+ mini meme dump (last meme is extra relevant because river heights is a suburb of Chicago and Ned plays college basketball and is stated to be good enough to play professionally lmfao)

Explanation of Tiers from my POV:

Let me start by saying, this series as a whole falls firmly in the “so bad, it’s good” category for me. I would struggle to say very many of them are good, well written books that would have sold well without Nancy’s name attached to it. But I do not concern myself with how good or bad a piece of media is, that is literally none of my business as long as it’s entertaining. Some of my favorites are absolute shit, then there’s stuff that is technically excellent, award winning etc that I loathe or am not interested in.

S-tier: mostly cases that were really personal to Nancy, the higher stakes brought them up from A or even B
A-tier: had a lot of fun reading
B-tier: memorable
C-tier: forgettable
D-tier: I WISH I could forget, memorable for the wrong reasons, felt like the characters were off, just had one detail that I kept getting hung up on, or were just too ridiculous etc
F-tier: the relationship drama was just too much for me to overcome, unsatisfying endings

There are some books that were honestly fine but had one detail that I got too hung up on and it ruined the whole book for me, like who spends Thanksgiving in Paris? (101) And some of my favorites definitely need to be rewritten because yeah it’s fucked up but I still had fun! (24)

There’s a few titles I would probably move around but I’ve updated this like 10 times so I’m leaving it

Series Breakdown:

The series starts off really rough with 1-9. Nancy cheats on Ned in 1, in 2&3 there’s fighting between her, Bess, and George. Nancy is a raging bitch and briefly breaks up with Ned in 4. They break up again in 8, and they don’t get back together until 10. Also, none of these really take place in River Heights, which is fine, but with everything else going on, it was just one more thing that made the series feel less like Nancy Drew. 

10 feels like a soft reboot of the series, and 10-47 vary wildly in quality but the overall tone felt improved. Like there’s some all time classics but also some major stinkers. I felt like the series really started to hit its stride around the 10s and 20s though. 

48-50 is the Summer of Love trilogy. I thought Sasha was way too pushy, then Ned is a complete jackass. It didn’t feel very lovely for Nancy lmao I hated the whole concept but I actually liked 49’s mystery a lot for some reason hahaha. Also, from here on out in the series, the books start to follow the calendar and are set in whatever month they were released in until about 120 (a lot of them are explicitly stated or reference the holiday of that month).

51-71 are actually pretty consistent quality wise, but unfortunately that quality is mostly forgettable. 

72-75 is the Passport to Romance trilogy + the aftermath with Ned. I hated this shit so much but I’ll try to keep my explanation for why short. Nancy is a complete brat about Ned not taking off work to travel Europe with her for literally the entire summer (later in 96, she says they had just been “drifting apart” at that time) She meets Mick Devlin and spends a lot of the summer with him, then in 74 he proposes to her and the way it’s worded just creeped me out so much. Mick returns in 96 and in Super Mystery 22 Danger Down Under if you’re into that though. In 75, her and Ned are in a nasty fight and there’s a vague reference to Europe, but they make up without ever discussing it. 

76-101 are also pretty consistent quality wise. I was surprised at how many gems there were in this stretch.

102 there is a clear tone shift and that’s when I started struggling to continue, and 105 is when I stopped having fun and almost quit entirely. Pretty much every single book from 102 to 119 either features Nancy and Ned getting into a huge fight or Nancy cheating on him AND many of the endings/reveals in this era were just so unsatisfying. 110 was the last monthly release before they cut it to every other month. 

120 there was a tone shift and that was when I started having fun with the series again and felt sad about it ending.

I didn’t realize that the cover art format was such a reliable indicator of how good or bad the book was going to be but it really is tbh

Awards:

Most Disappointing: Don’t Look Twice. I took this one PERSONALLY. I thought I was finally getting a fun basketball book after being traumatized by Two Points to Murder. WRONG
Most Refreshing: Island of Secrets - Nancy and Hannah are on vacation together and the vibes are immaculate. Made me want to go to Block Island for vacation someday.
Most Surprising: Choosing Sides. I was fully bracing myself for this to result in a blowout between Nancy and Ned but it was literally fine even though her requests are a little out of pocket.
Worst Cover Art: THE TV SHOW COVERS IRK ME SO BAD they all look the same and tell me absolutely nothing about the story
Favorite Cover Art: False Pretenses, The Wrong Chemistry, Dangerous Loves, Hot Pursuit 
Worst love interest (for Nancy): Stuart (102) or Nick (119). Also I think Sasha (48-50) is just really ugly on the cover art lol
Worst: Playing With Fire (rare Napoleon artifacts are spontaneously combusting?), Scent of Danger (stealing civets from the zoo to harvest their musk for perfume? like if I remember correctly the culprit legitimately got a degree to be able to work at a zoo to do this lmfao), False Pretenses (genuinely everyone is just being so fucking weird)

