GNOMING A ROUND

Welcome to Gnoming A Round, the exciting commercial version of the classic card game Golf brought to you by Grandpa Beck’s Games. Join me as we venture into the enchanting world of the Gnome’s mini-golf course, where we’ll compete to achieve the lowest score. Get ready to strategize, draw cards, and exchange them with the ones in your layout, all in the pursuit of reducing your score. And remember, mulligan cards are your secret weapon, as they can be used to complete sets. But beware of hazards, as they give your opponents a chance to flip over their cards!

CONTENTS

Inside the Gnoming A Round box, you’ll find an instruction booklet to guide you through the gameplay, a recipe card for added fun, and a set of 110 playing cards. Among these cards, you’ll discover 82 positive valued cards, 22 negative valued cards, 6 special cards, 3 hazard cards, and 3 powerful mulligan cards. With this colorful assortment, you’re ready to embark on an unforgettable adventure in the world of gnome golf!

Let’s Get Started!

Okay, here’s what we need to do to begin. First, we’ll need to shuffle the deck of cards. Once all the cards are nice and mixed up, we’ll deal nine of them to each player. Make sure to give them out face down, and remember, no peeking!

Next, we’ll take those nine cards and arrange them in a 3×3 grid, still keeping them facedown. This will be each player’s layout. Oh, and don’t forget about the rest of the deck! We’ll put it face down to the side – that’s our draw pile.

Now, let’s pick two cards from our layout and turn them face up. These will be the cards we can see and use right away. Let’s see what we’ve got!

Let’s Play!

First, I’ll take my turn since I’m the youngest player. There are three phases in a turn: draw, play, and discard.

Draw

Now, it’s time for me to draw a card. I can choose to either take one card from the draw pile or grab a card from the top of either discard pile.

Play

If I decide to keep the card I just drew, I can use it to replace one of the face-down or face-up cards in my layout.

When I add cards to my layout, I earn positive points for positive cards, unless I manage to create rows or columns with matching cards. If I do create a matching row or column, I’ll have to deduct points from my score equal to the value of the matching card. For example, if I form a row of 5’s, I’ll have to deduct 5 points from my score at the end of the round.

Well, here’s something important to keep in mind: negative cards will always lower your score when the round is over, regardless of whether they match or not.

Now, let’s talk about hazard cards. When one of these cards is thrown out, all the other players get to turn over one card in their layout. However, the last card in their layout is safe from being turned over due to a hazard card.

Here’s where things get interesting. Mulligan cards are special. They can be any value you need to complete a row or column in your layout. That means they’re pretty versatile! The value of a mulligan card depends on what you need at the time. Just keep in mind that you can only have one mulligan in your layout at the end of your turn.

When I replace a face down card in my layout, I start by turning it over. If the card I reveal is a positive value card that matches the one I’m replacing it with or any other cards in my layout, I can bounce it to a different spot in my layout. The card I just replaced is now in its new position. If the new card also matches, I can keep bouncing it. However, I can’t bounce negative cards or mulligans.

DISCARD

If I don’t want the card I drew, I have the option to discard it onto one of the discard piles. If I replace a card in my layout, I discard the old one. Hazard cards are taken out of play.

If one of the two discard piles is empty by the end of my turn, I have to start the second pile again with my discard, unless I draw a hazard card.

ENDING THE ROUND

Once I turn over the final card in my layout, the game is almost over. Everyone else gets one more turn before we reveal any remaining face-down cards. These cards can’t be rearranged or traded, and any Mulligans or hazards I have stay right where they are.

Scoring

If I have a row or column of 3 positive cards that match, I have to subtract points from my score. The number of points I subtract is equal to the value shown on the card. For example, if I have a row of matching 6’s, I have to deduct 6 points from my score.

If I have any negative cards, I also have to subtract points from my score. The number of points I subtract is equal to the value of the number on the card.

If I have any Mulligan cards that don’t end up in a matching row or column, they’re worth zero points.

If the round ends and I have a hazard card in my layout, I have to add 10 points to my score.

If I’m the player who flipped over my last card first, and I also have the lowest score, I get to subtract an extra 5 points from my score. However, if I don’t have the lowest score, I have to add 5 points as a penalty.

WINNING

The winner is the player with the lowest score at the end of the third round. If there’s a tie, the player with the lowest score in the third round wins. And if there’s still a tie, it’s a shared victory.