The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures: The Puzzle of Pyramids is a computer game in The Learning Company's ClueFinders series, where the ClueFinders embark on an Egyptian adventure to save the world from the forces of chaos.

Synopsis

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The ClueFinders are on an adventure in Egypt with Professor Botch, Alistair Loveless, and their dog, Socrates. There, they uncover the tomb of Peribsen, a king from the second dynasty. Joni finds a mysterious ring and tries it on her finger, but it gets stuck. Fearing embarrassment, she fails to tell Professor Botch.

Later that night, Alistair Loveless arrives with his goons and they load all the artifacts and Professor Botch into the trucks. Loveless explains he wants to unleash the power of Set, whom it was believed Peribsen was aligned with.

The next day, the ClueFinders return to the dig to find it deserted. However, they find a mysterious scroll the thieves missed. The ClueFinders decide to take the scroll to Cairo so someone can translate it. There, they met an antique dealer who claims to be five thousand years old. He tells them that whoever kidnapped Professor Botch wants to unleash the power of Set.

He says to stop him, they must find a mysterious place of power. The scroll has five clues that guide them towards reaching this place of power. However, the clues are written in ancient code that the antique dealer cannot read without "Cairoglyphs", ancient pottery pieces with letters inscribed on them.

Meanwhile, Alistair Loveless interrogates Professor Botch for one piece of information, the location of the Ring. Professor Botch tries to feign ignorance, but Loveless manages to figure out the ClueFinders have the Ring, and sends his minions after them.

After collecting the Carioglyphs, the ClueFinders learn they need to take a boat south. This takes them to the mysterious Nile kingdom. The area is populated by mice who seemed to convinced they are ancient Egyptians and spend their time building pyramids, columns, and such structures. A cat who lives in an obelisk has had gems stolen from their doors by these mice. The ClueFinders agree to retrieve the gems, in exchange for being let in the palace.

Loveless' goons finally catch up with the ClueFinders, and take the Ring from them. Loveless returns to the tomb, where he will begin the Ceremony. His goons put ancient pistons and gears in place that will cause the pyramid, long buried underground, to rise to the surface, so that Loveless will be ready to conduct the Ceremony.

The ClueFinders reach the inside of the obelisk, only to discover that it is the residence of the remaining Egyptian Gods. The Gods are aware of the latest attempt to unleash Set, but are unable to act, as they exceed the height requirement to fight the forces of Chaos. This doesn't stop them from helping out, however, and each of the gods gives special powers to the ClueFinders: Horus gives Owen the power of flight; Bast grants Leslie heightened intelligence; Sobek gives Santiago extreme physical strength; and Isis grants Joni supernatural bravery (in the case of Leslie and Joni, these are simply amplifications of traits they already possessed). The powers also changes the appearance of the ClueFinders to resemble the Gods. They are transported back to the tomb, in time to see a pyramid rise out of the ground. They began to travel through it in order to rescue their professor and the world.

Meanwhile, Set rises out of the ground, but, like with so many villains, Loveless' overconfidence was his weakness. He never considered the possibility that he might not be able to "control chaos." Set flings Loveless and his minions down a chasm with one wave of his hand.

The ClueFinders show up and declare that they're there to stop Set. Leslie uses her intelligence to come up with a plan. Joni distracts Set, while Owen lifts Santiago into the air so he can push the pistons back in place. The pyramid collapses and Set disappears forever. The ClueFinders escape and they lose their new powers. All the artifacts are returned to their proper places.

Characters

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The characters listed are characters that appear only in The ClueFinders 4th Grade Adventures; for information about other characters, see The ClueFinders.

Professor Botch

Professor Botch is described in the game's advertising as "eccentric, but lovable", which is rather accurate. Professor Botch is held hostage for the whole game, and the game regularly cuts back to show Loveless interrogating him for information. Botch tries to avoid helping Loveless by feigning ignorance. This does not fool Loveless in the least, but it is rather humorous for the user.

