Ready to try something different with your box of gnomes? This is the official home of variants and house rules where we’ll post game types as we develop them.
1 LITTLE RUDE DUDES
Players may use their veto chip as either a veto OR a steal action. At any time, one player can spend their chip to steal another’s gnome, but at what cost? Is it better to have a steal, or a veto action? Play and find out!
Want to change it up even more? Try this one:
DOUBLE YOUR CHANCES – mark one side of your veto chips with a permanent marker to create a two-sided token. Now players have two potential vetoes or steals – start with the blank side up and turn the chip with the first action. Discard after the second.
2 ROLLING WITH MY GNOMIES
Teams! Pair up for a group experience. Play with one gnome per team or two. If either team member ends with the gnome, both win!
With one gnome, we recommend teams sit together so they can quietly discuss decisions. If everyone has their own gnome on a team, mix it up!
3 WE’RE ALL FRIENDS HERE
Don’t vote anyone out between rounds – everyone stays until the end.
Especially good for 3-player groups, since losing even one player throws the game into variant 4 (see below.
4 THE GNOME IN FRONT OF ME (2 PLAYERS)
Two players sit across a table. Player 1 places the REAL gnome and one fake gnome in front of Player 2 in any order. Player 2 has only one shot to guess which of the is the REAL gnome. Let the mind games begin.
Don’t worry. Death is not on the line. Unless that’s your house rule, of course, but we don’t recommend it. Keep your friends around to play again.
5 THE GNOMEFATHER (5-9 PLAYERS)
Soggy Wallow has been infiltrated with a secret crime ring! In this classic social deduction variant, a few players are secretly members of an evil faction plotting to take over Soggy Wallow. This one’s a little more complicated to set up, but we believe in you. It’s helpful to have a moderator who can run the rounds and observe who is kidnapped at night (but some groups may find ways around this).
For 5-6 players: the two #1 gnomes will represent the underground crime ring. Games proceed for three nights (rounds), but the town gains an extra night if they find a criminal. By the end of the final round, if any criminals remain undiscovered, they win and the residents of Soggy Wallow lose – again.
For 7-9 players: the two #1 gnomes AND the REAL gnome will represent the underground crime ring. Games proceed for five nights, but the town gains an extra night every time they find a criminal. By the end of the final night, if any criminals remain undiscovered, they win and the residents of Soggy Wallow lose… again.
Shuffle and distribute gnomes at the start of play. Every player should look at their gnome to see if they are a criminal or just regular townsfolk.
Rounds last for 5-7 minutes of discussion (we recommend setting a timer). This is a day. Players may freely discuss and theorize, but once time runs out and nightfall hits, players must vote to remove a potential criminal. See HOW TO VOTE in the original game instructions. If they remove a criminal gnome, an extra day round is added to play, giving the townsfolk a little bit of an extra shot. If they remove an innocent… well. Oops.
Removed players leave the game. They are no longer allowed to vote and they may not participate in discussion until the game ends.
Once a player is removed, night falls and all good gnomes go to sleep. Players close their eyes (no peeking; this is an honesty moment). A night, the criminal gnomes awaken and discover one another. They choose an innocent to kidnap. Once they’ve chosen, the sun rises. The moderator announces who’s been kidnapped and the game proceeds.
Continue until the rounds end. Can the townsfolk root out the criminals before their nefarious plans come to fruition?
NOTE
This page is a work in progress. We will continue to add and refine content. Want clarification on anything? Need help? Have an idea? Reach out!