History VideoGame / BlasterMysterySeries

Note that while only the first two entries in this series were actually marketed as "Blaster Mystery," ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' still have the full onscreen titles of ''Reading Blaster Mystery: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster Mystery: Pre-Algebra'' respectively. ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary: Ages 9-12'' dropped the "Mystery," but that was probably just to avoid ColonCancer.

Note that while only the first two entries in this series were actually marketed as "Blaster Mystery," ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' still have the full onscreen titles of ''Reading Blaster Mystery: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster Mystery: Pre-Algebra''. ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary: Ages 9-12'' dropped the "Mystery," but that was probably just to avoid ColonCancer.

** ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is a remake of an earlier game by the same name. However, this earlier version was unrelated to the ''Blaster Mystery'' series and was itself originally released as ''Word Blaster''.

* VideoGameRemake: ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' is a remake of ''Math Blaster Mystery: The Great Brain Robbery'', which is itself a remake (kinda) of the 1989 game ''Math Blaster Mystery''.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is more light-hearted than its predecessors. While the three previous games all involved thwarting some evil plot by Dr. Dabble, ''Vocabulary'' is instead dedicated to solving silly mysteries. Dr. Dabble is merely one of seven suspects, none of whom are treated as being truly villainous. Bizarroville Mansion is clearly still haunted, but the game takes place while a big party is going on there, which mitigates the creepy atmosphere.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is more light-hearted than its predecessors. While the three previous games all involved thwarting some evil plot by Dr. Dabble, ''Vocabulary'' is dedicated to solving silly mysteries. Dr. Dabble is merely one of seven suspects, none of whom are treated as being truly villainous. Bizarroville Mansion is clearly still haunted, but the game takes place while a big party is going on there, which mitigates the creepy atmosphere.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' is more light-hearted than its predecessors. While the three previous games all involved thwarting some evil plot by Dr. Dabble, ''Vocabulary'' is instead about solving silly mysteries. Dr. Dabble is merely one of seven suspects, none of whom are treated as being truly villainous. Bizarroville Mansion is clearly still haunted, but the game takes place during a big party there, which mitigates the creepy atmosphere.
* MonumentalTheft: One of the mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' involves the perpetrator stealing the state of Rhode Island.

** In ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'', [[spoiler:one of the mysteries involving someone hoarding all the rice in Bizarroville, and Gloria Ghastly's comment is that she "can't stand the taste of rice." It turns out she's the culprit. She just didn't want the rice to eat it. Instead, she was hoarding it so that it could be thrown at [[SerialSpouse her fourteenth wedding]].]]

* RedHerring: The items belonging to Dr. Dabble and Lydia in ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. They're mixed in with the items belonging to the guests for no reason other than to mislead you. Additionally, the game sometimes makes it unintuitive which items go with which guest in order to ensure that you read the clues like you're supposed to. For instance, you'd think the pearl necklace would belong to movie star Gloria Ghastly, and the football would belong to Coach Gulliver Lilliput, but you'd be wrong. It turns out the necklace belongs to the coach's mother, and the football belongs to Gloria because it's a signed movie prop.

* ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' (1997) - Dr. Dabble has kidnapped six of Bizzaroville's most prominent citizens, and Rave has to rescue them. This game is something of a ContinuityReboot, since it completely ignores ''The Great Brain Robbery'', but shares its canon with the next two games, more or less. It also does a lot of WorldBuilding, much of it [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration cleverly integrated into the reading comprehension activities]].

* ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary: Ages 9-12'' (1998) - Rave is assigning you, the player, to solve a series of whimsical mysteries plaguing Bizzaroville. Your seven suspects are Dr. Dabble plus the six Bizzaroville citizens you had to rescue in ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. Despite departing from previous entries in several significant ways, most notably Rave no longer being the PlayerCharacter and Dr. Dabble not necessarily being the villain, this game seems to be set in roughly the same canon as ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12'' and ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra''.

* FelonyMisdemeanor: The mysteries in ''Reading Blaster Vocabulary'' are minor crimes that get huge attention from the Bizaroville media. At the conclusion of each case, the narrator describes the judge dishing out a humorously karmic punishment.

* {{Halloweentown}}: The setting, which is called Bizzaroville starting with ''Reading Blaster: Ages 9-12''. Granted, we really only ever see Dr. Dabble's creepy mansion, but it's heavily implied that the rest of the town follows this trope as well. In fact, the second newspaper story you receive in ''Math Blaster: Pre-Algebra'' would suggest that this world features an entire United States that follows this trope, what with a president named [[PunnyName Mort Chewarry]].

** Bizzaroville Mansion's street number is 19840. At the time, the mailing address for Creator/DavidsonAndAssociates was 19840 Pioneer Ave, Torrance, CA 90503.[[note]]The building there is now a self-storage facility, for the record.[[/note]]

* TheJoyOfX: The title "''The Great Brain Robbery''" is a parody of ''Film/TheGreatTrainRobbery''.