Get quick and convenient access to just the hints you need for Nancy Drew 24: The Captive Curse, without staying on our website. Just download a free trial
version of our UHS Reader software and
a copy of these hints. You will get the
same gradual hints you see here -- unlike ordinary cheats or a
walkthrough that can spoil your game.
You can also buy the full version of the UHS Reader
for Windows or macOS. For just $14.95, you get full access to hints for
hundreds of games and 1 year of free updates. You can also search, decode, or print an entire
game's worth of hints at once.
Ask the Author
If you have questions about a puzzle that aren't answered
anywhere in these hints,
you may contact the author.
Nancy Drew 24: The Captive Curse Hints
How do I open the box from Renate's bag?
1 of 14: This is a type of game beloved of the people Nancy investigates, as you know if you've played such games as "Secret of the Old Clock" and others. It's a logic puzzle --
2 of 14: -- and I'm really, really sorry, but it's also random, so I can't tell you exactly how to solve it. I really can't. I mean, it's not possible, okay? because I really have no idea what the actual answer will be when you play because it's DIFFERENT EVERY TIME. Are we clear on this?
3 of 14: Excuse me; I feel better now. What I can do is tell you the strategies I use to open the box. You'll need to apply them yourself and draw your own conclusions based on what you see when you play the game. And don't panic. You may have to try it a couple of times, but it's really not that hard. You'll get it. Really.
4 of 14: The deal here is that you have to figure out what four colors will open the box. You get to make ten guesses, after which the box resets with a different combination and you have to start all over. Click on the little colors at the top to pick a color, then click on the first column of circles at the left to set the color. When you have a color in all four spots, click on the "Submit" bar at the upper right to see how you did.
5 of 14: Every time you put the right color in the right place, a little green light will come on under that column. If you picked a color that's in the final solution but you put it in the wrong spot, a little yellow light will come on. If no lights come on, none of the colors you guessed appear in the final combination.
6 of 14: To show how this works in practice, here's a game I played recently, just as a sample because, as I said before, yours will be different:
7 of 14: Start out by keeping your initial guess simple -- fill all the spots with the same color. In the first round, I guessed all blue and got one green light. That means one of those blues is in the right place, though I don't know which one yet.
8 of 14: In the second round, I left the first spot blue and made all the rest pink, and I got two green lights. That means the blue is in the right spot (because it would have been a yellow light if the blue went somewhere else) and one of the pinks is right.
9 of 14: In the third round, I put in the blue that I know is right, put a pink in the second spot to see if that's where it goes, and added two greens, and I got two green lights and a yellow light. This means two colors are in the right spots and one is in the wrong spot. I know the blue is right, but I have to guess about the others.
10 of 14: In the fourth round, I put in blue, pink, red, green, and got one green light and two yellow lights. That tells me that the pink and green are in the wrong places and there is no red (because only three lights were lit). I have to keep guessing.
11 of 14: In the fifth round, I put in blue, turquoise, pink, green, and got one green light and two yellow lights. That tells me that there is no turquoise and the pink and green are STILL in the wrong places. I have to guess some more, but I'm narrowing down the possibilities.
12 of 14: In the sixth round, I put in blue, yellow, green, pink, and got three greens. Progress! Blue, green, and pink are in the right spots, and there is no yellow. Now I know what the combination is, because there's only one color left that I haven't tried, and only one spot where it can go.
13 of 14: In the seventh round, I put in blue, purple, green, pink, and shazaam! The box opens.
14 of 14: Now go try it yourself! Stay calm, think about what those lights mean, and you'll get it eventually. And if you find yourself screaming and wanting to punch the screen, back away from the box and go do something else in the castle. You can always bring Renate some more cake and try again later -- and this time, you'll be able to go straight to the box without arranging stuff in the bag first.
