Burglin' Gnomes Connection Failed? P2P Troubleshooting Guide for Co-Op Players

You have got your team assembled. Everyone is ready to pull off the perfect heist. You click Join Lobby and — "Connection Failed." You try again. Same result. Your friends are in the game, having fun, and you are stuck on the outside.

Connection failures in Burglin' Gnomes are almost always a networking problem, and because the game uses a peer-to-peer (P2P) model with no dedicated servers, the issue is more complex than simply connecting to a central game server. You are connecting to another player's machine, and every link in the chain between you and them needs to work.

How P2P Connections Work (and Fail)

In a P2P game, one player acts as the host — their computer runs the game session and every other player connects directly to it. There is no central server mediating the connection.

This means a connection failure can be caused by:

• Your network — something on your end is blocking the outgoing connection
• The host's network — something on their end is blocking incoming connections
• The route between you — your ISPs, NAT devices, or firewalls are preventing a clean path

Since there is no dedicated server to fall back on, if the P2P connection cannot be established, the game simply fails to connect.

Step 1: Verify the Host Can Create a Working Lobby

Before you troubleshoot your own connection, confirm the host's setup is working:

• Have the host restart Steam and relaunch Burglin' Gnomes. A fresh launch clears temporary networking issues.
• Have the host recreate the lobby. Sometimes a lobby gets into a bad state where it appears open but is not actually accepting connections.
• Switch the host. If Player A cannot host but Player B can, the problem is with Player A's network configuration, not yours.
• Have the host restart their router if switching hosts does not help. This is especially important if the host has not rebooted their router in weeks — long-running routers accumulate connection state that can interfere with P2P hosting.

If you can connect to other hosts but not one specific player, the problem is almost certainly on that host's end.

Step 2: Check for Firewall and Antivirus Blocking

Firewalls are the most common cause of P2P connection failures. Both the host and the connecting player need to allow Burglin' Gnomes through their firewalls.

Windows Defender Firewall:

1. Open Windows Security → Firewall & network protection
2. Click Allow an app through firewall
3. Find Burglin' Gnomes in the list and ensure both Private and Public are checked
4. If it is not listed, click Allow another app and browse to the game's executable

Third-party antivirus/firewall:

• Add Burglin' Gnomes as an exception in your antivirus software
• If you are using a third-party firewall (Norton, Kaspersky, Bitdefender), add the game to its allowed applications list

Router-level firewall:

• Some routers have built-in firewalls that block P2P connections. Check your router's security settings and look for options to allow P2P traffic or add the game as an exception.

Step 3: Address NAT Restrictions

NAT (Network Address Translation) is how your router manages connections between your local network and the internet. Strict NAT types block many P2P connections.

• Enable UPnP (Universal Plug and Play) on your router. This allows games to automatically configure the ports they need.
• If UPnP is not available or does not work, try port forwarding for Burglin' Gnomes. Check the game's documentation or community forums for the specific ports used.
• Avoid Double NAT — if you have both a modem and a router performing NAT, you may need to put your modem in bridge mode or place your router in the modem's DMZ.

Step 4: Optimize Your Network Connection

Even if the connection technically succeeds, a poor network path between you and the host causes lag, disconnections, and failed reconnect attempts.

Use wired Ethernet. This is the single most impactful change for connection stability. WiFi introduces packet loss and latency spikes that are particularly damaging for P2P connections.

Close background network applications. Anything using your network in the background competes with the game:

• Cloud storage sync (OneDrive, Google Drive, Dropbox)
• Streaming apps (Spotify, YouTube, Twitch)
• Download managers or torrent clients
• Other games updating in the background

GearUP provides P2P-specific network optimization that helps stabilize your connection to other players:

• Routing node optimization — selects the most efficient network path between you and the host, reducing latency and avoiding congested routes
• NAT improvement — helps establish cleaner connections that are less likely to fail during the handshake process
• No network configuration changes required — GearUP works at the application level without modifying your router settings or network setup

Step 5: Choose the Best Host for Your Group

In a P2P game, the host determines the quality of the session for everyone. When deciding who should host:

• Choose the player with the most stable internet connection — not necessarily the fastest, but the most consistent. A stable 50 Mbps connection is better than an unstable 500 Mbps connection.
• Wired connections only for the host. WiFi-hosted sessions are significantly less reliable.
• Geographic center of the group. If your group is spread across a region, the player in the geographic middle will have the lowest average ping to everyone else.
• Avoid the player on a university, corporate, or public network. These networks often have strict NAT policies and firewalls that block P2P connections.

When Nothing Works

If you have exhausted the above and still cannot connect:

• Verify game files through Steam (right-click Burglin' Gnomes → Properties → Local Files → Verify integrity of game files)
• Disable your VPN if you are using one — VPNs can interfere with P2P handshakes
• Temporarily disable your firewall entirely to test whether it is the cause. If the connection works with the firewall off, re-enable it and add specific exceptions for the game.
• Check for Windows updates — outdated Windows networking components can cause P2P issues
• Restart your PC — sometimes the simplest solution clears stuck network states

The Bottom Line

Burglin' Gnomes' P2P model means connection failures are almost always a networking configuration issue — firewalls, NAT restrictions, or unstable routes between players. The fix starts with verifying the host's setup, then works through your own firewall, NAT, and network quality. Get the networking right and the game handles the rest.