GNOM!
Munch crystals, dodge slimes — a neon maze-chase adventure.
How to Play
Guide the gnom through every corridor of the maze to collect all the crystals. Four colored slimes hunt you with different strategies. Eat an energy orb to turn them vulnerable for a short window — chomp them for bonus points. Three difficulty modes change slime speed and aggression.
Controls
- ↑ ← ↓ →Move
- W A S DMove (alternative)
- Swipe / D-PadMove (touch)
- PPause
- RRestart
About This Game
A retro maze-chase arcade reminiscent of Pac-Man's maze-chase formula: you're a gnom munching crystals through a neon labyrinth. Four colored slime ghosts each behave differently — one chases, one cuts you off, one ambushes. Grab an energy orb to flip the tables and chomp them back.
What is GNOM!?
GNOM! is a neon-coloured maze-chase arcade game clearly inspired by Pac-Man, the 1980 genre-defining classic. You play as a small gnom weaving through the corridors of a labyrinth, trying to eat every crystal on the board while four colored slime ghosts hunt you down. Each slime has its own behaviour: one chases you directly, one tries to cut off your escape route, one ambushes from ahead, and one moves unpredictably. Energy orbs hidden at the corners of the maze briefly turn the tables — eat one and the slimes flip blue and flee, letting you chomp them back for bonus points before they respawn. Three difficulty modes change slime speed and aggression so you can start slow and work up. Play GNOM! free in your browser — no download required.
Tips & Strategy
- Learn the four slime personalities. Once you know which one chases and which one ambushes, the maze stops feeling random and starts feeling solvable.
- Prioritise safe paths over greedy score. Grabbing the last crystal in a dead-end corridor is rarely worth being boxed in by two slimes.
- Save energy orbs for the moments you're cornered, not for the opening minutes. An orb used when two slimes are on your tail is worth three orbs used in a wide corridor.
- Clear dead ends last. The central loops of the maze give you escape options; dead ends only matter once the slimes are on the other side of the board.
- Watch the respawn timer. Eaten slimes come back quickly — know where they'll reappear so you can plan your next loop away from that corner.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is GNOM! like Pac-Man?
Yes — GNOM! is a clear homage to Pac-Man, with the same maze-chase formula: collect pellets (crystals), dodge four distinct enemy ghosts (slimes), and use power-ups (energy orbs) to briefly chomp them back. The art style, the gnom character, and the neon palette are original to GNOM!, but the core rules will feel instantly familiar to anyone who has played the classic.
How do enemies behave in GNOM!?
Each of the four slimes uses a different AI: a direct chaser that pursues your current position, a flanker that aims for the tile ahead of you, an ambusher that patrols sections and pounces, and an unpredictable one that mixes strategies. Learning which slime does what is half the game.
How many levels does GNOM! have?
GNOM! uses a single expanding maze with three difficulty modes — Easy, Normal, and Hard — that control slime speed and aggression rather than swapping maze layouts. Score grows as long as you survive and keep clearing crystals, so runs get longer as you improve rather than being artificially capped.
Can I play GNOM! on mobile?
Yes. GNOM! supports touch controls with a swipe or on-screen D-pad for movement, and the portrait-friendly maze renders cleanly on phones. All four slime behaviours, energy orbs, and scoring are identical to the desktop version.
