Putt-Putt Enters the Race

The game was created by Humongous Games as part of the popular edutainment series Putt-Putt in January 1999. The game was re-released in 2014 for iOS, Android, and Steam.

While playing with Pep, Putt-Putt receives a letter from Redline Rick inviting him to enter the Cartown 500 race. Excited, Putt-Putt goes to the Speedway to sign up. Redline Rick says that if Putt-Putt wants to be a race car, he'll need Extra High-Powered High-Octane Gasoline, Super Speedy Radial Racing Tires, a safety helmet for Pep to wear during the race and a triangular flag with a random number on it. Putt-Putt decides to get those items around Cartown, determined to enter.

To get the tires he needs, Putt-Putt must give Chuck the Tow Truck a patch from his Tire Patch Kit at his Tire Center, as one of Chuck's tires is flat from running into a nail. After helping Chuck, he can get all four tires for four coins. Putt-Putt can also get a gas can to keep his gasoline for the race by either helping Mr. Crankcase sort his junk, or finding four hubcaps that a poodle named Ralphie dug up in the Airbag family's yard after borrowing a shovel by giving a milkshake to Betsy, and in order to earn the safety helmet for Pep, Putt-Putt can pound in nails at a construction center, or use Smokey the Fire Engine's ladder to rescue Mr. Fenderbender's cat, Bonzo, from a tree. Finally, Putt-Putt can gain a flag from either Outback Al by giving the right food for a baby animal, or from Mr. Fenderbender by giving him a brick to plug a hole in his garage (which Bonzo uses as a hiding place) after giving Bonzo milk; Putt-Putt can then use a number sticker from the library to put on the flag.

After finding all four items, Putt-Putt heads over to the Speedway and gets all set up for the race. If Putt-Putt gets in the Top 3, Redline Rick will honor him with a trophy and announce him to the audience. If Putt-Putt doesn't get in the Top 3, he will get a ribbon as a reward for how he raced around the track. Regardless of the outcome, Putt-Putt thanks everyone in Cartown for their part in getting the items he needed to participate and declares, "It's not if you win or lose, it's how you race around the track."

The game uses most of the same mechanics as its predecessors, except the ignition key shown on Putt-Putt's dashboard, which had previously been used to quit the game, now opens up a menu, where the player can save or load a game, along with quitting it. The use of spending coins returns in this game, and they can be used to buy the set of Super Speedy Radial Racing Tires that Putt-Putt needs to enter the race (costing four coins), as well as pay for entrance to the Cartown Carwash or the Cartown Color (exactly like Putt-Putt Joins the Parade, even costing two and three coins respectively, like said game). Putt-Putt can earn two coins from Mr. Baldini by giving him produce from Torvil the Tractor's farm, while one coin can sometimes be found in a payphone. Multiple bottles can be found hanging around in certain areas, which can be recycled in Mr. Crankcase's junkyard, where Putt-Putt will earn a coin by recycling three bottles.

The game was officially unveiled at the 1998 Electronic Entertainment Expo in Atlanta, May 28–30, at booth 5626.[2][3] Humongous Entertainment executive vice president of marketing and licensing, Ralph Giuffre, said that this title was purposely designed for younger players.[2] On January 14, the Humongous Entertainment website (humongous.com) launched a week-long online celebration for the game, which included offering players free downloadable demos, online games, contests and other items at the Putt-Putt's Pit Stop.[4] In December 1999, Humongous partnered with the Make-A-Wish Foundation for a holiday promotion where customers could "donate the full $10 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation or donate $2 to the charity and receive $8 back" at participating national software retail outlets for Humongous's best-selling 16 software, which included this game.[5][6]

According to PC Data of Reston, the game was the 5th top-selling educational title across 13 software retail chains for the week ended January 16,[7] and the 9th top-selling home-education software for the week ended May 1.[8]

Sonic praised the game for being both fun and educational, while challenging kids in creative ways.[15] Superkids said the game was best-suited to children who have curiosity and patience.[16] Eugene Register-Guard described the game as "challenging and entertaining".[17] The Bryan Times praised the user interface.[18] Lakeland Ledger thought the game was "charming".[19] Ouders Online said the game was highly fun, and added that Putt-Putt was a good role model.[20] The Boston Herald praised the game's "smooth animation and appealing characters", while saying that its complexity would appeal to older players.[21] The 52 year old reviewer at The Colombian, enjoyed the interactive content, commenting that the game had a high "Giggle-to-Click Ratio".[22] Star Tribune said that, like other Humongous games, this title was "high-quality" and "entertaining", while complimenting its replay value.[23] The game was used in a study by The Mirror.[24] Daily Herald deemed the game "above average"[25] and "sweet".[26] PC Mag said a parent "can't go wrong" with buying the game for their 3-8-year-old child.[27]

• The New York Times review