The characterization of Professor Botch may be based on Denholm Elliott's portrayal of Marcus Brody in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Both are generally bumbling, both are held hostage and rescued by the more capable heroes towards the end and both tell their captors that they're meddling with powers they cannot comprehend. (To botch mean to bungle or ruin through clumsiness.)

Alistair Loveless

Sir Alistair Loveless III grew up on the streets of London, and since then he's dreamed of ruling the planet. Loveless is now an archaeologist for the London Museum and has been trying to find Peribsen's tomb for a long time. Loveless is, in many ways, a parody of the stereotypical villain. For example, in one scene he cackled manically for a long time in the typical villain fashion, before coughing and explaining that he swallowed his mint. Loveless can mean either feeling no love, or the quality of being unloved, both of which fit the character (recall Loveless grew up in the streets).

Egyptian Gods

Though certain liberties were taken with their personalities, the depictions of the gods remained true to their appearance in Egyptian art.

• Set: Loveless is bent on gaining Set's powers over Chaos for himself. What Set has to say about this, however, may not be to Loveless's liking.
• Isis: Though Set's nemesis in mythology, Isis's role in the gameis simply to provide a moment of humor and grant Joni the power of bravery. She speaks with a Long Island accent.
• Horus: The falcon god grants Owen the power of flight, and explains the general situation to the ClueFinders when they reach the Palace.
• Bast: the Cat Goddess give Leslie heightened intelligence. Her voice is similar to that of Eartha Kitt.
• Sobek: the Crocodile God gives Santiago extreme physical strength.
• Thoth: the God of Wisom and the Written Word presides over the Chasm of Words in the pyramid. Despite the fact that the Chasm is in Set's pyramid, Thoth lets the ClueFinders pass if they solve the puzzle. Thoth is the most god-like of the deities shown in the game, with an impressive form and ominous voice.

Places visited

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Like in The ClueFinders 3rd Grade Adventures, there are different areas that are visited, but unlike the first program, each area isn't limited to one skill.

Cairo

In Cairo, the goal is to collect "Cairoglyphs". Fortunately, collecting Cairoglyphs is a hobby of many store owners in the area and they agree to give them to the ClueFinders in exchange for help. The Cairoglyphs earn the ClueFinders clues, which lead to a secret chamber. After solving a puzzle in there, they find they need to go south in a boat. After constructing a boat in another activity, they head off to the Nile kingdom.

Nile Kingdom

The goal here is to collect gems from mice that live here who are convinced they are ancient Egyptians. To earn them, they have to help in building their pyramids and palaces. Once the gems are earned, they have places where they belong in a pattern.

The Pyramid

The goal in the pyramid is to reach the center and save Professor Botch and stop Loveless. To do this, the user must unlock doors and cross over giant chasms. In the door challenges, the puzzles are presented by a sphinx who speaks like Groucho Marx. (see "Quotes" section). The chasm challenges, similar to other "chasm of words" puzzles in the games, are regulated by Thoth.

Quotes

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Professor Botch: This tomb has remained undisturbed for thousands of years.

Leslie: This is exciting.

LapTrap: I'm all aquiver.

Professor Botch: Who knows what lies behind these doors? Untold treasures, perhaps.

LapTrap: Oh great, mysteries! I hate mysteries!

Joni: LapTrap, shush.

Loveless: Just open the tomb, you silly little man.

(Joni has the Ring stuck on her finger)

Santiago: Well, Joni, I guess this makes you an international jewel thief.

Joni: Can you at least pretend you're helping, Santiago. I cannot get this thing off; it feels like it's holding onto my finger.

Owen: Maybe it likes you, Joni.

Leslie: It looks like some kind of ceremonial ring. You'd better let Professor Botch know you have it.

Joni: Okay, Leslie, I'll tell him tomorrow, but it's so embarrassing. I never should have touched this ring in the first place.

Joni: Yuck, coffee. Why do grownups drink this stuff?

Loveless: I have one question, professor. Where is the Ring?

Professor Botch: And what ring would that be?

Loveless: You know what I'm talking about, Professor; the Ring.

Professor Botch: The Ring!

Loveless: The Ring.

Professor Botch: The Ring!

Loveless: Do not mock me, professor.

