Taking an internship as a Deputy Curator at the Beech Hill Museum in Washington D.C., Nancy is faced with yet another baffling case. Getting ready for a huge Mayan exhibit, the museum has a huge collection of very valuable Mayan objects in the museum. One of the most important pieces, a carving, is stolen within a day or so of being there. Nancy must find out who’s behind this theft while still keeping up with her Deputy Curator duties.

This is only the second game where you can go multiple places and the first where Nancy is equipped with a laptop. You can take the subway to visit most of the suspects or to go to your hotel and get some well deserved sleep. This game is pretty difficult because of all the Mayan facts and stuff that you need to know to progress in the game. This is also a note taking game. You will want to learn as much as you can about the Mayans to answer mandatory questions. The curator duties are also extensive, and you cannot skip them or put them aside for a while. You have to do them basically first thing when you arrive. It has a very good story line and is probably one of the most exciting games.

The Good: The museum is full of Mayan facts to look at and enjoy and there are also a couple Mayan ‘games’ you have to play, but are very fun.

The Bad: The Deputy Curator duties, and the fact that you need to know all the facts to move on in the game.

#7 GHOST DOGS OF MOON LAKE

When Nancy gets a call from her friend Sally in Moon Lake, PA, she hurries out right away. But when she arrives, Sally’s gone, and Nancy’s left to find out what made Sally leave. When Sally calls, she starts breaking up when she mentions the ‘ghost dogs’. Nancy then witnesses a ghost dog attack herself when she’s in the house, alone! Nancy then sets out to find where the dogs are coming from, and as she does so, she learns many things about the mysterious house Sally bought. With a store owner, a park ranger, and a more then avid birdwatcher as suspects, Nancy must find out which one is trying to scare Sally away from her house- and why!

In this game, Nancy has a PDA, but no laptop. She can now call Frank and Joe Hardy in addition to the typical Bess and George. You can change whether it’s day or night, but not the specific hour. There are a lot of confusing puzzles and clues that really make you think. It’s not one of the best games, but it’s still lots of fun!

The Good: The ghost dog scene is very cool to watch. You also get more places to move around; you aren’t stuck in one house.

The Bad: When you have to collect bugs for Emily. It takes forever! Finding your way through the forest every time you need to go to the cemetery isn’t fun either. Too many turns!

#8 THE HAUNTED CAROUSEL

Nancy is invited to the Captain’s Cove Amusement Park in New Jersey to investigate some accidents that have taken place over the past couple months. First, the lead horse is stolen. Then the roller coaster stops mid-ride, injuring people. Now, the carousel is starting up all by itself in the middle of the night. Who is behind all this? The procrastinating arts director? The joyless office manager? The smart chief engineer? Or the evasive security guard? Your job is to find out who is out to sabotage the park and why.

This game is very short and easy to solve; we did it in a few hours. You are also now equipped with the all-important cell phone!! Now you can call people from anywhere in the game; you’re no longer restricted by having to go back and forth to the phone at your room. The phone in your room is now to call for room service. You once again have your laptop. You can also ride the carousel all you want!

The Good: This is the quickest of all the games. There are fun arcade games to play and a cool hidden room.

The Bad: Miles the Magnificent Memory Machine. He’s this machine in the office manager’s office given to her by her late father. He gives you puzzles to solve, which are fun, but talking to him can get annoying.

#9 DANGER ON DECEPTION ISLAND

You are invited by one of George’s friends to come on a whale-watching trip in her boat, but (yep, you guessed it) her vacation just turns into another mystery. Her friend, Katie Firestone, who owns a whale-watching business, comes back to her boat to find it has been vandalized. So much for the trip! Now Nancy’s on the case and trying to figure out who would do this- even Katie’s a suspect. Nancy learns about an orphaned Orca out in the channel that is turning citizens against each other- and especially against Katie. But would a whale make someone trash her boat? You’ll find out in this game.

The cell phone is back, and so is the chance to call Frank and Joe Hardy. Your laptop is now equipped with an anagram buster, useful later in the game. Places you can visit on your bike (don’t forget your helmet!) are the Hot Kettle Café, where people come for the great clam chowder (you can sample some), Whale World, a rival whale watching business owned by a friendly whale lover, and the lighthouse, where you can skip rocks or find secrets in the tower. In addition to biking, you can also kayak (don’t forget the life jacket!) around to caverns and hidden beaches. But be careful and don’t go past the channel markers- it will end the game and force you to use second chance. This game, full of passageways and mysterious people, is one of the best they’ve made.

