Nancy Drew Diaries #4 (And Weekend Puzzle #213)

Check it out! For you hard-core collectors and readers, this will be fun news for you today. The latest Nancy Drew Diaries book, "Once Upon a Thriller" is now available on our site! Learn more about this new mystery here.

I, personally, adore bookshops and libraries. Especially book shops that have old and used books. The musty smell and feel of worn, yellowed pages with old-fashioned hardcovers and bindings are my favorite things to shop for. I often open up a book to the section right behind the title page, where the copyright info is. This is where you can most often find the publishing date and know which printing it is.

Perhaps this habit comes from all my years collecting Nancy Drew books. What does your collection look like? Do you collect the old books, or new books in addition to the Nancy Drew games?

Here's your weekend puzzle:

No Q about Scotland

ct un cd bj ca tl xg tl jd la nu lt ea

We have a birthday this weekend!

~Little Jackalope~

Sharpening Your Spy Skills

Some of you like to "game marathon" before the next mystery is released, which I find really fun. I have recommended a few titles to reply (in case you had decided not to replay ALL of them) but I wanted to narrow down the "why" part of the titles I selected.

There are elements of game play features in the following games that can relate to The Silent Spy. Here are a few clues:

1. Alibi in Ashes - The closest to Nancy's home and personal life you can get so far. Plus you get to check out her bedroom and living room in the game.
2. Tomb of the Lost Queen - Bess, over the phone, will mention Nancy's mom, hinting that Nancy is the way she is because her.
3. Warnings at Waverly Academy - Here you get to do some snooping through people's things and their rooms. A few areas in the game you need to act quick in snooping without getting caught. Plus the game-play style feels a bit similar to SPY, I think.
4. The Phantom of Venice - Perhaps the best game to play before you dive into The Silent Spy. There are several spy and undercover missions in this game that make you feel like you really are in the business. Plus...you will want to know a few things that go on here before you get to Scotland...

Are you caught up with your Nancy Drew collection? If you have already pre-ordered The Silent Spy, now is the best time to start catching up on those missing mysteries, or even replaying any of the above-mentioned titles, in preparation for your big mission in Scotland.
It's going to get personal...

Birthdays!

~Little Jackalope~

Nancy's House in SPY

(Hey all! I was out yesterday, therefore no post was made).
As for today, we posted this fun Nancy Drew moment:

This scene was shown in the SPY Trailer a few times, meaning it will be shown, of course, in the game. What did you think of Nancy's home? You got to explore it a bit in Alibi in Ashes, but only the living room and Nancy's bedroom.

Did you notice this about the living room scenes in the trailer? They borders are blurred a bit...

We have another Twitter Quote Contest going on this week! Head over and participate for a chance to win a digital guide! (Contest only lasts all of Wednesday).

Birthday! (Belated, which is my bad.)

~Little Jackalope~

Arena and Character

Looks like a few of you solved the weekend puzzle! The answer is "An Unmentioned Character". Which may or may not be what you think... you will just have to wait an play the game. By the way, we showed this character, just not clearly.

Today we released another wallpaper from The Silent Spy:

The training arena! There are weapons and weights and a punching bag...and a few more things that we haven't shown you yet. There is definitely more to this room than this single picture.

Also, today is the last day to post a creative caption to the Facebook Caption Contest! Head over to participate for a chance to win a press sheet of the cover art to The Silent Spy with every one's autograph in the office!

We have another birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Trailer Secrets (And Weekend Puzzle #212)

I've recently been browsing the Message Boards to see what everyone is talking about over The Silent Spy. It's a great place to discuss theories, ideas, your excitement and predictions for this new game, in case you are interested in joining the conversations!

Oh there are sooo many little secrets I wish I could spoil for you concerning what is shown on the characters page, screenshots page, and official trailer! That's ok, I can vaguely reveal such things in the weekend puzzles to come!

One of the favorites mentioned about the trailer is the picture of Kate with baby Nancy:

True fact: if this image hits a nerve or makes you want to tear up, then there will definitely be more tearing up when you are playing the game!

Have you pre-ordered your copy, yet? One thing we haven't really warned you about is the quantity of physical copies of the BONUS Edition. There really is a limited amount, and it's first come, first served for that version. The longer you wait, the more dangerously low we get to how many boxes we have left for you to pre-order! Learn more about the BONUS Edition contents here.

