I collect Nancy Drew game variants and releases. This collection has been growing over the years, and I have hyper-focused on it as of recent after organizing my collection and realizing just how many variants there are. These variants include the CD’s, slip covers, cases, back of the cases, cover images, manuals, inclusions, etc. I won’t show a picture of every single element of these, but I will try to at least explain them. Some of my boxes are sealed, and I am not going to open them, so this won’t have every possible scan of things. This is a constant work in progress, so if images are missing for things, they should eventually be added, it could just be because my version of something the back is torn up or the cover is torn up etc.
Images on the page have had their quality lowered to decrease load time. Open the images in a new tab to see the high resolution versions!
For ease, I will be using the official abbreviations of the games. Here is a list of them to refer to for those who do not know them:
| SCK-Secrets Can Kill | STFD-Stay Tuned for Danger | MHM-Message in a Haunted Mansion | TRT-Treasure in the Royal Tower | FIN-The Final Scene | SSH-Secret of the Scarlet Hand | DOG-Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake |
| CAR-The Haunted Carousel | DDI-Danger on Deception Island | SHA-The Secret of Shadow Ranch | CUR-Curse of Blackmoor Manor | CLK-Secret of the Old Clock | TRN-Last Train to Bluemoon Canyon | DAN-Danger by Design |
| CRE-Creature of Kapu Cave | ICE-White Wolf of Icicle Creek | CRY-Legend of the Crystal Skull | VEN-The Phantom of Venice | HAU-The Haunting of Castle Malloy | RAN-Ransom of the Seven Ships | WAC-Warnings at Waverly Academy |
| TOT-Trail of the Twister | SCKR-Secrets Can Kill Remastered | SAW-Shadow at the Water’s Edge | CAP-The Captive Curse | ASH-Alibi in Ashes | TMB-Tomb of the Lost Queen | DED-The Deadly Device |
| GTH-Ghost of Thornton Hall | SPY-The Silent Spy | MED-The Shattered Medallion | LIE-Labyrinth of Lies | SEA-Sea of Darkness | MID-Midnight in Salem | LLC-Lights, Cameras, Curses |
| RED-Resorting to Danger | SOS-Ship of Shadows |
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Basic CD Variants
There are a few common styles of CD styles that have been released. I am going to show an example of each that way people can refer back to them whenever I later on mention a specific style. There are some other variants, but they are usually one offs or for releases by a different publisher.
Click me to show basic CD releases!
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The First Few Releases
Secrets Can Kill had its own unique release, then one that followed the same format of Stay Tuned for Danger.
Click me to show first release information!
Original SCK
Sadly, I don’t own this yet, but it looks similar to an audio book CD case and has the Nancy silhouette over a picture of Aunt Eloise’ hallway.
Original STFD + Second SCK
Stay Tuned for Danger has a black case and a white case variant. Everything else is the same. My SCK has some fading, so it should really be the color of the STFD case.
Cover
Back
CD
Big Boxes
Like other adventure games of the time, several of the games had big box releases. I believe the big boxed forms are the original releases for MHM-FIN. SCK and STFD were also released in this form. There are rare copies of SHA and CUR released in big boxes, but they show up for sale even less than the other big box games. The 75th anniversary pack also has a big box version.
Cover
Back
Inside
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Standard DVD Case Sized Releases
These releases are ones that are the size of the standard PC box releases you may see at stores now.
Average Box Size
These boxes are your standard PC game case you see nowadays, except these boxes have cardboard inside that holds the manual and whatnot as opposed to a cardboard slipcover and then a plastic case inside. SCK-CRE have boxes like this. CLK-CRE have editions that included their game guides inside, and they also have banners on the cover telling you they have them. CRE also has an edition that included a graphic novel, and the case has a banner on the front as well that is different from the guide banner. Notice how the FIN inside was made wrong as the lock on the right inside flap is behind the image of Brady rather than on top of it. This applies to all printings of this version I believe.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
The older games can have CD type variants seemingly based on what CD’s were on hand. Older games can have the colored CD’s with Nancy standing hunched over, CD’s with Nancy standing up straight, and CD’s that are silver with Nancy standing hunched over. I haven’t seen a DDI that is colored with Nancy hunched over. SSH seems to always be the silver CD with the big Nancy partial silhouette on the left side.
Slipcover and Plastic DVD Case – Thick
These games have cardboard slipcovers and plastic cases for the games.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
Slipcover and Plastic DVD Case – Thin
These games have cardboard slipcovers and plastic cases for the games. Note that I believe ICE and CRY do not have slim versions with slipcovers. They are otherwise the same as the thick ones, so I will include my thick cover scans for those which have both thick and thin versions. TMB does NOT have an openable slipcover.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
Plastic DVD Case – Thin
There are some releases that don’t have slipcovers. These cases have specially designed backs to reflect the fact they never had a slipcover such as there being more screenshots included. DED and on never had slipcovers. Most of the covers match the slip cover versions, but it should be noted that CRY-RAN the copies that never had a slip cover no longer have the black bar on top of the case. The CD’s match the slip cover versions. DED and on never had slipcovers. MID has a variant that is actually printed correctly.