The Good: When you visit Whale World, you can play a number of non-related arcade-like games- all featuring whales and very fun.

The Bad: Kayaking to get to important places isn’t always fun. In addition, a later puzzle poses problems as you have to count only certain things, and it’s very confusing.

#10 THE SECRET OF SHADOW RANCH

Based on the best-selling Nancy Drew book of all time, this game is one of the best and is probably one of my favorites. In this game she’s trying for another vacation, but this time at a ranch owned by Bess’s aunt and uncle, Ed and Bet Rawley. Nancy arrives at the house to find that not only has Bess and George’s plane has been delayed, but their aunt and uncle are at the hospital! Nancy calls the Rawleys and straightens everything out, but they leave one detail out- and Nancy needs to ask an employee to get it. A phantom horse was seen near the house when the accident happened. And now, every time the horse appears, something bad happens. As Nancy tries to find the culprit, the house’s history unfolds to reveal a sweet western love story and hints that gold might be hidden near. Now on a search for the gold and the vandal, you need to talk to many suspects and find many clues as you work your way around the great southwest.

In this game, they re-did the game window to make it much more attractive and easier to use. It still has all the main things- including her cell phone, which now has Internet access (how spiffy!), and they added a ‘To-Do List’ for the junior detectives out there. Instead of biking or taking the metro, you get around like any cowgirl would- on a horse! You can travel to see glyphs on old stones, a general store with but one game, a trail stop, and a ghost town with secrets galore. While back at the ranch… you can practice your riding, read about horses and more, bake a cake, find hidden compartments and talk to the hands (although some of them aren’t too friendly!). Like I said before, this game is fun and has a great storyline.

The Good: The Ghost town is great- you can explore all over. Another fun thing is baking the cake- you even get to decorate it!

The Bad: Having to ride the horse everywhere and putting on its saddle every time. It’s not really that bad, but after having to go back and forth, you get sick of it.

#11 CURSE OF BLACKMOOR MANOR

The first out-of-country mystery, game #11 is placed in England, in a fourteenth century castle. Commissioned by a worried mother, Nancy must find out why Linda Penvellyn is refusing to come out of her room and not letting anyone see her. Linda just got married to the heir of the Penvellyn mansion, where the mystery takes place. Her husband had a daughter from a previous marriage, Jane, who is staying with them at the mansion. His aunt and a family historian are also staying at the place. Who is trying to scare Linda off? And why? It’s your job to find out as you explore this castle and learn the many secrets of the Penvellyn family.

Jane, a game lover, wants you to play a game every chance you get. Some of the games are from previous Nancy Drews (specifically Secret of Shadow Ranch and Secret of the Scarlet Hand) and when you need a break, they are pretty fun to do.

The Good: The intro is pretty cool, and there are a couple cut scenes that are fun to watch.

The Bad: Honestly, this is probably my least favorite game. It seems pretty easy at first, but as you get deeper into the mystery you find out that this, again, is a major note taking game. Most of the puzzles you have to solve are more irritating than fun, and there are tons of silly things that take way too long to do. In addition, there’s a kind of glitch in the game that when you do a certain thing, it scares off a suspect and they don’t come back, which ruins the game. You’d think you could use second chance, but it doesn’t really work.

#12 THE SECRET OF THE OLD CLOCK

Another game based on a best selling book, this game is very different from the rest. Celebrating the 75th anniversary of Nancy Drew, they made a game that is actually set in the 1930s!

When called by Emily Crandall to help her secure her late mother’s prized jewelry, Nancy sets out in her blue roadster to the Lilac Inn. When Nancy gets there, the jewels are stolen and Emily begs Nancy to help her get them back. She is very poor and at the moment, she doesn’t know if she can keep the Lilac Inn going. Nancy soon finds out about their neighbor, Josiah Crowley, who had died recently, and how Emily had counted on being in his will and receiving a large amount of money. Instead the money had gone to his ESP teacher, a man now living in Josiah’s house. Nancy has to find out the secrets hidden in the Inn and at the neighbor’s. But Nancy can also drive around in her roadster, all around town, and can get gas and deliver telegrams for money to spend later. No more cell phones and laptops (for now). A pay phone is on the porch of the Inn and you can actually call Nancy’s dad! This game is lots of fun and even includes a mini golf course for you to play at your leisure or for a prize.

The Good: This time, our mode of transportation is fun, and the mini golf is great if you want to take a break.

The Bad: The ending. It takes forever to get to, and you have to do it over and over.

