Title notwithstanding, there aren't in fact any gnomes of any shape in this game from Phantom Lab. Designed by Kotori, OrthoGnomes is actually a three-dimensional abstract strategy game where the two players are placing blocks out on a grid with the aim of creating orthogonal and diagonal rows of four of their colour/symbol ('light' vs 'dark'),
Each player has a set of six blocks made up of three cubes. One of your blocks will only contain your own colour/symbol but all the others have a 2:1 mix of colour/symbols. Players take turns to place a block within a 4 x 4 grid subject to the limitation that the block you place must be at a 90º angle to the block to which it is adjacent; this can mean horizontally or vertically perpendicular.
You're trying to create rows of four of your colour/symbol as seen from each of the four cardinal directions, and to aid players in this the grid on which you play is mounted on a 'lazy susan' turntable so that the board can readily be rotated during play - so no need on your turn to wander round to view the array from the four different compass points. As in similar Tic-Tac-Toe variants, you'll be trying not just to create your own rows but also block those of your opponent but you're always working in three dimensions because the block you place will usually have an impact on the tableau visible from more than one direction.
The solid chunky blocks and rotating board make OrthoGnomes a satisfying game to play, and with just six blocks apiece to place, it's a game that plays quickly: most of our plays at Board's Eye View have been around 10 minutes - so OrthoGnomes has become a popular filler.
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