First of all, I love this game. Gnoming A Round is an incredibly adorable card game that is high quality and has so much thought put into every detail. If you like card games, this is a definite must-buy.
Quick View
Title: Gnoming A Round
Release Date: 2020
Price: $16.99
Suggested Audience Age: 7-99
Number of Players: 2-7
Time to Play: 15-30 minutes
Availability: Grandpa Beck's Website, most friendly local game stores, Amazon
Recommended for fans of: Arboretum, Jaipur, or other fun and quick card games like Tinderblox
What's The Story
The story is…adorable. As is everything with this game. Read the actual story insert with the game because I'm summarizing it. But here's the quick version.
A restless gnome named Rowan was an adventurer who liked to spy on the Big Folk (humans). On one of his adventures, he came across a majestic land of castles, windmills, dragons, and a sign that read “Mini-Golf”. All the gnomes were intrigued and recreated this for themselves. The mini-golf course at Stottingham Shire became a big hit, just as it is for the Big Folk.
What the Gameplay Feels Like
The gameplay is very straightforward and easy to learn.
Each player makes a 3×3 grid of face-down cards, with any two of the cards flipped right side up for each grid to start. On your turn, you draw a card from either the deck or the discard pile. You can play the card by using it to replace one of the cards in your grid (either a face-up or face-down card can be replaced but you play the card facing up). Then you discard and move on to the next player.
Working your way through the game you are trying to get rows of cards that will create the lowest point score possible (this is golf after all).
If you master that, then you can also move on to the Advanced Rules for an even greater challenge.
What I liked
What do I like? EVERYTHING.
This game is fun, quick to learn and set up, small enough for me to keep in my purse to take on coffee shop dates, and is very high quality. Attention to detail was given everywhere. The artwork is superb, the cards themselves are of great quality. Even the box is beautiful inside and out. As with every Grandpa Beck game, this is perfection.
Yes, I may be a bit of a Grandpa Beck fangirl. I'm not ashamed.
BONUS
As if all of that wasn't enough…Grandma Beck even includes in the box a beautiful recipe card for “Grandma Beck's Crispy Crunch”. It's really good too!
What I didn't like
Honestly… nothing.
This is just a really fun and clever card game with high quality design and materials. High replay value and great for pretty much everyone.