
Rise of The Gnomes: Desert Expansion
- 1–6 players
- 2022

2022
Rules assistance for Rise of The Gnomes
Plain-language explanations of turns, card effects and disputed situations, with official source references and saved question history.

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Answers come from the official rulebook, with the page to check.
Rise of The Gnomes is a board game released in 2022 for 1–5 players, 60–120 minutes per game, and ages 14 and up. It was designed by Daniel A. George (I) and its main mechanics are Cooperative Game, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Action Drafting.
Panic has spread through the fantasy land of Brumancia. Gloomtail the Eternal has emerged from her sea lair. The Gnome Union, seizing this opportunity, have revolted, captured the throne at DragonKeep and halted the production of beer. Rise of the Gnomes is an area control game where you manage one of the brewery empires in Brumancia. Defeat the Gnomes and claim the regions of Brumanica by winning the loyalty of beer customers. Use your gold to pay tributes to Gloomtail the Eternal, preventing her from eating your customers and burning your breweries to the ground. Earn points by expanding your regions, building breweries, recruiting allies and pleasing the powers of Brumanica. The player, or Gnome Union, with the most points at the end of five rounds is the winner. Rise of the Gnomes uses worker placement and card drafting to perform actions. The order of the chosen actions dictates how well players do in the game. Player strategy and not luck determines the success of actions. Rise of the Gnomes features the Gnome Union, an automated competing player. All players lose the game if the Gnomes have the most victory points at the end of the game. Players must both compete with other players for control of Brumancia and work together to keep the Gnomes in check. Rise of the Gnomes can be played four different ways: Solo – You alone must defeat the Gnome Union revolution. You win if you have more points than the Gnomes at the end of the game. Cooperative - Work together with your friends to defeat the Gnome Union revolution. All players must have more points than the Gnomes at the end of five rounds in order to win the game. Competitive - Play the game with your friends and compete with each other while defeating the Gnome Union revolution. The player, or Gnomes, with the most points at the end of the game wins. Cutthroat - Play the game with your friends and compete with each other while defeating the Gnome Union revolution who are controlled by your opponents. The player, or Gnomes, with the most points at the end of the game wins. Components 5 Double Sided Player Boards 1 Score Board 1 Gnome Board 1 Action Board 42 Game Board Tiles 54 Wood Brewer Meeples 51 Wood Breweries 232 Wood Customer Cubes 5 Wood Boats 5 Beer Barrels 3 Game Markers 1 Wooden Dragon Meeple 196 Tokens 2 Player Aids 117 Game Cards 2 Rule Books 1 Rules Reference Book 1 Strategy Guide -description from publisher
Rise of The Gnomes supports 1–5 players according to the catalogue. This range comes from the publisher’s listed player count, so the game can be set up for any group size within it. Some setups, rules and scoring details may still vary by player count, so check your edition’s rulebook for the exact configuration.
The listed playing time for Rise of The Gnomes is 60–120 minutes. This is the publisher’s estimate for a full game. The actual duration depends on the group, the player count and familiarity with the rules: first sessions usually run longer, while experienced groups often finish faster. Setup and teaching time are not included in this estimate.
The catalogue lists Rise of The Gnomes for ages 14 and up. This is the publisher’s recommendation and reflects reading demands, rule complexity and small components rather than theme alone. Younger players can often join with help from an adult, so check the age guidance on your edition and consider your group’s experience with board games.
Rise of The Gnomes has a complexity rating of 3.2 out of 5 from BoardGameGeek players, which makes it a medium-weight game. The rating reflects how much rules knowledge, planning and decision-making a typical game demands. Expect a longer first teach for heavier games, and use a preparation guide before game night.
Rise of The Gnomes belongs to these categories: Fantasy and Territory Building. Its main mechanics are Cooperative Game, Solo / Solitaire Game, and Action Drafting. Categories describe the theme and setting of a game, while mechanics describe what players actually do on their turns. Each mechanic links to a catalogue hub with similar games, which helps when you want something comparable.
The credited designers of Rise of The Gnomes are: Daniel A. George (I). These credits come from the published game data and name the people responsible for the game’s design, not its illustrators or publishers. Designer pages on MeepleRules collect other titles by the same designers, which helps when you enjoy a game and want to find similar ones.
The catalogue lists Rise of The Gnomes as a base game. It can be played on its own with the components in the box and does not require any other title. Expansions, if any exist, add new content or rules on top of it and are listed separately in the catalogue with a link back to this base game.