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Help · Scouts & Nomlings

How to play: the whole game, step by step

Start here. From your first visit to catching, takeovers and drops.
1

1. Look around

The map shows every food deal as a price pin. Use the Deals | Hunt switch at the bottom left: Deals shows only deals; Hunt adds Nomlings, treat drops, takeovers and sightings.
2

2. Get your free starter

Sign in and pick a free starter Nomling. It’s yours from the start and never goes away.
3

3. Settle in

Play on 3 different days (vote 🔥, check or add a deal, or visit a restaurant in person) and your starter gets its serial number and counts everywhere, plus 25 treats.
4

4. Find and check deals

Vote 🔥 on good deals, answer "Still valid?" and add deals you spot. You earn treats: 5 for a check, 25 when your deal is approved. This is what keeps the map honest for everyone.
5

5. Wake a Nomling or find a wild one

Every restaurant has a Nomling. At places that haven’t claimed their page it sleeps ("zz") until someone checks a deal there in person, then it’s awake for 60 minutes. Wild Nomlings pop up near restaurants for 30–45 minutes (rare ones sparkle and stay 20–30). Claimed places are always awake.
6

6. Go there

Catching is in person only: be within 500 ft, or scan the counter sticker. We check once and keep only "near" or "not near".
7

7. Win the Nom-off

Food flies to a spot at your Nomling’s left or right. Tap that side’s paw as the ring closes (keys F and J, or ← → on a computer). Good timing builds a streak, and 10 in a row is fever (double points). Skip the chile. Fill the meter past the goal line to win. You get 3 tries a day at each place, and Practice battle (from Scout) is free anywhere.
8

8. Catch it

No luck involved: a win fills the catch meter (0–100) from how well you played. Reach the line for its rarity (Common 40, Legendary 85) and it’s yours, every time. Calming snacks lower the line by up to 30. Fall short and it’s "Nearly!": your meter is kept and your next win adds to it. A catch is minted: one of a kind, with its own serial, look and style.
9

9. Raise it

Feed and care for your Nomlings to evolve them 4 times. Put them in your Nom Café, where visitors drop by every day with small gifts.
10

10. Spend your treats

Use treats in the Treat Shop for outfits, café pieces and animations. Money never buys a Nomling.
11

11. Go bigger

Take over restaurants (win a Nom-off and your Nomling guards one: every full day you hold it pays 10 treats), chase Legendary sightings at events, watch the new drop every Tuesday, and help your city goal.
12

12. Level up

The treats you earn raise your level, and levels never end. Every level pays treats, and 12 ranks (Spark to Hotspot) unlock more. Fire bonus: the first 150 treats you earn each day count double toward your level. Unlocks & rules in Scout shows where you stand.
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Related questions
Can I catch Nomlings from home?Why is this Nomling asleep? How do I wake it?What are wild Nomlings?What if it leaves while I’m on my way?No ride. Can I still play near home?How does a chase keep me safe?What does "Settling in" mean?Can I buy a Nomling?
More in Scouts & Nomlings
Deals mode and Hunt mode
One switch turns the game on or off.
Catch your first Nomling
Nomlings are caught in person, at any restaurant on the map.
The catch meter and calming snacks
Skill decides the catch. No dice.
The Nomdex and "Where it lives"
Your collection, and how to find the ones you’re missing.

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