Time for your weekend puzzle! How observant have you been, lately?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _  _ _ X _ = The Scottish native.
_ _ _ _ X _ _ = Your room is on this level. (Spell it out).
_ _ _ X _ _ _ = The name of the lodge you stay at.
_ _ _ _ _ _ X = You are in this location when you get the mysterious call.
_ _ _ _   X _ _ _ _ _ _ = Your main contact at Cathedral.
_ _ _ _ X _ _ = The difficulty level with more hints.
_ _ _   _ _ _ _ _ _ _    _ _ _ _ _   _ _ _ X _ _ _ _ = The newspaper's name.
_ _ X _ = Was killed in a car accident.
_ _ X _ _ = Kate's close confidant.
_ X _ _   _ _ _ _ = Carson's phone avatar.
X _ _ = The one person you can trust.
_ _ _ _   X _ _ _ _ _ _ _ = What is written on the sign just outside of the elevator.
_ _ _ _ _ X = The name of the loch.
_ _ _   _ _ _ _ _   X _ _ = Is closed for a private event.
"Tinker with cutting-edge spy _ _ _ _ X _ _ _ !"
_ X _ _ = The name of the training arena.
_ _ X _ _ _ = Kate's maiden name.
_ X _ _ _ _ = The name of Kate's project.
In the courtyard, you can meet with the locales and grab a  _ X _ _ _ .


Also, we have a birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Pirate Day!

Did you know that it is International Talk Like A Pirate Day? September 19th every year you have an excuse to say "aargh!" a few gazillion times. And wear a pirate hat. Or quote Coucou from Ransom of the Seven Ships.

We are having a Facebook special today only for this game. You can get 50% off if you find the pirate code on our Facebook page, and use it at checkout. Have you played Ransom of the Seven Ships? It's a great puzzle game!

Puzzles are a great feature to the games. They are those little things that challenge us to use all that we learn to try to accomplish something. Some puzzles we may be familiar with and can solve much faster because we have already been trained and practiced in its art. Like slider puzzles!

What type of puzzles are you hoping to show up in The Silent Spy? Slider puzzles? Ciphers to decipher? Codes to break? Math and science puzzles? Logic puzzles? Hand and eye coordinated puzzles? Memory puzzles? Making food? Picture puzzles? Timed puzzles?

A few more birthdays to announce!

~Little Jackalope~

Awesome Fans

Hey all! (I was out sick yesterday). Hope everyone had a chance to watch the trailer for The Silent Spy, but it sounds like you did since we've been hearing your responses to it. Thanks so much for sharing your enthusiasm!

Today's blog post is rather lengthy, because we have a lot of great fans to mention. First, Julia started a new blog here, called kenNERDdy, and made a great post reviewing the Nancy Drew games. If you read all the way to the bottom, she has a great contest for a few lucky winners to win some games! Head over there now!

Over the last few weeks, we have collected several fans' artwork of The Silent Spy cover art, and I wanted to share these with you. (Click on the pictures for a larger view.)

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This is my favorite fan Tweet on Twitter for today:

Also, we've had a bunch of fan birthdays happen this past week:

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~Little Jackalope~

The Silent Spy Pre-Orders

Today is the day! Pre-orders are live! The trailer is live! Check it out:

What do you think?

Here's the news we posted today:
(Click on the image for a larger view)

You can pre-order the PC version or Mac version today. Remember the rest of those dates so that you know when to expect your copy!

~Little Jackalope~

Pre-Order Promotion!

Check it out! We revealed the 11th hint ("contest") in the 13 hints of 2013 today!

Well, it's not really a competitive contest. It's technically a promotion. You can learn more about it here on the Dare to Play Blog.

No weekend puzzle today. Why? Because I just realized that we hinted at several spy elements in the game via the prizes. o.O Take a good look at the items you could win...what do you suppose you will be doing in the game that inspired these cool gadgets? That should puzzle your minds enough for the weekend!

Also, if you feel like being spontaneous and decide to get a Nancy Drew game tonight (really good idea to play a missing ND game before The Silent Spy becomes available), head over to our Facebook page and look for one of the images we posted earlier. Today is Friday the 13th, which is an excellent day to have Shadow at the Water's Edge on sale for 50% off! The secret promo code can be found somewhere here. The sale is only good for today, so act quick!

The big day is on Monday! Pre-orders start at 10am PT / 1pm ET, which is the same time the official trailer for The Silent Spy will launch on our YouTube channel! (It has been finalized, approved, and is all queued up to go for Monday.) Are you as excited as I am?

~Little Jackalope~

"I'd like a bowl of gumbo, please!"

