Peaceable Kingdom Gnomes at Night Game for Kids Age 6+

Product Information

You’ll see them everywhere in summer. Those chubby, bearded men with goofy hats and red-cheeked grins, holding their fishing poles or tending to their flower beds. Draw the top corner start card and place both movers in the corner of the game board indicated by the card - 1, 2, 3, or 4. If for any reason you drop a mover during play, turn over the next corner start card and place the movers in the corner indicated on the card. Because gnomes are hard workers and have plenty of energy, they like to find ways to help their human friends or alternatively drive them crazy by shifting things about; lost car keys, missing pens and schoolwork that suddenly appear after you have given up are signs that a gnome is displeased with you. The fact that a German, Philipp Griebel, was the first to introduce the concept of garden gnomes, therefore, doesn’t come as a surprise.

Each player on that team chooses one color for the entire game. This color indicates when it is that player's turn based on the team colors shown on the treasure card. Cooperation is key when you play Gnomes at Night, a new board game from Peaceable Kingdom, a MindWare brand. Unlike many traditional board games, players aren’t trying to beat each other. Instead, they must work together to move around the board and help their gnomes collect as much treasure as possible before time runs out. The race for the treasure puts the pressure on the players; since each round only lasts 2½ minutes, an entire game is done in less than 10 minutes. We found our kids lining up to take turns, wanting to play again and again. It’s unavoidable that there is some down time with more than two players playing, but the spectator aspect of Gnomes at Night is strong. So, it wasn’t a problem for our family, but something to note. In effect, it’s a lot similar to what humans would do. Gnomes also stay true to the French tradition and can be found tending to their owner’s garden, pulling out weeds, watering the plants, sowing seeds, and so forth.Unlike some games that add additional rules or mechanics to increase difficulty, Gnomes at Night only does this with more complex mazes. Because of this, the game play can get a little stale with older gamers. Still fun, but ultimately you are doing the same thing as board A, just with a higher difficulty level. The game can also work for three or four players, using the included “team cards,” but Gnomes at Night works best as a two-player game.

player game: There is one team of two players and one single player. Give one team card to the team with two players. You may want to swap seats between rounds so that the single player changes each time. Gnomes are known to love a good feast and often spend time with their friends and family in their underground halls, eating and merrymaking in the wee hours. Gnomes live for hundreds of years so they have exceptionally strong ties with their family and friends. When Tara asked us to review a game – Gnomes at Night – by the same maker, Peaceable Kingdom, I had the opportunity to try out with the kids on an impromptu most-of-the-family game night. It is that time of the year again where both kids are home for summer vacation and I need to find activities they can do with each other that does not drive me insane. When I saw a copy of Gnomes at Night from Peaceable Kingdom at our local independent toy store, I was first attracted to the stamp on the front that indicated it was a “cooperative” game where players work as a team. What Is Gnomes at Night? Gnomes also spend the night hours helping the plants and animals around them. Legend tells of them freeing animals from traps and sowing the seeds of wildflowers in the dark hours when humans are asleep.

Once a Gnome Marker touches a treasure, draw a card for the next one. Players continue to cooperatively get the treasures until the Sand Timer runs out or the 12 treasures are found. At the end of the round, total up how many treasures you found and award your team with that many points—12 points are possible for a round, with a total of 36 possible for a three-round game. Then reshuffle the 12 Treasure Cards and the Corner Start Cards and repeat for two more rounds. Of course, Peaceable Kingdoms targeted Gnomes at Night to a younger age demographic, so this isn’t a huge problem. They’ve done an excellent job here making a game that adults and older children are happy to play, and with a 10 minute play time, no one will feel left out for long. Gnomes are not visible to most humans, except those who can see them or catch them in the act. They are nocturnal, therefore, rarely seen during the day. Setup is fairly easy for the most part. Select one of the game boards (A is the easiest, while D is the hardest). Slide the two posts onto the designated part of the box bottom and then slide the chosen Game Board between the two posts. This is the one part that may need some parent supervision as an overeager kid shoving those posts two hard might damage the boards a little. Then shuffle the Corner Start Cards into one pile and the 12 Treasure Cards into another pile. How to Play Gnomes at Night is a cooperative maze game for 2-4 players ages 6+ that takes about 15 minutes to play. In the game, you take on the role of gnomes trying to hunt down treasures for the Queen in a maze. Gnomes at Night Components ‘Gnomes at Night’ components. Photo by Elizabeth MacAndrew.