Compelling storylines, mysteries, puzzles, adventures, and criminals. The game we are about to talk today includes all these ingredients.
Nancy Drew is one of the greatest puzzle-adventure games of the 21st century which has won over 24 Parents’ Choice Awards.
Today, there are 33 games in the series and if you want to play every one of them in order from the first to last, you can simply sort them by the release date. But what to do if you would like to play only a few games?
In this article, I did my best to rank Nancy Drew games starting from the best one to the worst. So, read on to find the best Nancy Drew games.
Ghost of Thornton Hall
Ghost of Thornton Hall is the best Nancy Drew game.
Jessalyn Thornton went for a pre-wedding celebration and sleepover to the abandoned Thornton Hall, but the party was over when she disappeared.
Play on to find out if there any supernatural powers in the walls of Thornton’s estate, or is it strife in the family that lead to Jessalyn’s disappearance.
Curse of Blackmoor Manor
The action takes place in Blackmoor Manor, an English mansion of the 14th century with a dreadful past. Linda Pavellyn, a resident of this mansion, is kept behind thick bed curtains by the mysterious ailment and she doesn’t let anybody to see her. This is your mission to find out what she is afraid of.
The Captive Curse
A terrifying monster that had been stalking the forest around Castle Finster in Germany for many years is coming back to capture the next victim. And you, as Nancy Drew, need to solve the mystery behind the monster’s comeback before it strikes somebody again.
Secret of the Old Clock
Nancy Drew comes to the Lilac Inn to see Emily Crandal whose mother died recently and left her to run the inn. Crandall’s family had been counting on the support of Josiah Crowley, their neighbor, to leave them part of his property. This would solve all of Emily’s problems with the inn. But after his death, everything was left to his ESP teacher.
This is one of the best Nancy Drew games which is full of adventures which includes car chases, crimes, and many puzzles.
Danger on Deception Island
The story takes place on the Deception Island where Nancy Drew was invited by her friend, Katie Firestone, for a whale-watching excursion. But the vacation ends after Nancy finds her friend’s boat vandalized with a warning to “stop meddling”. It turns out that Katie has debated a lot in order to save an orphaned whale Orca that appeared in the channel.
Treasure in the Royal Tower
Nancy Drew arrives at Wickford Castle Ski Resort and gets snowed in with the other guests. After a while, it turns out that the castle’s historic library has been vandalized and one of the visitors has been robbed. Now it is your turn to solve the mystery behind the Wickford Castle which is full of secret rooms, dead-ends, and detours that hide a secret left by its legendary owner, Marie Antoinette.
Last Train to Blue Moon Canyon
Lori Girard has invited the best detectives in the country to solve the mystery of Jake Hurley who has vanished pursuing gold during mining mania. One day his train was found in Blue Moon Canyon with only the dead engineer.
In order to do that Lori hosted a trip on Hurley’s train but when it takes off, he mysteriously disappears.
Play on to solve Jake Hurley mystery as well as find out what happened to Lori Girard.
The Silent Spy
Ten years ago, Kate Drew, Nancy’s mother, was on a secret mission in Scotland. On a road to the home, she died in the car accident; or so the family was told.
At one night, Nancy’s phone started telling her that the story about the accident was a fiction and that she is needed in Scotland.
It is now up to you to find out the truth about her mother.
Alibi in Ashes
Nancy Drew returns to her hometown to participate in the annual Clues Challenge with her friends and a boyfriend.
The contest turns into an arson scene of the old Town Hall and Nancy becomes the main suspect of the crime and gets arrested.
Work together with your friends to find the real perpetrator and clear Nancy’s name.
Warnings at Waverly Academy
Play on as an undercover student at the Waverly Academy to solve the mystery behind the threats and offenses done to valedictorian candidates. Is there something supernatural or somebody just trying to scare the competition away?
Sea of Darkness
On the eve of the annual Ancestor’s Festival in Skipbrot, Iceland, the captain of the ship called “Heerlikheid,” the centerpiece of the festival, went missing. Nancy Drew is hired to investigate if he sailed away with treasures or was abducted at night.
Tomb of the Lost Queen
In this best Nancy Drew game you join a group of archaeologists to unearth the Tomb of the Lost Queen. Since the first day of the expedition, strange things begin to happen to the group: somebody attacks the professor and artifacts disappear.
Play on to find out if rumors about the curse of the queen are true or somebody intentionally prevents the expedition from success.
Legend of the Crystal Skull
During the vacation in New Orleans, Nancy Drew stops to check in her friend whose uncle died recently. When Nancy arrives, she gets knocked out by somebody in a skeleton costume which later turns out to be a legendary artifact of the uncle that passed away. This item tends to protect his owner from any cause of death besides murder. It wasn’t found when Uncle Bruno died, and it is your goal to find the missing artifact.