Professor Botch: Don't mock you!

Loveless: You will tell me where to find the Ring, otherwise your students will... wait, your students, of course! laughter

Loveless: Once I have the Ring, we will be able to proceed with... the Ceremony.

Professor Botch: Oh, are you getting married? How lovely.

Loveless: I'm not getting married, you twit. I am an evil man, and I'm up to no good.

Professor Botch: Say, what sort of ceremony is this anyway?

Loveless: Ah, so you're finally beginning to understand. With the Ring, I will be able to focus the astro-energy that will unleash the power of Set.

Professor Botch: No!

Loveless: Yes!

Professor Botch: No! No!

Loveless: Yes! Yes!

Professor Botch: Oh my, this could be problem.

Loveless: laughter

Santiago: Oh no, I can't read a word of this. Can you help us out?

Antique Dealer: Kids these days. These are simple hieroglyphics. When did they stop teaching hieroglyphics in school?

Leslie: So what does it say?

Antique Dealer: Well, it goes something like this:

The threat to our land is deep and dark; stopping it won't be a walk in the park

But you have proven worthy and wise, what swell bunch of gals and guys

But when the pretender tries to take the throne, you won't be able to stop him alone

You'll find allies at a secret place on the Nile, but getting there may take you a while

You can't walk or fly there, you'll have to float; so get out of here and go south in a boat

Joni: Yuck!

Leslie: That has to be, the worst piece of poetry I have ever heard.

Sphinx: What have we here? Look like a group of fresh young heroes. Unfortunately, I already had a hero sandwich for lunch. Who are you people, anyway?

Joni: We're the ClueFinders! We're gonna stop the forces of chaos!

Sphinx: Get outta here.

Santiago: No, really.

Sphinx: No, really; get outta here; but to get out, you must solve this ancient puzzle.

Leslie: Hey, haven't we seen you before?

Sphinx: No. In fact, I'm not sure I'm seeing you now, you may be something I ate.

Joni: We're getting a little impatient with all this.

Sphinx: Good thing you're not doctors then. I wouldn't want to be one of your impatients.

Joni: I can't wait to get out of these tunnels.

Sphinx: Tunnels? You must be in a subway station. No wonder my plane hasn't shown up.

Sphinx: Welcome to the deeper reaches of the Pyramid. Of course, you could tell that just by looking, couldn't you?

Sphinx: You kids had better go one and find your professor friend. You know, I once poked a professor in the temple--how he got into my temple I'll never know. (probably a parody of Grouch Marx's "I once shot an elephant in my pajamas" routine)

Sphinx: What are you waiting for? If you want to get away from jokes you have to go through that door--I wish I could.

Sphinx: Don't worry, I know you can do it, I read the script.

Notes

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This program has a fair degree of historical accuracy. For example, it is true that Peribsen did indeed have an interest in Set, but there were many mistakes as well. For example, the ClueFinders find a secret chamber built in Cairo, but Cairo wasn't built until long after the second dynasty, or ancient Egypt for that matter. Note that the word God is never used in the program. Instead the word embodiment is always used. This is obviously to avoid religious issues. The actually tomb of Peribsen was discovered in the 19th century and is in far worse condition than portrayed in the game.

This game uses a different animation style than the other ClueFinders games. In the other titles, characters are outlined with black lines, as most cartoon characters are, but in this game they are outlined with lines that are a color slightly darker than the object being outlined. There is also a difference in the plot between this game and the other title, done much more in the style of Indiana Jones than Scooby-Doo, but with an almost parody-like sense of humor. An example of this is that, it is revealed at the beginning who the villain is (rather than at the end.)

There are a lot of mistakes involving the Ring. Joni has the Ring on the ring finger of her right hand, but in several shots of her right hand, the Ring is missing. She couldn't have taken it off, because it was stuck. In the game, there are three individuals who wear the Ring; Joni, Loveless, and Set. How can one ring fit a twelve-year-old girl and a fifty-foot-tall Egyptian god? If the Ring fits on Set's finger, it should fit around Joni's waist.

1998 computer and video games | Windows games | Mac OS games | The ClueFinders