The pint-size entrepreneurs of Gnomes Inc. have larger-than-life dreams, and they could use a hand making them come true. Build wee recycling plants where plucky gnomes can repurpose and resell the stuff they’ve “borrowed” from human households. Pilfering toasters and raiding pantries may seem a bit shady, but it’s easy to root for these charming gnomes – especially when their first big goal is to build an orphanage.

What we love: Managing a well-oiled supply chain. Merging and recycling crates full of kitchen pots, old tyres and stacks of post feels super-satisfying – no waste here! – as does generating the right amount of raw material to meet your factories’ demands.

Quick tip: Before taking on a limited-time sales contract, level up factories that make the item you need and temporarily reassign your best managers to run them. Plants pumping out the required resources should also be fully upgraded and staffed – and remember to speed up the recycling process with box openers.

Meet the creator: Martin Dirks learned programming on his dad’s home computer when he was 8 years old, and he released his first game when he was 14. As an adult, he teamed up with artist Simon Kramhöller to make Puzzle Colony; the cute little creatures from that game inspired the creation of Gnomes Inc.