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]
Games
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 crossovercameos 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.
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]
Humongous Entertainment released a CD titled "Humongous Entertainment Triple Treat", which included Freddi Fish and the Case of the Missing Kelp Seeds, Pajama Sam's Sock Works and Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo.[6]
Humongous Entertainment released a CD titled "Humongous Entertainment Triple Treat 2", which included Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside, Freddi Fish and Luther's Maze Madness and Putt-Putt Travels Through Time.[7]
Humongous Entertainment released a bundle of 3 discs titled "Pajama Sam 3-pack", which included Pajama Sam: No Need to Hide When It's Dark Outside, Pajama Sam's Lost & Found and Pajama Sam 3: You Are What You Eat from Your Head to Your Feet.
Pajama Sam's Sock Works was released for Windows and Macintosh on a compilation CD titled "Super Duper Arcade 1", along with Spy Fox in: Cheese Chase, Freddi Fish and Luther's Water Worries and Putt-Putt and Pep's Balloon-o-Rama.[10]
Pajama Sam's Lost & Found was released for Windows and Macintosh on a compilation CD titled "Super Duper Arcade 2", along with Spy Fox in: Hold the Mustard, Freddi Fish and Luther's Maze Madness and Putt-Putt and Pep's Dog on a Stick.[11]
Books
Various children's books about Pajama Sam have been published by Lyrick Publishing.
† Backyard Sports was removed from Humongous Entertainment's control in 2005. That series is currently owned (since 2021) by Backyard Sports LLC and handled (since 2024) by Playground Productions.