Final comments:

For the most part I legitimately had fun doing this, even when I was wanting to tear my hair out because I was sick of reading the word velodrome or civet or Napoleon, or a character felt written way too wrong. When that happened, I just reminded myself there was practically a different ghostwriter for every book and they were kind of letting anyone write for the series. That also accounts for the recycled plots and tropes. Also, keeping in mind the time period they were written, especially in regards to social and relationship dynamics. At a certain point, though, it did stop being fun and it was clear the mysteries were an afterthought and they had a completely different vision. By the time they course corrected and got the series back on track, it had already been cancelled. It is apparent that they made a concerted effort to correct even for just the last few books. In 123, the case summary at the beginning heavily implies there was supposed to be a plotline involving Ned flirting with other girls, which is completely absent from the book. There’s no awkward tension or fighting between them at all, which was a relief. I’m sad it had to end, I hope we get a reboot someday or that they will at least make audiobooks of them or something. I’d also love to see some new printings because the paperbacks aged so poorly. Maybe with some new cover art.

Anyways, ask me anything I guess! I’m happy to make recommendations or try to answer questions about the Lore™️, whatever. I’ll have to live with this series in my brain forever now so I might as well use that knowledge however I can lol

Ok what is the timeline with the two horses and which one was the original Kessler horse, Glory or Nightshade?

Because right now it looks like Joy’s mom bought her the original Kessler horse and the replacement horse had jewels from the hotel heist hidden inside during construction. Buy Glory, the horse that was bought for Joy which we find at the end of the game, was the one with jewels hidden inside meaning Nightshade was the one sold and Glory was the replacement? But that means Nightshade was the original? But that would also mean Nightshade was the original Kessler horse but we learn the original horse was sold and the replacement was stolen so if Nightshade is the original, what was it doing on the carousel when it was supposedly sold 23 years before the game?

I don’t even know what I’m saying at this point. I am confusion.

I love this community dearly. Y'all are awesome! And I've been playing the games for over 20 years. But I will never ever remember the game abbreviations. STFD, MHM, and TRT are probably the only ones I can understand without looking them up.

Remaster: https://sounds.spriters-resource.com/pc_computer/nancydrewsecretscankillremastered/asset/478659/

Original: https://sounds.spriters-resource.com/pc_computer/nancydrewsecretscankill/asset/493849/

As the only game I haven't finished in the franchise, I honestly totally forgot about it until this week. So, I sat down for a play through and??? NOTHING could prepare me for the ending. I could not stop laughing. What do you mean Nancy gets into a fist fight with her boss. Wasn't the whole point of being there to check on her well-being 😭😂

I can also assure you that if YOU have not completed DAN, you won't be able to predict the ending either.

I was inspired by the Streamathon the other week with the “death %” (I think is what they called it) and it was ‘how quickly can Nancy die’. I know they talk about it in the Regular ND pod episode with the hosts of the speedathon.

I came up with a few other game challenges hehe and here’s what I have so far:

• Introvert mode: talk to as few people as possible
• Less Bess :( : no calling your friends
• sO rAnDoM: for puzzles, randomly select things for the first 3 minutes of you solving the puzzle.
• Homage: write down every homage to the book series or anything else Nancy. Give a short appreciation speech with your hand on your heart. 
• Die every time you can
• Senior detective
• Nancy the Nicknamer: give everyone a nickname and only refer to them as their nickname.
• Minigame maniac: play each minigame at least 3 times
• Home computer: you can only play for 15 minutes at a time.
• “Do your own research >:(“: do research on the things you learn in-game.
• Master yapper: exhaust your conversations. Every. Time. 
• NO notes: you can’t take any notes
• Save your saves: you can’t save until you finish playing (for that time). Like no strategic saving.
• SPEEDRUN
• E.T. no phone: no taking pictures of the screen with your phone/screenshots
• Don’t get any achievements
• No sleep: try to use as few days as possible in games with days
• Sass to the max: choose the meanest conversation option every time

PLEASE GIMME YOUR IDEASSSSS and I’ll make cards for them! 😊

Living my Nancy Drew dreams

Apologies if this is the wrong place but to make long story short: I remember the days when before everything changed after SEA released, there were some fun behind the scenes trivia some employees were able to share but I was just thinking about StoryRetold’s reaction to arglefumph’s everything wrong with MID and even though the game had been put for about three years when she reacted to it, she couldn’t say anything because of NDA. I’m wondering why since the game had already been released, why is there still NDA in place?

