Okay Marian. I finally started this game last night. All was good until I finally found Shark Cove. I don't understand the instructions which state to start under the W and take 3 steps south. Then there is something about objects and paces (directly opposite and extras).

1) What is the W? The palm trees joined that form a W that is to the right of the pond?

2) What are the objects? When I take 3 steps south of the palm tree W, I am near a 3 headed man, a 3 leafed plant, and a pile of 3 or 4 stones. (I probably should not have gotten out of the game before trying to post here as I'm not sure that I'm covering everything right.)

I'm confused.

Also, I am playing in junior mode and have accomplished a number of things on my task list but none of them are checked off??? NONE of them!!

I am not a good one to try to explain the instructions to you, as I had to go to a walkthrough for this one. I remember that the W is the palm trees joined that form a W to the right of the pond.

I do recall that sometimes things aren't checked off right away on the task list, even though they have seemingly been completed. I think they get checked off when a series of things is finished, with the particular item having been a part of it.

I just took a look at MaG's walkthrough for the instructions and I am going to copy and paste part of it here. What she has written about it at the outset is helpful without being a total spoiler:

So the "objects" are ALL of those things and you have to decide which one is the right one to use for your pacing or you have to use each one? At least I got the "W" right .

Before I figured out the "W" I had dug up holes all over the place and cornered myself a few times. I was thankful that I didn't have to actually go back and fill them all in. When I left the area and went back they were gone.

Thanks Marian!

You are welcome! And yes, you did indeed get the W right.

Maybe one of these days I will muster up the courage to play this game again. There were just so many puzzles that I needed help with. The game made me feel extra stupid.

I still can't figure out what the "objects" are that I need to follow

I'm playing 3 different games and I'm stuck in all 3 of them

UHS has a gradual hint system about it here. It will show you the first two or three steps without first having to click to reveal it, so proceed with caution.

Okay, thanks Marian. I also dug out the walkthrough I printed years ago so I can have it at hand if I just can't get it figured out. I'd just like to try a little more first.

One thing I was happy about was that even though I sunk the ship, all the bottled notes I had found were still in my inventory and I didn't have to go find them all again

I agree that is a nice touch.

So, I finally figured out that I have to manually check things off of my list. I thought Nancy would do that automatically.

I liked the Sudoku chest puzzle but on a timer??? NO!! It took me all the time allowed to draw it out so I could spend 1-1/2 hours figuring out the solution in an excel spread sheet. Then, I just barely had enough time to enter the solution, grab the stuff, and head back up to the boat. This was with a full tank of air. And that compass when you're out on the water? Not helpful. At least not to me!

I am moving along though.

It sounds like you're doing great! Timed Sudoku was a new one on me, too.

I had forgotten about having to check things off the list rather than the game doing it automatically.

Finished the game tonight. Pretty good game. I did use UHS hints a few times but feel alright about that.

It sounds like you did really well. Great to hear that you finished the game.

Okay - the SSTRANGEST thing just happened.

Inspired by reading this post, I decided to install and play Ransom of the Seven Ships. ( I have the original CD version )
When I installed it, it wasn't Seven Ships, it turned into Nancy Drew: Midnight in Salem. I thought well, the wrong disk must have gotten into the box. Ejected it from the drive, and behold! It is (or says it is) the disk 1 of 2 for Seven Ships. Also, since there were two discs, I fully expected to have to swap them during installation, silly me. But no; it finished installing Midnight. No idea how that happened.

I have no explanation for that. I would like to know what Jenny100 or one of our other techies has to say about it.

OK now that's just weird. Really weird.

Maybe try right clicking the disk and selecting Open and see what it says! Where did you get the disc from? Perhaps there was a mixup during manufacture? I hope Jenny has a better idea!

Ooooops I figured it out. I had a virtual disk with Midnight in Salem in iso format; it's been there a long time and I had forgotten about it. So when I went to install Ransom from the CD I chose the 'wrong' drive. Duh!

Whew! I feel better now, Tally Ho! I thought the apocalypse was upon us with evil demons in our gaming discs!

I am very glad to hear that! Ditto what Drac said!

Is this a replay for you or first time playing?

Just as a point of interest, this game was discontinued by HeR Interactive a few weeks ago. The reason for this, according to them, was for what they thought could be considered objectionable content by some. I will refrain from elaborating as I don't want to start what could turn into a political discussion, which is not allowed here on GameBoomers. The game has been removed from Steam and HeR Interactive is not selling it any more. I have since seen copies going on eBay for one to two hundred dollars.

Big Fish is still selling it, but I imagine that at some point it will get taken down there as well. My suggestion to anyone who has not played it and has even a passing interest in the game is to buy it from Big Fish before it disappears.

Wow. Thanks for that info Marian. I'll refrain from any further comment

All I've got to say is... that's a dam*ed shame.

It really is and I hope it's not a new trend about to start!

Does the disc play on Windows 10?

I haven't tried this game on Windows 10, but in other forums I have seen players saying that they can get every single Nancy Drew game running on Windows 10. There's even a video on YouTube where Huw Miller shows how to run Stay Tuned for Danger and the original Secrets Can Kill on Windows 10 (games #1 and #2).

i have all of them, i preorder this game along time ago.