The Pajama Sam series is a collection of point and click children's adventure and puzzle games originally created by Humongous Entertainment. Pamela Adlon voices the title character in all games, excluding the first spin-off game and the final entry.[1]

Pajama Sam
Pajama Sam, the title character of the game series
Genre(s)Adventure, Edutainment
Developer(s)Humongous Entertainment
Publisher(s)Humongous Entertainment
Atari
Infogrames
Creator(s)Ron Gilbert, Rich Moe, Rhonda Conley
Platform(s)Windows, Macintosh, iOS, Android, Linux, PlayStation, Wii, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
First releasePajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside
October 18, 1996
Latest releasePajama Sam: Life Is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff!
October 14, 2003

Games

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All games consist of multiple parts: an introductory phase in which Sam begins in one room of his house, entering an imaginary world through some dark space in his house, the actual journey he undertakes in that world, and a concluding cinematic that ends the story. While Sam is in the imaginary world, he can move from one screen to another and interact with the environment with point-and-click controls. Different areas feature important items and non-playable characters that can be collected or interacted with. Each area also features clickpoints that play animations that occasionally feature crossover cameos of other Humongous Entertainment characters. Some items or areas are inaccessible due to an obstacle that is usually overcome by finding and using another item. The obstacles Sam faces and the methods by which he is to progress to the main goal are determined at random at the beginning of a playthrough, and playthroughs in progress can be saved and continued at a later time. In addition to the main storyline, each game features hidden optional collectible items scattered in the world, with a special reward available to those who can find them all.

In the first game, the player had no control over what scenarios would be encountered in one playthrough. In the sequel, the player can choose from several combinations of scenarios to play with, and in the third game, the player is given complete control on what kind of scenarios are encountered for each step towards resolving the main conflict.

The third title was ported to the original PlayStation. More than a decade since the series' inception, the first game in the series was also ported to the Wii, which suffered from limited availability due to a legal conflict concerning its development. In the 2010s, the first three games of the series were ported to iOS and Android as paid games.

Adventure Games
Title Release Date Platforms
  • October 18, 1996 (Macintosh, Microsoft Windows)
  • August 29, 2008 (Wii)
  • December 12, 2012 (iOS)
  • April 17, 2014 (Linux)
  • February 10, 2022 (Nintendo Switch)
  • November 3, 2022 (PlayStation 4)
iOS, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Wii
  • July 1998 (Macintosh, Microsoft Windows)
  • April 5, 2012 (iOS)
  • April 3, 2014 (Android)
  • May 1, 2014 (Linux)
  • February 10, 2022 (Nintendo Switch)
  • November 3, 2022 (PlayStation 4)
Android, iOS, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4
  • April 6, 2000 (Microsoft Windows)
  • December 12, 2001 (PlayStation)
  • 2001 (Macintosh)
  • May 15, 2014 (Linux)
  • August 13, 2015 (Android, iOS)
  • December 21, 2023 (Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4)
Android, iOS, Macintosh, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation, PlayStation 4
Pajama Sam: Life Is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff!
  • 2003
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
Junior Arcade
Title Release Date Platforms
Pajama Sam's Sock Works
  • July 11, 1997
  • June 6, 2014 (Steam)
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
Pajama Sam's Lost and Found
  • December 14, 1998
  • June 6, 2014 (Steam)
Activity Packs
Title Release Date Platforms
Pajama Sam's One-Stop Fun Shop
  • July 27, 2000
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows
Pajama Sam: Games To Play On Any Day
  • November 7, 2001
  • October 23, 2014 (Steam)
Macintosh, Microsoft Windows

Availability

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For Steam the games were released as single games,[2] or bundled with the other Pajama Sam games in "Pajama Sam Complete Pack"[3] or was packaged with all Humongous Entertainment games in "Humongous Entertainment Complete Pack".[4]

Books

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Various children's books about Pajama Sam have been published by Lyrick Publishing.

Title Date Writer Publisher Illustrator
Pajama Sam: Mission to the Moon[12] August 28, 2000 Dave Grossman Lyrick Studios
Pajama Sam: Color and Activity Book[13] August 2000
Pajama Sam: The Magic Hat Tree[14] N. S. Greenfield
Pajama Sam: Amazing TV Adventure[15] January 2001 Biz Magoo Dirk Wunderlich
Pajama Sam What's Different?[16] Nancy Parent Darren McKee
Pajama Sam: Out to Lunch![17] Biz Magoo
Pajama Sam: Food Fight[18] August 2001

References

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  1. ^ Hoover, Richard (April 27, 2018). "Pajama Sam: Life is Rough When You Lose Your Stuff! review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
  2. ^ "Pajama Sam on Steam". Steam. Retrieved March 23, 2015.
  3. ^ "Pajama Sam Complete Pack on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  4. ^ "Humongous Entertainment Complete Pack on Steam". store.steampowered.com. Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  5. ^ "UPC 825247060903 - Freddi Fish / Pajama Sam Value 2-Pack | upcitemdb.com".
  6. ^ "Humongous Entertainment Triple Treat (Win95/Win98/Win3.1/Mac) - from CD-ROM Access". www.cdaccess.com. Archived from the original on 2000-05-10.
  7. ^ Humongous Entertainment triple treat 2. OCLC 42255135.
  8. ^ "Gateway Select - Software". PC Magazine. No. 16. September 3, 1997. p. 37.
  9. ^ "Pajama Sam: 2 Pack (2009)".
  10. ^ "Super Duper Arcade 1". Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  11. ^ "Super Duper Arcade 2". Retrieved December 19, 2016.
  12. ^ "ISBN 1570649502". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  13. ^ "ISBN 1570649499". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  14. ^ "ISBN 1570649510". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  15. ^ "ISBN 1586680625". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  16. ^ "ISBN 1586680641". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  17. ^ "ISBN 158668065X". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
  18. ^ "ISBN 1586681524". Barcode Lookup. Retrieved June 5, 2015.
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