As in all the Nancy Drew games, this is a point-and-click adventure from a first-person perspective, clicking the arrow in the direction they want to move to. The players collect items for their inventory and interview various characters. There are plenty of puzzles and clues to collect, and also several mini-games, which are either part of the puzzles or are stand-alone games. The puzzle mini-games are playable even after the puzzle is solved, which is a great feature. Frankly, the great part of puzzles and riddles don’t really fit into the storyline and are rather tedious. The most frustrating puzzle in this game is a mini-golf course. Making par is tough, and may be frustrating to younger players.

A really new twist is that Nancy can also drive her blue sports car around town, deliver telegrams to raise money. But, unfortunately, it is not exciting at all as this can quickly become a chore! Her car use a lot of gas, and poor Nancy will have to spend part of her hard-earned money to keep it.

The developers tried to convey the atmosphere of the time period, with ‘30s-esque phones, cars, black-and-white phonographs, clothing styles and authentic slang. Alas, the lack of modern conveniences doesn’t bring the game originality. Nancy Drew: Secret of the Old Clock is not the most memorable of this series as it is too short, and can be played in one day easily. This adventure will be interesting for teens mainly who don’t know how to spend their holiday season.