#13 LAST TRAIN TO BLUE MOON CANYON

We finally get to meet the Hardy Boys in person!

The story starts out as they invite us to come along with them on a mysterious train ride set up by socialite Lori Girard. Lori has summoned together the greatest minds in the mystery business to solve an old secret and their first clue is the train- and they’re taking a ride on it for the next couple days. Miner Jake Hurley once owned the train and rode it every where with his wife, Camille, who died shortly after starting the trip. Jake decided to continue mining and look for riches. But one day, the train was found in Blue Moon Canyon, with the engineer dead and Jake gone. He had found the mother lode and only gave hints to find it in a letter to a family member, which Lori lets you take. With only a cryptic letter to go on, can you figure out this baffling case?

Although it may seem as though you’ll be on the train the whole time, you won’t. Later, you stop in Copper Gorge, Colorado, where you can explore and meet some… I’ll just say interesting… characters. Working with the Hardy Boys is great, and you get to meet Charleena Purcell in person (you talk to her over the phone in Shadow Ranch). This game is one of the better ones and the puzzles are just hard enough, but not too hard.

The Good: You get to meet a lot of funny people in Copper Gorge, and playing with the Hardy Boys is fun, too.

The Bad: Walking around the train- it takes forever!

#14 DANGER BY DESIGN

We’re in Europe again, but this time in Paris, working as an intern (as a cover) for up and coming fashion designer, Minette. The reason for the trip out here is that Minette hasn’t been herself lately and her financial supporter wants to make sure she’s ok. You find that Minette hides behind a white mask and has tantrums often. You must find out what is wrong with Minette while you discover the secrets of the Moulin (or windmill) where she works.

This one is great- you can travel around using the metro and explore the catacombs while dodging police. You can visit your suspects and develop film as well as ideas as you move along in the game. There is no cell phone or laptop (how will we live without them?!?!?) so you have to go to the Moulin or where you’re staying to make a call. By the way, don’t let the two discs scare you- no switching here! One is the install disc and one is the play disc. Games 15 and 16 have two discs also.

The Good: It’s fun to walk around 3D Paris and barter and buy at the flea market at Pont Neuf.

The Bad: The catacombs. Too many tunnels! Oh, and the ending. Make sure you study that ‘Ichi-do’ book, no matter how weird it is (and it IS weird, especially the pictures!)

#15 THE CREATURE OF KAPU CAVE

The Hardy Boys are back! But this time we’re in beautiful Hawaii. Nancy is simply here for an internship- although I’m sure you can guess what will happen. Frank and Joe are here on assignment to check out the owner of Big Island Mike’s Immersion Excursions and his daughter.

Nancy meets Frank and Joe at the beach but is separated when she goes to her internship. The boys stay at the beach and you can switch back and forth between Nancy and the guys by calling each other. Nancy then finds the camp she’s supposed to be at completely vandalized, and a story unfolds as she’s there. A pineapple crop has been destroyed, and people are blaming it on Kane Okala, the resident monster, and the plant research facility. Who is really behind it all? Play as Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys to solve the case! Something kind of funny to do is play the Wiki Tiki game in Big Island Mike’s office. It plays a cute little song as you play and your prize is a shark’s tooth, which can be used to make a certain type of necklace.

The Good: Making money selling necklaces and fishing!

The Bad: Weighing the ‘frass’ for Quigley Kim (Nancy’s doing the internship for her)

#16 THE WHITE WOLF OF ICICLE CREEK

We head up to Canada when lodge owner Chantal Moique calls Nancy to help her figure out some recurring accidents. You go to the Icicle Creek Lodge and pose as a maid and cook as you try to find out who is behind all the problems. In addition, a white wolf shows up every time there’s an accident (remember Shadow Ranch?), causing people to think it’s bad luck. Some want to kill it, some think it’s beautiful. But either way, someone is trying to get Chantal to leave. But whom?

We get to talk over the telephone with Tino Balducci (from Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon) and we are again deprived of our laptop and cell phone. Another plus- they once again re-did the game screen and it looks really nice. We also found an ‘easter egg’ that you can only find by talking to yourself often…

The Good: Cooking up meals, talking to Freddie (a scary-voiced little girl who challenges you to a snowball fight often).

The Bad: The ending (which is reminiscent of The Old Clock), and shoveling off the skating pond.

Wow… so many games, so little time!

Thanks for reading my lovely little review/extensive explanation of each game. I hope it was helpful. Overall, I have really enjoyed playing these games and I personally am sitting on the edge of my chair until the next one comes out.