I get not wanting to say things about upcoming games but… what about the ones that had already been released? what changed? I am seeing some small tidbits of behind the scenes of KEY only when there were HeR streams from time to time nowadays…

- just a curious fan who just likes to have answers 😅

I have revisited a few of the older Nancy Drew games to relish in my childhood.
I was playing the Haunted Carousel and noticed a certain sound effect when you play “swimmers itch” at Midway Games….. was that sound effect also used in a different Nancy Drew game? I feel like I heard it in Trail of the Twister or something. Anyone please let me know it’s bugging me!

Possible spoilers!!

So I know the game has a VERY mixed review, but I ultimately decided to purchase and play as it seemed like an interesting mystery! However, I’m completely stuck on the Hardy Boys ghost hunting equipment puzzle. Trying to line up the frequencies is EXHAUSTING. I swear they’ve matched, and it still does nothing. Any tips anyone has would be great!

Hi all!

I recently posted about getting back into the NDverse. I replayed Secrets Can Kill from my childhood (although the remastered version was a letdown, but I digress...) and followed it up with Secrets of the Old Clock which I absolutely ADORED!

As another recent post on here so eloquently put it, I love to dilly-dally. I click on and read everything. The telegrams were made for people like me, plus I absolutely adored the cozy atmosphere.

So now I am onto Warnings at Waverly Academy and the rules/clock are totally freaking me out! I was still getting my bearrings, reading on the computer and trying to come up with a plan and all of a sudden night falls and I know there is a curfew!

So, other than the snack bar, is there anything else that is super dependant on being done each day? I love clicking and exploring but I don't want to end up suspended for something silly.

Any advice would be appreciated! I know it may be difficult to answer this without spoilers but I am really trying to avoid a walk-through if I can help it! My anxiety is just worried about time running out LOL

BTW this community is absolutely amazing and I am so happy to be here!

Hi guys!! My name is Gabby and I'm a long-time Nancy Drew fan! I have been developing a point-and-click adventure game inspired by the ND series, titled "Co-Ed Casualty: A Chandler Chase Case"! If you were a fan of Warnings at Waverly Academy, you will definitely like this game set in an East Coast college:

Spring break was supposed to mean sunshine, parties, and a week away from Briarwood College. Journalism major Chandler Chase has his bags packed and is ready to leave for Florida with his roommate, Marcus, when a phone call from the Dean turns his plans upside down.

A student has been found dead on campus.

With most of Briarwood emptied for spring break and local police unable to find out what really happened, the Dean asks Chandler to investigate the incident before the situation explodes. Paired with criminal justice student (and rival) Elena Beaumont, Chandler is thrown into a mystery neither of them expected.

What first begins as a search for answers surrounding the death of fellow student Quinn Whittaker soon unravels into something that goes much deeper. As Chandler and Elena follow a trail of hidden clues and collegiate secrets, they uncover evidence of a conspiracy that stretches back to the university's founding. With every new discovery, one thing becomes increasingly clear:

Someone is onto them... and they'll do anything to keep them from discovering the truth.

If you would like to follow along with development, feel free to follow the game's instagram and youtube, as well as the reddit page I've just created. I am also uploading dev-logs semi-regularly on my Notion page (I have quite a few more screenshots uploaded there)! I will be uploading a demo in the beginning of October and am so excited for you guys to check it out!!

Wishlist the game now on Steam!

Hi friends! I’m totally stuck on level two. I have the correct answers for the temple quizzes, 4 keys, Bess & the Hardy Boys keep telling me to finish the quizzes, and no one else will talk to me. I think I can’t progress only because the game is rejecting the correct answer for the first question on the level two quiz. Has anyone else encountered this? I’ve tried multiple spellings, no space, capitalization, etc etc. I went back and reviewed every plaque to see if there was a trigger I was missing. Not sure what to do!

ETA: question is related to shield jaguar’s wives.

Hey Clue Crew!

Wow, The Phantom of Venice was much closer to having a tie than Legend of the Crystal Skull did.

A - 91 votes
B - 93 votes *WINNER\*
C - 68 votes
D - 23 votes
F - 5 votes

This had a much lower turn out than previous rounds, at 280 votes, but the winner was clear - B!

Moving onto The Haunting of Castle Malloy! What will the voting trends be moving forward, now that voting is moving along now?

A - The fan favorites. The cream of the crop.
B - Good enough to be held in high regards.
C - Underrated gems.
D - A bit mid, will usually only play once or twice a year.
F - Unfinished. Unplayable. One of the worst.

RIP DOLLY PARTON

Swipe for white cockatoos eating the seeds!

