‘Gnaughty Gnomes’ Uses Cards to Alter its Chaotic Party Action

Gnaughty Gnomes is a party game where cards let the player improve their character or make game-altering changes in their favor.

I’ve played card games. I’ve played local multiplayer games. That said, there is just something so unique and fun feeling about this title. In this game, you and up to three of your friends are battling it out in a variety of different levels as you try to be the last one standing.

You can throw objects, pick up weapons, trigger fires, avoid frog tongues – there’s just a lot going on depending on the actual level. AND, to make things more chaotic, your character can earn upgrade cards that change the way the game plays in between rounds. I found those cards to feel so balanced and fun. Essentially, a bunch are revealed in between the rounds, and the person currently in last place can pick a card first. Some cards are rare, some cards stack while with others, and some cards are items you might not want at all. You do need to pick a card, though, and then you will have that upgrade until the end of the entire game.

Oh, and there are over 150 cards for you to learn to master, so it’s really interesting as you build up an array of game-altering upgrades. When I played Gnaughty Gnomes at BIG Conference, I was surprised that some cards didn’t even matter until the round AFTER they were picked, as they affected the next lot of picking. It’s just such a deeper change to this already chaotic party game.

When it comes to gameplay modes, you can battle in teams, take on a prop hunt mode where you don’t actually fight at all and instead hide or just play all against each other, if you’d like. The game also has tons of cute customizations that fit in well with the variety of different environments featured throughout the maps. The whole game just feels so polished, well made, and well designed. It’s a fun, frantic party game for all ages.

Gnaughty Gnomes is available now on Steam.

About The Author

Jupiter Hadley

Jupiter is a prolific indie game journalist, writing for Metro UK, Big Boss Battle, AlphaBetaGamer, and many more, all with a focus on smaller indie gems. She covers thousands of game jams and indie games on her YouTube channel, letting every game have a moment in the spotlight. She runs indiegamejams.com, a calendar of all of the game jams going on in the world, judges many jams and events.