Gnome Invasion Rules

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Number of players: 2 to 5

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Ages: 10 and up

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Introduction: A malevolent magic has befallen the gnomes. And, they want your home! Now, those pesky gnomes just keep coming... and some are more malevolent than others! Ay! Ay! Ay! They come during birthdays.  They come during special occasions like weddings and holidays. And they come when you least expect it! Oh, what’s the world coming to? Your home is being invaded! It’s true! What can you do to stop the threat? Can you work with your friends and family to free your home of gnomes before it is overrun? Can you terminate the gnome invasion?

 

Objective: Gnome Invasion is a cooperative game where players will work together to purge their homes of gnomes before the gnomes spell GNOMES.  Players must collectively cleanse 3 rooms for each player. Thus, if there are three players they must cleanse 9 rooms in order to declare victory. For example, in a three player game, one person could have 5 rooms, another 4, and another 0 as long as the total is 3 rooms for each player. 3x3=9

 

Of course, players will collectively lose if the gnomes spell GNOMES. You must not let this happen!

 

Included Components:

9 Double-Sided Rule Cards

51 Gnome cards

6 letter cards that spell “GNOMES”

150 Boon cards - 34 rooms, 30 weapons, 28 items, 28 action cards, 30 allies

 

Not Included:

To play this game, you will need at least one of each of the following dice:

1d4, 1d6, 1d8, 1d10, 1d12, and 1d20

It is recommended that each player have at least 1 dice set.

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Game Setup:

1. Create the gnome deck

   1. Shuffle the gnome deck WITHOUT the cards that spell GNOMES

   2. Select 9 random gnome cards per player and make 3 equal piles

   3. Put remaining gnome cards in the gnome discard pile

   4. Shuffle the cards that spell GNOMES and place 2 in each pile

   5. Shuffle each pile

   6. Make one large pile by placing one pile on top of another and the final pile on top of those two

   7. Place the gnome deck in the center of the table

2. Determine starting hand sizes.  

   1. Shuffle the boon cards thoroughly

   2. Each player rolls a 1d4

   3. Each player then receives 1d4 +1 non-room boon cards.  Each player could have a different starting hand size.

   4. If any rooms are received by a player, the player exchanges the room(s) for a different card(s)

3. Create the boon decks

   1. Shuffle all boons together thoroughly

   2. For 2 players, create 2 boon decks with 25 random cards in each

   3. For 3-5 players (or 6 with the expansion) create 1 boon deck per player with 20 cards in each boon deck.

   4. Put remaining boon cards in box as they will not be used this time

   5. Shuffle each boon deck

   6. Place each of the boon decks in different areas of the table face-down so that at least one to two decks can be accessed by each player  

4. Place dice so that they are accessible by the players

5. Determine who will go first by rolling a 1d20.  Highest number goes first and then the play will proceed clockwise.

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Playing the Game:

1. The starting player looks at their hand and determines if there are any cards that they wish to put into play.  Once revealed and placed in front of the player, these cards may not return to the players hand. Normally, a player will only have one ally and one weapon in play at any given time.

2. The player then reveals the top card of one of the boon decks and looks at the value needed to acquire it.  If the value is random, roll the appropriate dice to determine the value.

3. The player determines if they have other cards from their hand to play to help acquire the boon and reveals them in their play area.  At this time, the player may also choose to play additional allies to help with the acquisition. However, extra allies will have to be discarded after the gnome combat phase.  The player may also ask other neighbors for help in acquiring the boon. If neighbors have cards they can play or discard on their neighbor’s behalf, then they can choose to do so at this time.

4. The player rolls their 1d20 and any additional dice that they can according to the cards they themselves have played or their neighbors have played on their behalf.

5. The player compares the die result with the value needed to acquire. If the value of the dice is equal to or greater than the value to acquire, then the player either adds that card to their hand or puts it in play. If the value of the dice is less than the value to acquire, then the player discards that card into a boon discard pile.

6. If the player has played a card to skip gnome combat, play then proceeds to the next clockwise player.

7. If the player has not done #6, the player then begins gnome combat by revealing the top card of the gnome deck unless the player has played a card to draw a card from the gnome discard pile. Look at the value to defeat it.  

   1. If the value is random, roll the appropriate dice to determine the value to defeat.

   2. If the value is NONE, follow the directions on the card.  

   3. Some gnome cards have information that impacts combat before combat.  In this case, follow the directions on the card.

   4. If the player reveals a letter card, place it in center area of table to add to other letters that spell GNOMES. Then, end turn. Play then proceeds to the next clockwise player.

8. The player determines if they have other cards from their hand to play to help with combat and plays them at this time. At this time, the player may also choose to play additional allies or a second weapon to help with combat. If the player plays a second weapon, they may also discard it to gain the discarded value to help with their combat if there is any. The player may also ask other neighbors for help in combat. If neighbors have cards they can play, then they can choose to do so at this time.

9. The player rolls their 1d20 and any additional dice that they can according to the cards they themselves have played or their neighbors have played or discarded on their behalf.

 

NOTE: If Gnief the Thief or any other gnome has stolen the player’s 1d20, then they can not use it during the combat phase. If this occurs, the player is only allowed to roll dice that they can according to the cards they have played or their neighbors have played or discarded on their behalf.

 

 

1. The player compares the die result with the value needed to defeat.  If the value of the dice is equal to or greater than the value to defeat, then the player discards that card to the gnome discard pile and/or follows any boon reward directions on the card if any.  If the value of the dice is less than the value to defeat, then the player follows the instructions on the card. Some gnome cards may also have consequences to follow even if the player wins. If so, follow the directions on the card.

2. The player then discards all action cards and items played for combat.  They also may only keep one ally and one weapon. If extra allies or a second weapon was played, the player chooses which to discard so that they only keep one of each.

3. Play then proceeds to the next clockwise player.

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Winning or Losing:

As this is a cooperative game, all players will either win as a team by gaining a collective three rooms per player before the gnomes spell “GNOMES.”  Or, all player will lose as a team if they have not gained a collective three rooms a piece before the gnomes spell “GNOMES.”

 

Options for Decreasing the Challenge:

1. Place one of the letter cards on the very bottom of the gnome deck

2. Add one more gnome cards per player to the gnome deck during setup

 

Options for Increasing the Challenge:

1. Decrease the number of gnomes in the gnome deck such as 8 per player

2. During setup, determine the number of gnome cards per player. Then, just shuffle the gnome cards with the letters.  

3. Increase the number of rooms needing to be cleansed by each player such as 4 per player.

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