For my next game purchase, I'm looking for something that plays around 30 minutes max, that is also playable solo.

How is Red November for game length? Thanks in advance for your knowledge!

We just played our 1st game tonite - 2 player but 2 gnomes each. it was a little over an hour but we had lots of rules to look up. I think we might be able to get that down to 45 minutes.

I think if you went with the option of 3 gnomes in a solo game, this would be very playable. If you were only playing one gnome you may need to tweak some things. But I can't comment on that yet.

I would say the standard recommendation applies here. You may be able to make a 1 player / 1 gnome work but if that is the only way you are ever going to play, maybe best to look for a game specifically designed for solo play.