Click me to show cover, back, and CD images of these releases!
Since the page already has to load a lot, I’m only going to include covers where this version impacts the cover, and I’m only going to include CD’s where the CD is different for this version.
Cover
Back
CD
The older games can have CD type variants seemingly based on what CD’s were on hand. Older games can have every type of CD inside these cases. CUR has a white CD variant that I have only ever seen in the no slip cover case, so I am including it here.
Plastic DVD Case – Bonus/Special Editions
These are the bonus editions. Some have the bonus logo made into the cover and some have it as a sticker on the outside plastic. I saved the stickers, so I sat them on the cover. Only ASH was released with a slip cover with the bonus edition because it was the 25th anniversary.
Click me to show cover, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Since the page already has to load a lot, I am not going to include the back of the games or inside of ASH as they’re the same as the normal versions.
Cover
CD
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Jewel Case Sized Releases
There are a lot of releases that are normal CD case sized. None of the original releases are in this size, for any game. It should be noted that this applies to English releases only. At least the Russian game releases are sold in normal CD case sizes. A good way to tell if a CD/case is an older release is that older releases have the silhouette of Nancy with a magnifying glass looking down while newer ones have her standing straight up.
There are four main jewel case types and some offshoots.
The above image is oldest on top then newest on bottom. You can see that the newest release has a red HER logo. The case also is a slip cover and not a box, so it has an open top and bottom. The second jewel case also is open with no top and bottom. The oldest has black on the side and front, and the Nancy on the cover has her leaning down. Nancy on the two newer releases has her standing up and have colored sides. Due to having flaps on the top and bottom, the middle release is a bit taller. The oldest cases have Dreamcatcher listed on the side and front, different font on the cover, and part of the cover is yellow.
The copyright dates are deceptive. I have the second oldest and new jewel case releases for DOG, and the older version of the game has a 2005 copyright and the newer has a 2003 copyright. But the back of the older one only lists to game 11 while the newer lists to 19, the older is distributed by Atari, and it lists the nancydrewgames.com link instead of herinteractive.com like on the newer one.
First Jewel Releases
These releases list Dreamcatcher on them and have yellow bars at the bottom. Note how the font for “Nancy Drew” is different than the second jewel case releases. SCK-FIN have versions like this.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
First Jewel Release Misprint
Around the time that the original jewel cases were releases, this edition of MHM was released by The Adventure Company rather than Dreamcatcher. The header on the back is using the header for FIN instead of MHM. It looks like all releases of MHM of this specific release have this error.
Second Jewel Release
The second CD size releases have black on the left side of the front cover. They also have black on the spines. SSH-CAR have releases like this.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
Third Jewel Releases
These cases have full-color sides, the Nancy silhouette where she’s standing on the cover, and the top and bottom have flaps. MHM, TRT, and DDI have releases like this.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
Fourth Jewel Releases
These cases have full-color sides, the Nancy silhouette where she’s standing on the cover, but the top and bottom do not have flaps. The logo has also changed to the red HER. For some bizarre reason, releases in this time could have Nancy’s breasts embossed. I don’t know why. This applies to the DOG release below, and the thick Double Dare 6 at the least. There are also CLK and CUR releases in this edition that are much harder to find.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
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Combo + Limited Releases
These are game releases that include multiple Nancy games and/or were very limited. This does not include packs that have one Nancy game and other games from different series.
Double Dare
There are six releases in this style. Number 5 and 6 can have thick or thin cases. Number 6’s thick version can have Nancy’s breasts embossed.
Click me to show cover, back, and inside images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
Triple Threat
There are two releases in this style. I have neither
Cover
Back
Inside
Ultimate Dare
This release has SHA, CUR, CLK, and TRN.
Mega Mystery
This release includes SCK, STFD, TRT, and FIN. It skips MHM for seemingly no reason. There is a normal box sized version and also a long box version that is horizontal. The horizontal box is much more scarce.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Cover
Back
Inside
CD
75th Anniversary
This edition has SCK-FIN. This release is unique in that some boxes have the black CD for MHM and others have a blue CD like the ones from the Mega Mystery pack despite MHM not being included in that pack. The other CD’s are always the ones from the Mega Mystery pack. This does not include the manual CD found in the Mega Mystery pack. It is also unclear what free book came with this. I have seen several different Girl Detective books included, and I haven’t found out which is the correct one yet. I have seen that there is a big plastic case version of the game (unsure if it has a slip cover), but I don’t see it often. The games are also listed out of order inside the flap. The big box is about the same except the front and back has more space.
