Garden Gnomes is a Google Doodle game released on June 10, 2018, to celebrate Garden Day in Germany. It’s a delightfully addictive physics-based launcher where you use a trebuchet to catapult clay gnomes across a garden, planting flowers wherever they land. Simple to learn, tricky to master, and dangerously easy to play for hours.
The Doodle kicks off with a charming animated history lesson about garden gnomes. While gnome-like figures first appeared in 13th-century Anatolia and resurfaced in 16th-century Italy, the garden gnome we know today originated in 19th-century Germany. In the mining region of Thuringia, local craftsmen hand-carved wooden gnomes with shaggy beards and pointy red hats. These figures were cast in molds, shaped from clay, hardened in kilns, then painted and sold as garden protectors. Legend says they bring good luck and help gardens flourish.
Lead artist Gerben Steenks drew inspiration from Germany’s folk history and traditional wood carving to create the game’s whimsical visual style. The team explored countless gnome designs featuring different hairstyles, beards, and outfits before settling on six playable characters, each with unique weight and bounce properties that affect how they fly through the air.
The garden is filled with helpful objects to extend your gnome’s journey. Mushrooms act like trampolines — purple ones are bouncier than red. Logs work like cannons, shooting your gnome forward with extra speed. Butterflies can lift you higher into the air. The secret to massive scores is chaining these together: hit a mushroom that launches you toward a butterfly that carries you to another bounce opportunity.
How To Play Garden Gnomes
Press the spacebar to start swinging the trebuchet. Press it again to release your gnome. Timing is everything — release just after the swing reaches its peak for the perfect mix of height and distance.
Once airborne, press spacebar or the down arrow to dive toward the ground. Use this to aim for mushrooms and logs rather than landing randomly.
Your gnome plants flowers as it travels. The farther it goes, the more flowers bloom and the higher your score climbs.
After learning the basics, you can choose from six different gnomes. Each has unique characteristics — heavier gnomes maintain momentum better, while lighter ones bounce higher. Experiment to find your favourite.
Keep practicing your launch timing and aim for bounce combos to rack up record-breaking distances.