in addition to knowledge of the subject matter". Of the kids appeal, the review stated that "the activities themselves, however, are inconsistent. While some are novel and quite educational...others are tired repeats of games seen many times over in many other programs." It concluded by saying "his likable Clue Finders adventure provides an entertaining way for kids to practice their reading and language skills. Students who need significant help with their reading skills would do better with a more academically oriented title, and those who are not adept gamers may become frustrated with some of the activities." The Educational Value was rated 4/5. The Kid Appeal was rated 4.3. The Ease of Use was rated 4.0.