Fan Collection
HER had a tin case release of TRT, SHA, and CUR that was a limited release to celebrate the top three fan favorite games. The releases included are the DVD cases that never have the slip covers. The set also included a Nancy Drew journal and the card that advertises SCKR. Mine actually is a misprint cause the patterns inside are out of order and missing some parts. It seems many are misprints as my other journal copy is misprinted but in a different way. Here are pictures of the journal pages so you can print them off and use them for yourself.
Click me to show cover, back, and scans of all the journal pages!
Big Box SHA and CUR
SHA and CUR both have big box releases that do not have flaps that open on the front. The box quality is a lot thinner, so they bend super easy. They are very difficult to find.
Deluxe Editions
TRT and FIN both had deluxe editions that included a necklace, printable bookmarks, and desktop images. They both also included a book. I only have the FIN one. They are very difficult to find.
Other HER Releases
When the 2007 Nancy Drew movie came out, some malls, mainly in Texas, had a collaboration with HER where if you bought $100 of clothes from the Cotton brand clothing store, you would get an exclusive copy of ICE for free. The release has a special sticker on it, but it is on the plastic wrap. If you want to look for a copy without the sticker, you can tell if it is a Cotton Caper version because there is no barcode on the back of the DVD case. The game is the thin DVD case style.
This double pack of TRT and FIN has a black FIN CD that is mainly found in this pack, but I have seen the average box size of FIN also have it. It looks like the Mega Mystery pack CD but black. There is also a version that has a sticker on the front and comes with a Nancy book. My copy did not come with the book, so I am unsure what book it came with. Otherwise, the book version and normal version are the same.
These releases include Nancy books alongside the games. I find it odd the books aren’t the books that the games are based on. These are hard to find.
This CAR release is a flat case that opens upward. There is an LCC version as well.
Scholastic Releases
These releases have no slip covers. The see through part of the spine that you can see from the front cover is red and has the Scholastic logo. I don’t own any of these. I believe they exist for games 1-21.
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Other PC Releases
Cosmi/Valu Soft
Cosmi has a couple different release styles, both of which they release games in double or four packs. The SAW x TOT can be a jewel case or DVD case. There is a CUR x SHA, CRY x ICE, and a HAU x CRY release. There is also a DVD case release with SHA, CUR, ICE, and CRY.
They also released some Nancy games in packs called Ultimate Games 4 Girls. The first pack has no Nancy games:
- Pack 2 is a big box set that includes CAR.
- Pack 3 is a blue DVD case size cardboard box that has DDI.
- Pack 4 is pink and has a plastic box with slipcover version as well as a DVD case release that has CUR (might have two DVD case releases). I have the slipcover version.
There are also some normal CD case releases. I know MHM, CAR, and DDI exist. I also have a misprinted DDI that says Message in a Haunted Mansion on the side that is a Cosmi release. I have seen two of this release, and both are misprints, so it’s possible all of this release were made wrong. I do not believe this DDI was released with a slip cover.
Dreamcatcher Releases
Technically the old Nancy releases were connected to Dreamcatcher, but this section will have odd Dreamcatcher releases.
- There is a DVD case without a slip cover release of STFD and MHM together.
- There is a 3 Great Games for Girls pack that has STFD in it
- There is a DVD case size cardboard box release of SCK and STFD together
Legacy Games
Legacy Games releases double packs of games in jewel cases. The cases are mainly shades of brown. I don’t have any.
Encore
Encore did a few jewel case releases where they have slip covers that have a blue Encore logo on the front, but the CD’s are held in cardboard within the slip cover instead of an actual case. The releases I know of are MHM, CUR, CLK, DAN, and possibly TRT. They also released an Around the World pack. They have a release of LCC and RED together.
Mumbo Jumbo
Mumbo Jumbo released several Nancy games in collections.
- There is a release of SSH that comes in a Christmas stocking
- There is the release above but not in a stocking
- There is a normal CD case version and thin DVD case version of MHM combined with a Samantha Swift game
- There is a Games 4 Girls pack that has CAR. This is not the same as the Ultimate Games 4 Girls series.
Women of Mystery
The two dossier games are included in two hidden object packs.
Mystery Chasers
iWin released a triple pack that includes DOG. I do not have it.
Viva Media
Viva Media released a triple pack that includes DDI. I do not have it.
Other
I have 0 information about these. I got them in a big lot of ND games, and I checked, and they look incredibly official. The files are the same size, the CD even has the game name printed into the disc in the little circle area in the middle. The file names also all look normal, and some names even sound more official than my Ultimate Dare CD files.
