Gnome Sweet Gnome ~ A Timberdoodle Review

A preschool puzzle game, Gnome Sweet Gnome teaches young children while playing. The game is designed for one player. Taking turns would be an easy way to allow more than one child to play. This game is intended for children ages 3-7. As a progressive game, Gnome Sweet Gnome allows children as young as 3 years old to work on the starter puzzles while children older can work on the more challenging ones. The game has four levels: Starter, Junior, Expert, and Master. There is an increasing complexity to the challenges as the levels progress. Three wooden gnomes, three wooden flower pots, and a challenge booklet with 48 challenges are included in the game. This games is part of Timberdoodle's 2024 Preschool Curriculum Kit. 

There is absolutely no odor to the painted flowerpots or gnomes! They are made from quality hardwood, making them very durable for young children. For little hands, the spiral bound booklet is just the right size. Having struggled with taking toys apart from their packaging myself, I have to give Smart Games a BIG ROUND OF APPLAUSE for how they packaged this product. It is not necessary to use utility strength scissors to extract the pieces. A single string holds each gnome from front to back. With a single pull of the string each gnome is free! Smart Games, as a mother of six and grandmother of two, I appreciate your thoughtful packaging.

"They like to set up their home in a flowerpots. 
The blue flowerpot is the shallowest pot of them all.
The yellow flowerpot is the deepest pot of all. 
The red flowerpot is neither the shallowest nor the deepest pot.
He is perfectly in between."

How to Play

Your garden is now home to three gnomes. The pattern shown on the card can be recreated by your child using all or some of the six pieces. Through stacking, counting, hiding, and even just playing with the gnomes, children will learn logic and deduction skills. They will practice hand-eye coordination, color and shape discrimination, and use their non-dominant hand to assist and stabilize. Once your child has recreated the image shown on the card simply flip the page in the book and the solution is on the back.

Starter Level 1-12

Junior Level 13-24

"Night has fallen over our garden

and we can't see colours anymore in the dark.

Can you figure out where the gnomes are sleeping?

Recreate the images you see in the night time garden pictures."

Expert Level 25-36

Different flowerpots or gnomes will be grayed out in the Expert and Master levels. To figure out which flowerpot or gnome goes where, children will have to use logic and reasoning skills.

Master Level 37-48

Gnome Sweet Gnome is a fantastic game both for learning and for playing. Smart Games hits the mark with another great game. For school curriculums or everyday play, I highly recommend this game.