Gnomes! Getting Started Guide

Gnomes! [Steal & Escape] is a Roblox heist fantasy from Sneaky Gnomes (place 103331563595376). You sneak into a house as a gnome, steal loot, and escape before the Homeowner catches you. You can cooperate with other gnomes, unlock tools and upgrades, and complete quests while the game stays in active development after its roughly 22 August 2026 launch. This beginner guide covers the first hour: what success looks like, how to claim the launch code, when to extract, and how to play with friends without feeding the Homeowner free wins.

If you arrived from videos or lists about Stealing Gnomes or Burglin’ Gnomes, pause. Those are different experiences. Everything below is for Gnomes! only.

What the game is asking you to do

Every good run has the same spine:

1. Enter the house with a route in mind.
2. Steal loot worth banking—not every shiny object in sight.
3. Escape before Homeowner pressure turns the map into a trap.
4. Spend Coins and quest progress on tools and upgrades that make the next run cleaner.

Dying with pockets full is still a loss. The fantasy is theft and survival. Keep that sentence in your head when greed whispers “one more room.”

Minute zero: claim RELEASE!

Before you overthink loadouts, redeem the only confirmed promo code:

• Code: RELEASE! (include the !)
• Reward: 125 Coins

Use the steps in How to Redeem Codes and confirm the balance on the Codes Hub. One hundred twenty-five Coins will not finish the game for you, but they soften the early curve so your first upgrades arrive sooner. Do not skip redemption because you “want to earn everything”—free Coins still buy the same progression hooks as heist Coins.

First-hour goals (checklist)

Treat hour one as training with payouts, not a speedrun:

1. Complete any onboarding prompts so lobby menus and the codes UI are unlocked.
2. Redeem RELEASE! and note your Coin total.
3. Run two short heists focused on escape, not maximum loot value.
4. Unlock one meaningful tool or upgrade that clearly helps stealth, carrying, or extraction reliability—avoid spending everything on looks.
5. Finish or advance at least one early quest if the quest UI is offering simple objectives—see Quests for mindset.
6. Play one co-op run if friends are online, with a spoken escape call.

If you finish that list, you already understand more than players who only chase viral “best loot” clips from the wrong game.

Your first heist: play the objective

Scouting beats sprinting

On spawn or entry, take five seconds. Where is the way out? Which hallways look like choke points? Who on your team is watching versus looting? Blind sprinting creates noise, stacks bodies in one room, and teaches the Homeowner exactly where the gnomes are.

Loot with a budget

Decide a soft loot target before you commit deep. Examples of healthy beginner targets: enough value to feel the reward loop, without needing every cabinet on the far side of the house. When the Homeowner presence spikes—audio stingers, visible pursuit, teammates panicking—your budget is done. Extract. Detailed greed breakpoints live in How to Escape.

Escape is a skill, not a button

Pathing to the exit while overloaded is harder than pathing empty. Leave buffer time. If two teammates are already extracting, do not solo a side wing “real quick.” Beginner wipes cluster around delayed exits, not missing a single item.

Spending your first Coins

Spend to reduce failed runs:

• Prefer upgrades that help you avoid detection, disengage, or secure extraction.
• Delay cosmetic flex until you can escape consistently.
• Revisit the Tier List Hub after a few sessions when you know which deaths feel unfair versus self-inflicted.

We will not invent tool names that may not match the live build. Trust the in-game labels you see, and judge each unlock by whether it helps steal-and-escape—not by hype alone.

Co-op basics that actually matter

Online co-op is part of the pitch. Use it with roles:

• Caller: watches Homeowner pressure and says when to leave.
• Looters: strip high-value, low-time targets.
• Trailer: last gnome who confirms the path is clear behind the group.

Simple voice or chat calls beat silence. Stacking four gnomes on one cupboard is not teamwork; it is a parade. Rotate rooms, stagger movement, and never assume someone else hit the extract button. Deeper party habits live in Co-op Tips; more stealth habits are in Stealth Tips. When the house starts hunting you, pair those pages with Homeowner Guide.

Quests without tunnel vision

Quests exist to reward intentional play—complete objectives, earn progress, unlock more power. In hour one, accept quests that align with normal heist behavior (loot, escape, survive) rather than forcing a weird route that gets everyone caught. If a quest asks you to linger in a hot zone, weigh the reward against a wiped run. Progression that you bank after escaping beats progress that dies on the carpet. Deeper notes: Quests.

Common beginner mistakes

• Skipping RELEASE! and struggling for Coins you could have claimed in thirty seconds
• Treating the house like an endless looter instead of a timed steal
• Ignoring Homeowner audio and visual tells until it is too late
• Spending all Coins before learning which deaths you actually have
• Following guides written for similarly named Roblox gnome games
• Playing co-op with zero escape plan

A simple practice loop

1. Redeem and buy one sensible unlock.
2. Run a low greed heist; extract early on purpose.
3. Run a medium greed heist; leave at the first hard pressure spike.
4. Review what caused the last catch—pathing, stacking, ignored calls—using Stealth Tips.
5. Check Updates weekly so patches do not surprise you mid-meta.

Where to go next

• How to Escape — extraction mindset and greed control
• Stealth Tips — awareness and team roles
• Co-op Tips — party roles and callouts in more depth
• Homeowner Guide — reading pressure and surviving pursuits
• Quests — progression without invented IDs
• Codes Hub — verified rewards only
• Tier List Hub — spending priority
• Guides Hub — full list of walkthroughs
• Links Hub — official play link

Learn the loop first. Fancy routes and max loot come after you can leave the house alive on command.