The Haunted Carousel
After a series of strange events at the Captain’s Cove Amusement Park, its owner asked Nancy Drew to investigate the mystery. Find out if the park is really cursed or it is somebody just playing around.
Secret of the Scarlet Hand
A few days before a Mayan culture exhibition at Beech Hill Museum in Washington D.C., one of the most valuable pieces of the composition was stolen. The only clue left by the thief is a strange red handprint.
Nancy Drew, taking an internship as a Deputy Curator at the museum, starts an investigation in order to solve the mystery behind the stolen artifact.
Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake
This is one of the most mysterious titles in this best Nancy Drew games list.
A house purchased by a close friend of Nancy turns out to be a former residence of a gangster. According to her, a pack of ghost dogs that are likely to belong to the previous landowner attacks her house at night. Nancy comes to a frightened friend in order to help her.
The Deadly Device
After a suspicious death of a physicist in a remote laboratory of Colorado, police investigation turned out to be unsuccessful and the cause of death was not established. Thus, its owner asked Nancy Drew to get to the truth.
The Haunting of Castle Malloy
A wedding in the Castle Malloy in Ireland is about to be canceled due to the disappearance of the groom. You, as Nancy Drew, who came here to be the maid of honor of her friend, need to find out if this is a banshee that haunts the castle or there is another reason to destroy the wedding.
The White Wolf of Icicle Creek
This episode takes place at the Icicle Creek Lodge and it is full of explosions and mournful howls. Some say that the place is cursed; others blame a mysterious white wolf. And it is up to you to find out the truth.
The Phantom of Venice
Nancy Drew called by the Italian police for one of the most important missions in her life. This time she goes to Venice to find a thief responsible for a series of crimes. He leaves almost no clues behind and it seems like Nancy is the only one capable to catch the criminal.
Resorting to Danger!
Become an assistant at a SPA salon to investigate bomb explosions that scare away the visitors of the Redondo resort before it goes out of business.
The Final Scene
Save your friend Maya who is kidnapped at the Royal Palladium theater which is about to be destroyed.
Message in a Haunted Mansion
Nancy Drew helps with renovation work in a mansion of her friend, Rose Green. She tries to transform it into a guest house, but besides Nancy, there are other uninvited visitors who don’t like the change and put things in order in their own way.
Secrets Can Kill REMASTERED
Nancy Draw takes a vacation from the school for a semester to visit her Aunt Eloise in Florida. At the local school, where her Aunt works, was committed murder and Eloise asks Nancy for help.
Shadow at the Water’s Edge
Nancy Drew travels to Japan with Bess and George. They are staying at a traditional inn and when a series of strange things happens, probably caused by a woman who died there, Nancy tries to find out who is haunting the house.
Ransom of the Seven Ships
This time we transfer to the Bahamas. Bess Marvin, one of the best friends of Nancy Drew, gets kidnapped during the vacation and you need to solve a 300-year-old Bahamian mystery in order to save her
The Creature of Kapu Cave
In this episode, Nancy Drew teams up with the Hardy Boys to solve the mystery of the island that destroys local pineapple crop.
The Shattered Medallion
Nancy Drew and George Fayne get a chance to participate in a reality TV show where they need to finish physical challenges to win five pieces of a medallion. The show turns out to be occupied by Sonny Joon who makes it dangerous for the contestants.
Trail of the Twister
Join a storm research team as an intern in order to find who tries to prevent them from winning a $100,000,000 grant in the upcoming Green Skies storm competition.
Danger by Design
Work as an assistant of a famous fashion designer in Paris who hasn’t been herself in these latter days. Find out what stands behind her strange demeanor. Is it just the stress of fame or is there something going on in the studio?
The Secret of Shadow Ranch
Investigate the mystery of a ghost horse that causes a huge commotion on Shadow Ranch.
Labyrinth of Lies
Nancy Drew was hired as an assistant at the Phidias Cultural Center in Greece in order to help with the most expected event of the year. But not long before the exhibition the most precious artifacts disappear.
Play on to find the truth behind the theft and return the artifacts until the beginning of the show.
Lights, Camera, Curses!
This game wins the title of the worst Nancy Drew game.
There you need to go undercover in the movie industry in order to solve the mystery behind the leaks and accidents that happened with a remake of the 1930’s film “Pharaoh!”.
That’s the end.
Although the information in this publication isn’t the universal opinion, I did my best to rank Nancy Drew Games in the right order from the best one to the worst.
I hope it was useful and you have managed to find the best Nancy Drew game you can start playing today.
Don’t forget to add this page to bookmarks because the game plays in one breath and you are likely to be searching for the next one soon.
Thanks for reading!