How to play Find the Gnome

Every level is a garden full of bushes, flowers, rocks, snails and mushrooms, with three red-hatted garden gnomes hiding somewhere in it. Most of them are half tucked behind a bush or a flower. Tap or click a gnome to find it. When you’ve found all three, you move on to the next level.

You have 60 seconds per level. Seconds you have left over turn into bonus points.
Wrong guesses cost time. Each tap on the wrong spot takes 3 seconds off the clock, so look before you tap.
Hints cost time too. Press Hint (or H on a keyboard) to show a circle near one of the gnomes, at the cost of 10 seconds.
Watch for decoys. Red mushrooms, birdhouses, strawberries, lanterns and red flowers can look a lot like a gnome’s hat at a glance.

Ten levels

Each level adds more clutter and more red decoys, and the gnomes get a little smaller. Level 1 is a gentle warm-up. By level 10 you’ll be scanning a crowded garden for gnomes about half the size of the ones you started with. Clear a level and you get 100 points plus 5 points for every second left on the clock.

Tips for spotting gnomes

Look for the beard. Plenty of things in the garden are red. Only gnomes have a white beard under the red hat.
Scan in strips. Sweep across the scene from left to right, one band at a time, rather than looking all over.
Check the edges. Gnomes hide near the sides and bottom of the scene as often as in the middle.
Use hints late. A hint costs 10 seconds, so save it for the last gnome when time is running low.

Playing with a keyboard

Click the scene, then use the arrow keys to move a crosshair. Hold Shift to move it faster. Press Enter or Space to check the spot under the crosshair and H for a hint.

Frequently asked questions

Is Find the Gnome free?

Yes. Our Find the Gnome is a free browser game with no download or sign-up. It isn’t connected to the paid Steam game of a similar name, which we cover in our best gnome games list.

Is it the same scene every time?

No. Every level is generated fresh, so the gnomes are in different places each time you play.

Is Find the Gnome good for kids?

Yes. The first few levels are easy and make a nice seek-and-find game for kids. Grown-ups usually find the later levels a real challenge.