Playtoons 2: The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator

Last updated: January 11, 2026

Overview

Playtoons 2: The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator is an interactive storybook and creativity game developed by Coktel Vision and published by Sierra On-Line in 1995¹. Known by several regional titles including “Playtoons Nr. 2: Rummelsdorf Hoch Zwei” in Germany and “Playtoons №2: Micmac à Champignac” in France², the game represents the second entry in the Playtoons series of educational creativity software aimed at children³.

The game combines an interactive comic book narrative with a robust construction kit that allows children to create their own animated stories⁴. The interactive story component is effectively a digital adaptation of “Spirou Episode 18: Micmac In Champignac” (1993), utilizing the same story, voice actors, art, and animations from the original cartoon⁵. This approach of repurposing existing animated content into interactive software was characteristic of Coktel Vision’s educational titles during this period.

As part of the Playtoons series, the game was designed with an innovative cross-title integration system: if multiple Playtoons games are installed on the same system, the assets from all those games become available in the editor, essentially combining themselves into one expanded creative tool⁴. This feature encouraged collectors to acquire multiple titles in the series to unlock additional creative possibilities.

Game Info

Developer: Coktel Vision¹ Designer: Unknown Publisher: Sierra On-Line¹ Engine: Gob engine⁶ Platforms: Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Macintosh⁷ Release Year: 1995 Series: Playtoons Protagonist: Spirou and Fantasio Sierra Lineage: Sierra Subsidiary

Story Summary

The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator follows the adventures of Spirou and Fantasio, beloved characters from the classic Franco-Belgian comic series⁵. The narrative is directly adapted from the animated cartoon “Spirou Episode 18: Micmac In Champignac,” bringing the story to interactive life for young audiences⁵.

The interactive story component allows children to read along, listen to narration, and engage with the plot at their own pace⁸. Each panel starts with narrated text, drawing young readers into a script designed to captivate their attention². As described in promotional materials, “the child reads, listens and becomes drawn into a script that will make them tremble with excitement or burst out laughing”⁵.

Players can experience the story from start to finish in a linear fashion, or they can jump to any part they prefer⁹. The interactive nature of the storybook means that some pages lead to secret parts of the story, rewarding exploration and repeated engagement with hidden narrative content⁹.

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Playtoons 2 operates as a point-and-click interactive experience designed for young children⁹. The game features an accessible interface that allows children to navigate through the story by clicking on panels and interactive elements. The design philosophy prioritizes ease of use for its target demographic of early readers, typically children in first or second grade¹⁰.

Structure and Progression

The game is divided into two primary modes of engagement⁵:

• Interactive Story Mode: Players experience the Spirou and Fantasio narrative adapted from the original cartoon, with the ability to proceed linearly or jump between sections
• Construction Kit Mode: Players create their own animated stories using the game’s library of assets

Puzzles and Mechanics

The construction kit represents the core creative mechanic of the Playtoons series⁴. Players can create up to 20 individual scenes, setting their sceneries, objects, and characters while having the characters interact with the objects in various ways¹¹. The game features a built-in camera function that allows young creators to produce animated films complete with voice-over recordings⁵.

The educational games in this series are focused on teaching children school topics in a digital format meant to be more enthralling for kids³. The creative tools encourage experimentation with storytelling, visual composition, and basic animation principles.

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

Documentation of contemporary reviews for Playtoons 2 is limited in available sources. The game was part of a niche market of educational children’s software in the mid-1990s, which often received less critical coverage than mainstream entertainment titles³.

Modern Assessment

MobyGames lists the game with a critics’ aggregate score of 83%, indicating generally favorable reception from reviewers who covered the title¹. The score suggests that critics appreciated the game’s combination of interactive storytelling and creative tools.

Aggregate Scores:

• MobyGames: 83% (critics aggregate)¹

Development

Origins

Coktel Vision, the French development studio behind the Playtoons series, specialized in educational and children’s software throughout the 1990s¹². The studio was known for creating games that combined entertainment with educational value, a philosophy evident in the Playtoons series design³.

The decision to adapt the Spirou animated cartoon for Playtoons 2 represented an efficient content development strategy, allowing the studio to leverage existing high-quality animation and voice work while adding interactive elements⁵.

Production

The game was developed using Coktel Vision’s proprietary Gob engine, which powered many of the studio’s adventure games and interactive titles during this era⁶. The engine supported the complex animation playback and interactive elements required for the Playtoons experience.

Development Credits:¹

• Composer: Charles Callet
• Voice Cast (German Version): Brigitta Scholtz, Peter Semmler

Technical Achievements

The Playtoons series introduced the innovative concept of cross-title asset sharing, where installing multiple games from the series would automatically make all assets available in the construction kit⁴. This technical achievement encouraged collection of the full series and provided increasing creative options for dedicated users.

Playtoons 3: The Secret of the Castle was noted as the first Playtoons title that implements construction kit backgrounds, items, characters and animations in some of its story panels¹¹, suggesting that the series progressively integrated its dual modes more seamlessly with each release.

Technical Specifications

CD-ROM Version:⁷

• Resolution: 640x480²
• Media: CD-ROM
• File Size: Approximately 419.4 MB⁷
• Platforms: Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Macintosh

System Requirements:

• Windows 16-bit compatible system¹
• CD-ROM drive required

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Region	Notes
1.0	1995	Windows 16-bit	France	Initial French release13
1.0	1995	Windows 16-bit	Germany	German localization13
1.0	1995	Macintosh	France	Mac French release13
1.0	1995	Macintosh	Germany	Mac German release13
1.0	1996	Windows 16-bit	United States	US release13
1.0	1996	Macintosh	United States	US Mac release13

Technical Issues

The game is compatible with the ScummVM emulator, which provides modern system compatibility for users wishing to play the title on contemporary hardware⁷. This emulation support has been essential for preservation as native Windows 3.1 and early Windows 95 software increasingly fails to run on modern operating systems.

