Games / Puzzle Games / Gnome Guard / Guide
Gnome Guard
Slugs, beetles, snails, moles and crows are marching on your cabbages. Plant a line of brave garden gnomes in their path and hold the garden for 20 levels.
What is Gnome Guard?
Gnome Guard is a lane defense game, a kind of tower defense where enemies walk straight down fixed lanes and you block them by planting defenders in the squares. The lawn has 5 lanes and 7 rows. Pests come in at the top and munch their way down toward the five cabbages at the bottom. Your gnomes throw pebbles, spray mist, send bees and stand in the way.
It's free, plays in the browser, and was built with phones in mind: the lawn is tall and narrow, and everything is tap to place. It works just as well on a tablet or computer, with no download.
How to play
- Tap a gnome card at the bottom, then tap a lawn square to plant it. Each gnome costs seeds.
- After you plant a gnome, its card needs a short cooldown before you can plant another of the same kind.
- You start each level with at least 150 seeds. More fall from the sky every 9 to 13 seconds, and Seed Sunflowers grow 25 seeds every 9 seconds. Tap seeds to collect them, or they're picked up on their own after a few seconds.
- Pests walk down their lane. When one reaches a gnome, it stops and starts chewing.
- If a pest gets past everything and reaches the bottom, it eats a cabbage. Lose a third cabbage and the garden falls.
- Clear every wave to save the garden. You get a quiet moment between waves to plant and rebuild.
Changed your mind about a gnome? The shovel digs it up and gives back part of its cost, more if the gnome is unhurt.
Controls
| Action | Phone or tablet | Computer |
|---|---|---|
| Pick a gnome | Tap its card | Number keys 1 to 6 |
| Plant | Tap a lawn square | Move with arrow keys, then Enter or Space |
| Shovel | Tap the shovel card | S |
| Double speed | Speed button | F |
| Pause | Pause button | P or Esc |
On a keyboard, Enter or Space also collects every seed on the lawn.
The gnomes
| Gnome | Seeds | What it does | Unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seed Sunflower | 50 | Grows 25 seeds every 9 seconds | Level 1 |
| Pebble Pip | 100 | Throws pebbles up its own lane | Level 1 |
| Stout Stan | 50 | A tough wall with a big belly. 450 health, blocks pests | Level 2 |
| Misty Moss | 125 | Sprays pests up to about two squares ahead and slows them | Level 4 |
| Puffcap | 150 | Bursts a second after planting, hitting pests in its lane and the lanes either side | Level 7 |
| Buzzy Bea | 175 | Sends homing bees at pests in its lane and the lanes next to it | Level 11 |
In Survival and the Daily Siege, all six gnomes are available from the start.
The pests
| Pest | What to know |
|---|---|
| Slug | Slow and steady. The basic pest. |
| Beetle | Fragile but quick. Shows up from level 3. |
| Snail | Very slow, but has more than twice a slug's health. |
| Mole | Tunnels under your first gnome in the lane and pops up behind it. Can't be hit while underground. |
| Crow | Flies straight over your gnomes. Low health but the fastest pest. |
| Slug King | The boss. 1,400 health and a huge bite. Arrives on the final wave of every fifth level. |
Gardens and levels
The 20 levels are split across four gardens, five levels each, and each garden adds a new pest:
- Spring Meadow (levels 1 to 5): slugs and beetles
- Veggie Patch (levels 6 to 10): adds snails
- Autumn Orchard (levels 11 to 15): adds moles
- Moonlit Garden (levels 16 to 20): adds crows
Levels 5, 10, 15 and 20 end with the Slug King. Every level is the same each time you play it, so if you lose, you can plan for exactly what's coming.
Stars, acorns and the Gnome Shed
You earn 3 stars for saving every cabbage, 2 if you lose one and 1 if you lose two. There are 60 stars in all. Each new star you earn gives you an acorn, and acorns buy upgrades in the Gnome Shed. Every gnome can be upgraded three times, for 2, 4 and then 6 acorns, and each upgrade makes it 20% stronger. Replaying an old level for a better star count is the way to earn more acorns.
Survival, Daily Siege and scoring
Survival is endless waves that keep getting bigger, with a Slug King every fifth wave. You start with 250 seeds. The Daily Siege is the same idea with the same waves and garden for every player that day, and it builds a streak. Signed in players can post scores to the survival and daily leaderboards.
Points come from popping pests (tougher pests are worth more), 50 for every wave cleared, plus 25 per wave number in Survival and the Daily Siege. At the end of a story level you also get 100 per cabbage saved and 1 per leftover seed.
Tower defense tips
Sunflowers first, and at the back
Every level gives you a long quiet start before the first wave. Spend it on Seed Sunflowers in the bottom row, where pests reach last. Each one pays for itself in about 15 seconds and keeps paying all level. Two or three early sunflowers make the rest of the level easy.
One shooter per lane before doubling up
Pests choose their lane at random, so an empty lane is an open door. Get a Pebble Pip into all five lanes before you put a second one anywhere.
Stout Stan buys time
Stan costs only 50 seeds and has 450 health. Put him in front of your shooters and every pest that stops to chew on him is standing still in your line of fire. It's the cheapest way to make a Pebble Pip twice as effective.
Put Misty Moss behind a wall
Misty Moss only reaches about two squares, so it works best right behind a Stout Stan. The mist hits everything chewing on Stan and slows the pests coming up behind, giving your pebbles more time.
Plan for moles
A mole digs under the first gnome in its lane and comes up behind it. From the Autumn Orchard on, keep your sunflowers off the front line and put a second gnome a few rows behind your first one so the mole surfaces in front of something that can hit it.
Bees for crows
Crows fly over walls, so blocking won't stop them. Buzzy Bea's bees chase pests anywhere in three lanes, and pebbles still hit crows flying up the lane. In the Moonlit Garden, have both covering every lane.
Save a Puffcap for the Slug King
Puffcap has a long cooldown, so don't spend it on a few slugs. Hold it for a crowd or the boss, and plant it right in front of the pests so the cloud covers three lanes at once.
Upgrade Pebble Pip first
Pebble Pip is in every lane all game, so the 20% boost helps everywhere. Sunflowers don't fight, so upgrade your attackers before anything else.
Questions
Is Gnome Guard free?
Yes. It's a free lane defense game that plays in your browser on phone, tablet or computer with no download.
How many levels does Gnome Guard have?
Twenty, across four gardens, plus endless Survival mode and a new Daily Siege every day.
How do you get more seeds?
Plant Seed Sunflowers, which grow 25 seeds every 9 seconds, and tap the seeds that fall from the sky.
How do you beat moles in Gnome Guard?
Moles tunnel past your first gnome in a lane. Keep a second gnome a few rows behind it so the mole surfaces in front of it.
How do you get acorns?
Earn stars. Each new star on a level gives one acorn, so replaying levels for 3 stars is the way to earn more.
Is Gnome Guard like tower defense?
Yes. It's lane based tower defense: enemies walk straight down five lanes and you plant gnomes in their path.
