Gnome Ranger is an interactive fiction game. In this fantastic adventure our heroine is Ingrid Bottomlow, a very muscular gnome woman who has gone to university and obtained an education. Her character is not the submissive, servile, and obsequious type that attracts any gnome. She has upset her family because of her little gnome behavior and the fact that her parents hate seeing her tells us a lot. That hatred has caused her to have been teleported by a glitch in the scroll from her home into the middle of the dangerous forest where the evil witch is, and she must find her way out. In fact, the wicked witch's hut is between beloved Indrid and her sweet home. At this point the game begins with the objective of leading Ingrid through the forest and making her return to her house in Gnettlefield.

Clearly the witch is not someone to play with. In her main virtues is her ability to turn people to stone through her wand. There are, of course, other dangers, notably an eagle with its young.

Ingrid's exiled world reveals landscapes with the typical fairy tale, streams, swamps and mountains, to name just a few. These are described pretty well even if you switch from brief to detailed mode. The images help the text to maintain the atmosphere. An initially cute but quickly irritating feature is the repeated insertion of the “g” before every word that begins with “n”.

Ingrid also faces a range of strange and not so wonderful beings, including a forest nymph, a centaur named Cap, and a llama. With varying success, such characters can be put to work carrying out a variety of tasks, saving time and effort. A group of dogs, for example, could help you locate the unicorn. After all, gnomes are famous for their weak noses.

As Ingrid explores the forest, there are a number of items that she can exchange in the Centaur's shop for goods that she might find most useful. In fact, Cap's store is stocked with a whole range of items, including a bunch of keys, a lamp, etc. “Cap”, by the way, is obviously a “capitalist” for every item you ask for, he demands two more.

The game contains various time-saving commands, such as GOTO (which will take you to her destination automatically, but describing the route) and RUN TO (which will take you to her destination, omitting the description). Unlike most adventures, mapping is not essential. In fact, most scenes have the full range of geographic exits that would be very tedious to map out.

The game is divided into three parts. In the first part Ingrid faces a witch who has launched an operation to petrify all the gnomes with her wand, where a nymph, a centaur, an eagle and other creatures will help her. In the second part she has to find and combine ingredients for a variety of potions in order to resurrect a special plant that she has accidentally destroyed. In the third and last part she finds herself involved in the war between the Ice People and the Fire People before finding her home.

It's a quaint thing about Gnome Ranger, which, despite her imperfections, makes the game engaging. More importantly, the puzzle of it, most of which are frustrating. This is a very addictive adventure.

The game is a standard text and graphics adventure that takes place in a fantasy world with touches of humor. It includes a short novel by Peter McBride, explaining Ingrid's plight and setting the background for the story. It uses the same game engine as Knight Orc. The player must explore the forest while collecting useful items and interacting with various characters to solve puzzles and problems.

In the following images you can check the original packaging.

• Original cover.

Here you have the front of the original cover.

Another original cover.

• Retouched cover

Its measurements are: Width: 21.90 cm x Height: 13.00 cm.

The manual is printed on glossy black and white paper behind the cover. Its measurements are: Width: 21.90 cm x Height: 13.00 cm

Original disk supplied with Gnome Ranger.

Another version

Custom labels to print them. Over the years due to their use, the labels are spoiled and lose their color and quality. Now we try to adapt the closest thing to the best of our ability, the labels so that they can be printed and replaced or for those who work with a copy of the program and preserve the original disk. Measure in 3 “high: 7.00 cm - width: 7.10 cm. The first image corresponds to the original label of the game, the second is the same label modified to replace the broken one and the third and fourth image is for the 3.5 “discs.

Map

Then we leave you the map so that it is easier for you to finish the game.

Game

The disk images, disk, have been obtained from the original version of Gnome Ranger, they have been recorded and verified.

• Gnome Ranger (Compressed .DSK file in ZIP format)

Extras

Gnome Ranger's accompanying extras can be downloaded below or viewed online.

• Gnome Ranger Manual (PDF file)
• Gnome Ranger Journal (PDF file)
• Gnome Ranger Solution (PDF file)
• Clues Gnome Ranger (PDF file)

• Play Gnome Ranger online
• Play Gnome Ranger online