Okay, normally, I don’t do Facebook games, but Carmen Sandiego!

Does everyone else assume Facebook gaming is pretty much a realm of aunties and distant friends, people begging for tokens, planks, doubloons or other things where you’re almost glad to see new ones pop-up so you can sanctimoniously banish them from your feed forevermore?

Most posts I read on the subject even on other tech blogs seem distant, aware of what these apps do and how they work, but clearly not something that invokes the passion of other social networking and gaming related topics. However, I could be revising my opinion with the introduction of possibly the first computer related thing to which I have ever been addicted- Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego? Unlike most NES games, which always bested my geeky, clumsy 8-year-old self, I could always eventually track down Carmen with my keen intellect, sharp memory, and knowledge of basic geography, hand-eye coordination skills be damned.

It’s not clear if you can play this game too well alone, or if it will require the social participation apps like FarmVille, CityVille and Mafia Wars do. The other cornerstone of 80’s educational gaming, Oregon Trail, will arrive just ahead of Carmen Sandiego’s February 9th release on February 2nd.

Do you anticipate checking out either of these classics when they arrive, or is Facebook for stalking exes and passive-aggressively venting at your co-workers and brother? Are you planning on introducing your kids to the new versions?

You can watch the trailer here. And listen to the theme song here.