whack-a-gnome

how it plays

nine holes in a lawn. magic gnomes keep popping out of them. the birthday blob has a mallet and forty-five seconds to bonk them back in. it's the game anyone can play in a second, and the one people keep replaying because the next round is always going to be the good one.

1. 1bonk gnomesclick, tap or press 1–9 on a gnome.
2. 2chain combos5, 10 and 20 in a row pop a mood sticker.
3. 3spare the llamasnever bonk a llama. empty holes cost too.

scoring

• a gnome: points, plus a combo bonus that grows with every hit in a row.
• a gold hat: +15. they're quick.
• a snow bunny: +25. rarer still.
• a llama: −15. the llamas are friends.
• an empty hole: −2. no flailing.

a good round is around thirty gnomes with some decent combos, which lands near two hundred and fifty points. combos of 5, 10 and 20 pop a mood sticker on screen. three of the stickers on the birthday person's sheet live here: gnome whisperer for thirty gnomes in a round, combo royalty for a 10× combo, and friend of llamas for 200 points without a single llama hit.

don't bonk the friends

once three or more friends have left cards, some of the pop-ups are friends' blobs, wearing their colour, hat and eyes, with their name on a tag: "don't bonk noor!" they count as innocents, exactly like the llamas. it turns a reflex game into a recognition game, and it is very funny to watch someone hesitate over their best friend's face for a full half second.

controls

• laptop: click a gnome, or press 1–9. each hole shows its key cap.
• phone or tablet: tap. the holes are big and nothing needs precision.
• pause: P or Esc.

the number keys are the secret to high scores. the row above the letters reads like a phone keypad, 1 2 3 across the top row of holes; a numpad keeps its own layout, 7 8 9 on top. once the birthday person discovers this, their score doubles and their friends become nervous.

tips for a high score

• look at the middle hole. from there you can see all nine without moving your eyes much.
• use the number keys. they're faster than any mouse, and a numpad is faster still.
• combos beat gold hats. chasing a rare hat across the lawn often breaks a combo worth more.
• look before you bonk. llamas and friends pop up as fast as gnomes. half a second of looking costs less than fifteen points.

a room full of players

whack-a-gnome is the fairest game for a crowd: no rhythm, no aiming, just reflexes, so the friend who never plays games has a real chance. run a quick tournament: everyone plays one round on the same laptop, the top two play a final, and the birthday person plays the winner. bonking a friend's blob in the final is, by tradition, unforgivable.

where it lives

whack-a-gnome is one of 12 booths at the festival on the birthday island. walk up and press E to play it right there, or open it from the festival page, which keeps the birthday person's best score and play count. it's a great first game: it teaches the controls of the whole festival in about five seconds.