Everyone loves Nancy Drew.  Well, everyone with any sense, anyway. 

Are you a Mom with a daughter?  Looking for a fun activity to do together?  Read on . . .

Does it surprise you that moi, , rough-and-ready manly man Ray Ivey that I am, am a huge Nancy Drew fan?  It shouldn’t.  I do have a big sister, after all, and I grew up with the books in the house.  I loved them.  Of course, when I became aware of Teen Sleuth Series that was gender-appropriate, I tried it.  But like many other disappointed readers I quickly learned that compared to Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys are lame, lame lame.

I also love computer games, and so I was very happy that Seattle software developers Her Interactive (“For Girls Who Aren’t Afraid of the Mouse”) began releasing Nancy Drew adventure games in the late 1990s.  Since 1998, in fact, they have released twenty-one of them. The games are terrific, and I’ve long been a big fan of them. 

Starting a few years ago, a new type of casual adventure games began appearing on the PC.  Known as “Hidden Object” games, they are fast, fun, and yes – casual.  I love them as well.

Therefore I’m very happy to report that the talented folks at Her Interactive have adapted the plucky teen sleuth for the Hidden Object Game market! 

Their spin-off series is called The Nancy Drew Dossier, and I just had the pleasure of finishing the first game, Lights, Camera, Curses. 

The plot is classic Nancy:  There’s been trouble on a movie set!  A remake of an old Egyptian epic has been plagued by mysterious accidents, and Miss Drew has been tasked with going undercover to get to the bottom of the mystery.

Upon launching the game, I immediately recognized that Her Interactive’s biggest strength – recreating that elusive yet essential “Nancy Drew Vibe” – had translated beautifully into this new, more casual format.  All of the elements of the game – art, music, sound, voice work, puzzles and arcade sequences – work together to immerse the player in that irresistable atmosphere created by the original books. 

The game takes the Hidden Object formula and adds a nice twist:  The goal on most screens is to figure out how pairs of objects work together.  This makes the hunting-and-finding chores feel less like chores and more like good detective work. 

The plot, which features a greedy studio head, a flamboyant film director, a questionable production manager and a high-maintenance star, feels just right as well.

Clues are important to pay attention to, as at several points Nancy finds herself in conversations in which the player must choose the correct responses based on the information that has been available.

The game includes several fun mini-games which add a nice break from the hunt-and-find action.

Sneaking around the movie sets and production offices as Nancy Drew is a blast.

My only regret is that it took me so long to get to this game, which was released in 2008.  Upon finishing it, I immediately went back to Big Fish and downloaded the second game in the series, Resorting to Danger. 

I highly recommend The Nancy Drew Dossier:  Lights, Camera, Curses to Mom-and-daughter teams and to anyone else who is a fan of the durably appealing teen sleuth.