Frøken Detektiv

Frøken Detektiv translates to ms. Detective and is the name most Norwegians know Nancy Drew under. This game is a Norwegian edition of the Parker game released in the US in the late 1950's. The goal of the game is to find out what case Nancy Drew is currently working on. There are eight cases:

• The haunted house
• The ghost bridge
• The mysterious clock
• The snake colony
• The hollow oak
• The moss-covered house
• The tower with the twisted candles
• The mysterious attic

Each case has a picture on the game board with five squares marked with the letters N-A-N-C-Y. During the game the players will place chips on these letters, and the player who manage to place one of his chips on all the letters of a case will win the game.

Mystery cards

When it is a players turn he rolls the die and moves his car. If he lands on a square marked with a start he draws the top mystery card and follows the instructions. Most mystery cards lets the player place one or more chips on one of the cases. Examples of mystery cards (my translation):

• Bess says: Put to chips on the hollow oak. If possible, remove one or two of your opponents chips
• Mr Drew says: Switch location of your car with any of the other player's car
• The investigation continues: Put one chip on two free letters

Winning the game

The first player to cover the five letters N-A-N-C-Y on a case has won the game. Thus, this is the case Nancy Drew is currently working on.

Summing up

If you are amongst them who have fond childhood memories of this game, I would like to warn you about playing this game again today - it will just ruin your memories. This game is not really good. You roll the die, move your car and follows instructions form either the game board or the mystery cards. The game is rich of atmosphere, but the players have really no influence in who is winning the game. Of the mystery/detective games, Inkognito is still my favorite.

Reader comments

Matthijs Holter:

Nancy Drew - det husker jeg som verdens mest stemningsfylte spill, typisk et spill som ingen gadd å spille med meg da jeg var liten, og når jeg leser om det, skjønner jeg godt hvorfor

Lea:

I came across your web page today, with the images of the Frøken Detektiv game and was thrilled to see it - I did not know that the game had been produced outside of the USA.
There are two US versions of the game, the first printed in 1957, and the other in 1959. The game itself is the same in both versions, but the artwork on the cover of the box changed. The 1957 version has Nancy in a red raincoat and cap, and the 1959 version shows Nancy in a green raincoat, with no cap. The game board itself is exactly the same as the one shown in Norwegian on Brikker & Brett, except of course everything's in English. It was produced by Parker Brothers.
I was wondering if these Norwegian versions turn up very often in Norway? I would love to get a copy for my collection, so please keep me in mind if you ever find a duplicate and wish to make a little profit! I collect all kinds of foreign edition Nancy Drew books, and the Norwegian books produced by Damm are some of my favorites.

Meredith:

That is a fabulous Nancy Drew collectible! It was also available in Canada with French instructions. Please let me know if an extra Norwegian game becomes available.

mia:

digger nancy drew spillet assa! det ruuler!!!!! klem nancy-fan

anonym:

høres bra ut! vet noen om et sted å få kjøpt bøkene?

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