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Not PC
DS
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and cartridge images of these releases!
GBA
The manual has a lot of boring things, so I’m including the fun parts.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and cartridge images of this release!
Wii
DVD
The DVD game has two releases. There is a big box release that comes in a square box, and the game is in a thin case. There is also a thin DVD with slipcover release. The big box version includes a copy of CAR in a CD sleeve. This CAR CD is a different version than ones you normally see.
Click me to show cover, back, inside, and CD images of these releases!
Didj Leap Frog
There is a Nancy game for this Leap Frog system based on the 2007 movie.
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Foreign Editions
Nancy games have been released in several languages. I don’t have many of them, but I will show the ones I have.
French
The French releases go by the name “Les Enquêtes de Nancy Drew.” The first French release was CUR, and they never back released. CUR-SAW (+SCKR) have French dubs while CAP-SPY just have French subs. The French CLK has a special edition that includes a notebook and pencil.
Russian
Every Nancy PC game has been released in Russian, but DED and on are fan localizations. The games go by “Нэнси Дрю,” which is just “Nancy Drew.” SCK-TMB, SCKR, and the dossier games I know have Russian dubs. I believe DED-SEA might be subs only. MID has a fan dub. The Russian HAU has a special edition that comes with a clover charm.
German
There is a random assortment of games released in German. The series is just known as Nancy Drew in English. I know that CRY and VEN have dubs, as well as LCC. I believe CAP and SPY are subs.
I don’t have any of these.
UK
SHA-CRY at the least are released in the UK. LCC also has a UK release.
Australian
For some reason it’s not easy to find info on the Australian releases. I know that these games usually come in no slip cover DVD cases, but VEN, HAU, and CLK can come in a boxed version for sure. The PC releases come from two companies, Casual Fever and Mindscape.
- Games I know that have Australian releases are CAR-ICE, VEN, HAU, CAP-TMB, GTH-SEA. I couldn’t find proof of the others.
- There is a 75th anniversary pack that has DDI-TRN.
- The Secret of Olde World Park and The Mystery of the Clue Bender Society also have Australian releases.
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Inserts
These are scans of the important things found inside the game cases. Jewel case manuals have the same cover as the game, color and all, so I won’t scan those. DVD case manuals are greyscale, so I went ahead and scanned those. Lots of the insides are boring technical information, so I scanned fun parts and parts where the manual’s description varies from the back of the case.
Click me to show manual covers!
Manual Covers
Game Descriptions
Often the game description from the game manual is different from the box, so here are pictures of instances that I found of that.
Click me to show game description images!
Colored Cards
These are inserts found in some of the middle games. For the cards with the puzzles on them, the puzzles never change, but the games listed can.
Click me to show the cards and card variants!
Card Variants
The bottom of the puzzle card’s games change based on how old the card is. I don’t know if I have all the variants.
Registration Cards
Newer games generally come with the same registration card that is a sort of textured carboard or glossy paper. The big box games came with different cards that had identifying numbers on the bottom, but the numbers are deceiving. One might say ND2 on it, so you would think it’s the card for STFD, but it’s not. The card numbers, aside from the MHM ones, are largely arbitrary. Oddly enough, some cards are different shades of yellow and also have different font spacing especially notable on some covers. MHM has two variants I know of. Some have the same “affix stamp here” part, so I only show one. Also included here are the DirectX cards that came with some old releases of games, I know at least some big box TRT and FIN.
Click me to show registration cards!
Note Paper
The original STFD release and second SCK release came with notebooks you can write in. The first jewel case releases came with a few pages in the manual that you could write notes in. Some of the backs of the DVD case manuals have note lines on them. Also included is the notes section from the MHM GBA game. Some game guides also have note paper, so I am going to include those.
I plan on trying to remove the text from guide paper so people can use it as stationary, but that is for another day XD
Click me to show note pages you can print out!
Product Guides
The games that came in cardboard boxes sometimes had product guides that list older games. There are several versions that vary based on the date in the top right corner of the cover. I do not know if I have all of them.
Click me to show the product guides!
Advertisements from Games
These are advertisements found in game boxes or as part of game manuals. For the Girl Detective white, red, and yellow papers that look the same, the first one is a paper, and the second one is cardstock. The MHM GBA advertisement has two variants, one of which is a lot more yellow than the other.
Click me to show game advertisements! There are a lot, so please allow extra load time.
Advertisements from Books
The Girl Detective, Nancy Drew Notebooks, and Undercover Brothers books can sometimes have ads for games. Pardon my hand in some photos. I angled the books as best I could. Note: I am looking into if other series have the ads too.
Click me to show book advertisements!
Do Act Mysterious 