The day has finally come when a food truck came by our office building that serves gumbo! Hooray! Bess in Legend of the Crystal Skull has the opportunity to visit a nearby food truck, called "Granny's Cajun Cooking". I got to experience this Nancy Drew--er--Bess Marvin Moment in real life today:

Our artist, John, was the one who worked on that very environment for the game. He, too, tried gumbo for the first time today!

It's not the prettiest picture, but gumbo is sure good! (And a bit on the spicy side). This gumbo had white rice, chicken and spicy sausage, as well as various spices. It was amazing! I'd recommend trying it someday when you get the chance.

We've had a lot of great fan art come in lately, and I haven't had much of a chance to show it off with all the news about The Silent Spy lately. Check these out:

 

Sometime next week I'll share all the fan art for The Silent Spy.
~Little Jackalope~

Important Date Ahead!

Today we announced the date that we premiere the official trailer to The Silent Spy!

Mark your calendars for Monday the 16th! It will be the day you get to pre-order The Silent Spy and get to view the trailer on our YouTube channel. Have you subscribed to stay informed on all of our latest video uploads?

Some fans have already purchased the soundtrack, and since it includes the sheet music to Kate's theme, one of our fans, Samantha, plays it for us. Check it out! Do you play an instrument? We'd love to see you perform Kate's theme if you were to upload your video to YouTube! ;)

Head's up! Twitter quote contest is today!
Also, we have a birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Characters of The Silent Spy

Ta-da! The characters of The Silent Spy have been revealed today! Check them out here.

Do you remember the 13th hint for 2013, "Fell"? It was the last name of one of these characters. Alec Fell to be exact! I rather like this character. <3

What do you think? Any early thoughts? Any ideas who the real culprit is? It may be early, but do you have a favorite?

Correct me if I'm not caught up, but here is where we stand with our 13 hints for 2013:

Hint: next to be revealed is #11, next week.

Just a tip, tomorrow we will let you know when the trailer will be announced. It won't be released tomorrow...but we will let you know when to look for it.
~Little Jackalope~

The Silent Spy Press Check

Once the cover art for the latest game has been finalized, we send the box design off to print. Our Marketing Director flew out to Chicago to review the final result for The Silent Spy's art before we begin printing all DVD case inserts. This was the press check. We always want to make sure that the actual print matches the design we see on the computer.

Hot off the press! Here we check to make sure the gold/orange matches the color code:

Taking a closer look at the box text:

A close-up of the press sheet:

 Looks good! Signing it off:

Also, it looks like a few of you have solved the weekend puzzle! I suppose knowing what the puzzle is would've helped, but I only know of one cipher that requires a missing letter in the process, as well as needing a "key word". Hopefully that would have given it away for you.

The puzzle is a [playfair cipher] and you take out "Q" from the solving process, using the word "sleuth" as your key word. The answer is [characters next week].

And by the way, clue #13 from the 13 hints for 2013 post will be revealed tomorrow. ;)
~Little Jackalope~

SPY Sountrack Released! (And Puzzle #211)

The biggest news we have for your weekend is this: we have released The Silent Spy soundtrack! it is now available for digital purchase on our site, and with it we included the sheet music for the "Kate" theme for you to play along! (Piano recommended). Perhaps creating a tutorial video would be cool in the future...we'll see.

I'm really excited about it, because the "Kate" theme is the best music (I think) in the game...and it's a very touching song.

Your weekend brain-teaser puzzle:

Clue: No Q about it with Sleuth!

Puzzle: dadnbdsumtolzexlti

Birthday!

~Little Jackalope~

Production in Rain

We've pretty much started our fall season here in Washington. Thunderstorms and heavy rain showers remind me mostly of Message in a Haunted Mansion, or at least the opening scene for it. I hope we have more thunder and lightning in our future games, because that is a classic scary-game-style element.

"So what's going on around the office?" You might ask. Well, I'm glad you asked! The production team is going through the final stages of testing and getting the game ready for Gold Master -- the final game build that gets sent for replication. All of your games will be made from that single disk. I think we call it "gold" because it's the heart of all the games. Something like that.

I may have already mentioned that lots of banging has been going on above us, because we are getting a new roof. I tried taking a few snapshots to share:

And today many of us (dodging the rain drops) ventured out to today's visiting food truck. Fish tacos, hooray!! I'm still waiting for a gumbo truck to come by with someone wearing a plaid red shirt...

We are releasing something tomorrow, something you may not have expected, but just as fun as everything else! It is SPY-related. Oh I wish I could say. I wish I knew how to read music. I'd give you a... arg!

Never mind. No more hints.

Stay tuned!

Aaaaaaaand we've got some special birthdays today!!

~Little Jackalope~