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• Cross-Title Integration: Installing multiple Playtoons games on the same system automatically combines their assets in the construction kit, creating an ever-expanding creative palette⁴
• Animated Source Material: The game uses the exact same voice actors, art, and animations from the original “Spirou Episode 18: Micmac In Champignac” (1993) cartoon⁵
• Secret Story Pages: Some pages in the interactive story lead to hidden sections of the narrative, rewarding exploratory readers⁹
• Regional Title Variations: The game was marketed under significantly different names in different territories, including the German “Rummelsdorf Hoch Zwei” and French “Micmac à Champignac”¹⁴

Voice Cast

Character	Voice Actor	Notes
German Characters	Brigitta Scholtz	German Version1
German Characters	Peter Semmler	German Version1

The voice work for the interactive story components was largely derived from the original animated Spirou cartoon, maintaining consistency with the source material⁵.

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

Playtoons 2 was distributed by Sierra On-Line in North America¹, with Coktel Vision handling European distribution directly in some markets and through Sierra Coktel Deutschland GmbH in Germany¹³. Specific sales figures are not available in documented sources.

Collections

The game was released as a standalone CD-ROM title and was not known to be included in major compilation packages. The Playtoons series was designed with inherent collectibility in mind due to its cross-title asset sharing feature⁴.

Fan Projects

Modern preservation of Playtoons 2 has been accomplished primarily through the ScummVM project, which added support for the Gob engine used by Coktel Vision’s games⁷. The Internet Archive hosts preserved copies of the Playtoons series for historical and educational purposes⁷.

Related Publications

• In-Game Construction Kit: The game includes a built-in “Monsters” construction kit add-on referenced in later series documentation¹¹
• Animated Film Tools: Built-in camera function allowing creation of animated films with voice-over recording⁵

Critical Perspective

The Playtoons series represents an interesting intersection of educational software, interactive storytelling, and creative tools that was characteristic of children’s multimedia in the mid-1990s³. The games allowed players to become “cartoon creators,” positioning the software as both entertainment and a gateway to understanding animation and storytelling fundamentals⁹.

The decision to adapt existing animated content rather than create original stories demonstrated a practical approach to development that maximized production value while keeping costs manageable⁵. This strategy allowed Coktel Vision to deliver high-quality animation and voice work that might otherwise have been prohibitively expensive for a children’s educational title.

The cross-title asset sharing system was remarkably forward-thinking, creating an early form of expandable content that predated modern DLC and expansion pack models⁴. This feature transformed the Playtoons series from individual standalone products into a cumulative creative platform.

Downloads

Purchase / Digital Stores

• Not currently available on major digital storefronts

Download / Preservation

• Internet Archive – Playtoons 2 – Preserved CD-ROM image⁷

Emulation Support

• ScummVM provides modern compatibility through Gob engine emulation⁷

Series Continuity

Playtoons 2: The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator is the second entry in Coktel Vision’s Playtoons series, which began in 1994 and continued through at least five numbered entries⁹. The series was designed with interconnectivity in mind, with each title adding to the collective library of creative assets available in the construction kit mode⁴.

The series includes:

• Playtoons 1: Uncle Archibald (1994)¹⁵
• Playtoons 2: The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator (1995)¹
• Playtoons 3: The Secret of the Castle (1995)¹⁶
• Playtoons 4: The Mandarin Prince (1995)¹⁷
• Playtoons 5: The Stone of Wakan (1995)⁹

Each game features a unique interactive story while sharing the common construction kit functionality, and installing multiple titles expands the creative possibilities for users⁴.

• Previous: 1994 - Playtoons 1 - Uncle Archibald
• Next: 1995 - Playtoons 3 - The Secret of the Castle

References

Footnotes

1. MobyGames – Playtoons 2: The Case of the Counterfeit Collaborator – developer, publisher, credits, ratings, platforms ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. MobyGames – Playtoons 2 Screenshots – resolution, alternate titles, narration style ↩ ↩² ↩³

3. Wikipedia – Playtoons – series overview, educational focus, developer information ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. MobyGames – Playtoons 1 Featuring Uncle Archibald – cross-title integration, series description, construction kit details ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

5. SierraChest – Playtoons 2 – Spirou adaptation, story details, construction kit features, camera function ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

6. SierraChest – Playtoons 2 Box – Gob engine, platforms, release date ↩ ↩²

7. Internet Archive – Playtoons 2 – file size, platforms, ScummVM compatibility, preservation ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸

8. [Kagi FastGPT Query](kagi:fastgpt:What year was Playtoons 2: Hiccups the Ghost video game released and who developed it?) – release year, developer, alternate titles ↩

9. Kiddle Encyclopedia – Playtoons – series games list, secret story pages, cartoon creator concept ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

10. Goodreads – The Ghost with the Halloween Hiccups – age appropriateness reference for early readers ↩

11. SierraChest – Playtoons 3 – construction kit integration, Monsters add-on, scene creation limits ↩ ↩² ↩³

12. Avid Wiki – Coktel Studio – developer history ↩

13. MobyGames – Playtoons 2 Releases – regional release dates, publishers by territory ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

14. [Kagi FastGPT Query – Release Info](kagi:fastgpt:What year was Playtoons 2: Hiccups the Ghost video game released and who developed it?) – alternate regional titles ↩

15. Internet Archive – Playtoons 1 – first game in series, 1994 release ↩

16. MobyGames – Playtoons 3: The Secret of the Castle – third game details, release year ↩

17. Internet Archive – Playtoons 4 – fourth game in series ↩