Gnoming A Round

About this board game

Gnoming A Round is a 2020 tabletop game for 2–7 players that takes about 30 minutes to play. Across three rounds, players collect and arrange cards in a 3 by 3 grid while striving to finish with the lowest score.

Inspired by the big folk’s miniature golf, the game brings the sport to the gnomes of Stottingham Shire. After Rowan returns from an adventure with tales of castles, windmills, plaster dragons, tidy lawns, and a glittering sign reading Mini-Golf, the gnomes create their own verdant course and prepare to compete for Helna’s golden Acorn Trophy.

Your score can be reduced in two important ways:

• Place Negative value cards in your grid.
• Create a row or column of three identical Positive value cards to earn negative points equal to their matching value.

For example, a row containing three 6 cards earns −6 points. Carefully arranging your cards is the key to shaping a low score as the rounds progress.

A round ends when one player has no face-down cards remaining in their grid. Every other player then takes one final turn before scoring for the round. After three rounds, players total their scores to determine which gnome has won.

With its whimsical garden-golf setting and compact card-grid decisions, Gnoming A Round offers a lighthearted contest for a small or large group. Once the final scores are counted, the victorious gnome deserves a suitably enthusiastic celebration.