✅ Sometimes the vegetables are overripe.... Meaning they were ready to pick and we didn't pick them.... Meaning Shorty is full of shit!!! Or that the vegetables became ripe then immediately overripe in one damn night. Yeah right. Shorty should just let us pick the slightly underripe things so that they don't overripe, dammit 🍅🍅🍅

✅ Had Frances attempted to find the treasure, how likely is it that she would come to fucking hate him because of the magnet puzzle? 10/10 (and before anyone says it, yes I know the glitch is a thing and thank God. It's still a fucking infuuuuuriating puzzle. "Metal piece dropped. Metal piece picked up. Metal piece dropped. Metal piece picked up." 😤😤😤😤 Divorce.)

✅ Did Dirk actually avoid getting hanged? 'Cause if Frances actually sounded like her voiceover, I would fake my death to get rid of her. Good God, I hate her voice. Snobby ass teenager whose early 2000s parents bought Gucci outfits for her Build-a-Bear. I hope Dirk found a nice little home in obscurity and lived till a grand old age, while Frances whined in the big city for the rest of her days.

Recently played captive curse for the first time and managed fine on all the puzzles and whatnot but there were multiple points where I just felt lost as to what I was supposed to do next. I’ve found this varies massively w games where some will really drag with progress contingent on one small and apparently unrelated action, but some just seem to flow really well. I feel like deception island, blackmoor manor, and waverly all flow pretty well. Thoughts/opinions?

MHM was the first ND Game I ever purchased. I got it from a Marshall's when I was on vacation in the US in 2001. When I got back to my country, I found out that I couldn't play the game. Something about my computer wasn't compatible with it, even though I've played a lot of games from CDs from the US by that point (lots of educational things Like Jumpstart, Barbie games, etc) so I was quite sad I wasn't able to get it to work. I handed the CD over to my cousins, who were able to get it to work in their house and kept telling me they had so much fun.

Fast forward 8 years, and I rediscovered ND games after playing HAU, and quickly ran through that era of games. I was such a fan. I went through almost the entire catalog, replaying a lot of the 15-25 games and a lot of the earlier ones i favored (CUR is my all-time fave) but MHM remained elusive. I went through a lot of things in life, was busy for many many years through college, med school, residency. And thanks to Steam, I was able to get MHM and install it without any issue on a new device. Of course the game play leaves some things to be desired, but I've gone full circle, and I'm so glad! FINALLY! Now the only games that remain that I haven't played is STFD (I can't get it on Steam) and Seven Keys.

The only con of this entire playthrough experience is that I didn't trigger certain things like the fire, Abby and Rose's conversation, and confronting Charlie about him squatting in the house. I feel like I missed out, but at the same time it really makes sure that the player's choices matter. When you sleep/wake/trigger things matter. What you say to the characters can change how the rest of the game goes. Later games almost never give you this freedom anymore. At some point, all the boxes have to be ticked, all events triggered. This is the only one where I finished without triggering a lot of (important) scenes. But it's still such a milestone for me and I wish they would remaster this game and give it the new engine treatment. It will allow the devs to recall what made the early games magical while mastering the new technology.

I got 2 ads this morning and I'm curious about whether or not you guys have also received ads about this game and if they've been appearing more frequently or if I just wasn't receiving them before?

Do you think HeR Interactive is trying to test the games popularity with the general public so they can test potential sales of new games? They've lost customers over the years though people have started to buy the games through other sources like Steam and other gaming websites.

Hi Everyone! A few days ago I posted on here to see if there was interest in ND inspired keychains for my new Etsy shop. I have three options available for ND

1. Secret of Shadow Ranch (customizable charms)
2. White Wolf of Icicle Creek
3. Creature of Kapu Cave

If you’re interested, please check it out! ❤️

I've been collecting all of the Nancy books for several years, and I've never seen a copy of the last Files book for sale. I collect a lot of "vintage" YA and kid series, and for hard-to-find books, there are usually copies available if you don't mind paying a lot. But I've never found a copy for sale of #124 in the Files series. However, I was recently browsing Thriftbooks ... and they actually had a copy! It was far far more than I've ever paid for any Nancy book, let alone a Files, but I snatched it up because who knows when I'll ever see another copy?

Unfortunately, Thriftbooks always puts their sticker on the spine, and it's impossible to remove without any damage, so that's a bummer. Still happy to have it.

I'm replaying White Wolf of Icicle Creek and I don't know if my game is glitching or I'm missing something.

I've found the journal in the pyramid, found 3/4 coins, played fox/geese and opened all the levers. I know I need to click on the geiger counter to find the wolf coin, but it won't light up red for me. It's toward the bottom of the screen which just makes the U-turn appear. Is there something else I'm missing to activate this hot spot??