The Learning Company used their new game as the prototype for Internet Applet technology, which allowed users to download supplementary activities from the ClueFinders website.

[8] In 2000, Mattel Interactive hired professional writers Jill Gorey and Barbara Herndon to design a concept for a TV series, but the franchise never made its way to television.

[13] Carmen Sandiego, ClueFinders, and Reader Rabbit were then licensed to the KidsEdge Website in 2002, where they were available to play among 170 games and activities.

[16] The 2004 RCN InterACTION service allowed parents to stream over 35 games in series such as Carmen Sandiego, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and ClueFinders over a broadband connection.

[19] In 2021, HarperCollins Publishers, a subsidiary of News Corp, purchased Houghton Mifflin Harcourt's books and media division, including all the rights to their video game intellectual properties.

[5] The ClueFinders adventures take place in the real contemporary world, incorporating some elements of fantasy and science fiction.

Some of the unsuccessful designs included animals, rock stars, and FBI agents, which the kids perceived as babysitters instead of teammates.

[22] The developers used a character grid to aid their writing, which contained information such as "their flaws, their fears, how they met, where they grew up, and their likely reactions to certain situations".

After Mathra was captured, the Numerians abandoned their city, sealed the entrance, and hid the two halves of the key in the far corners of the rainforest.

The ClueFinders are left to recover the relics, rescue Professor Botch, and prevent Loveless and Set from wreaking havoc.

In one of the wrecked ships, Joni and Santiago discover a pair of metal plaques with strange symbols written on them called CrypTiles.

In The ClueFinders 6th Grade Adventures: The Empire of the Plant People, while playing a game of frisbee, Joni accidentally tosses the disc over the fence into the overgrown yard of their friendly neighbour, Miss Rose.

Owen, Leslie, and LapTrap investigate to look for their lost team members and find a labyrinth under the yard inhabited by self-aware, anthropomorphic talking plants.

Joni and Owen then meet Malveera, the princess of Millenia who brought them to help save her planet from the evil sorceress Malicia, who has also captured Santiago and Leslie.

Owen goes to retrieve his wallet, along with Joni and LapTrap, while Leslie, Santiago, and AliTrap head into the store, only to be shot by a shrinking ray and captured into a sack.

While investigating, The Cluefinders discover that employee Pericles Lear has stolen a prototype shrink-ray device and has started shrinking various landmarks around town.

The series consists of "multi-subject by grade" programs, in which players practice skills and advance their understanding of grade-based content.

While Reader Rabbit was popular with younger audiences, The Learning Company came up with ClueFinders to appeal to third graders and onward for both boys and girls.

[53] Meanwhile, The Boston Herald commented that the series had "come a long way"; the paper suggested that the decision to include a Caucasian (Joni), Asian (Owen), Black (Leslie), and Latino (Santiago) in its main cast smelt of interference from the California School Board standard.

[54] The paper praised the series' "television-quality animation, broad educational focus, and lively situations", though thought the early games were uneven in difficulty.

[54] Exploring Values Through Literature, Multimedia, and Literacy Events further praised the series' focus on character interdependence, or how missions are not successful until and unless they work together.

[60] Battle Creek Enquirer and The Tennessean felt 4th Grade's strong sense of mystery encouraged players to learn academia.

Although they said that teacher reviewers were especially impressed with the reading comprehension section", they felt that "too many of the [activities] require fast-twitch gaming ability in addition to knowledge of the subject matter".

It concluded by saying that "this 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".