25 February 2023
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Power to the meeple
While the humble meeple may have come into existence (in name, at least) in Carcassonne, we’ve come a long way since. If a worker needs to be placed, it’s usually a tirelessly working meeple that comes to your aid. We celebrate our favourite games which use those little wooden people, animals and dinosaurs in clever or beautiful ways.
1. AGRICOLA
Are animal meeples meeples too? We think so, but this is one of the tough moral questions posed by this farmyard mogul simulating classic. Starting from humble beginnings players must build up their farmstead and create a future for their families, and their tiny wooden animals. Create pens to contain your flocks and herds – and watch your empire grow. If your fellow farmers don’t get in your way. Agricola is a satisfying example of the ‘block the worker placement space’ game, with the twist of progressively improving spaces over the span of the game. A classic for a reason.
2. ROOT
A clash of woodland clans which is most often admired for its asymmetrical play. Each faction has its entirely separate way of playing the game from the Eyrie (the bird faction) that’s playing a run of cards, the Marquise de Cat playing a classic build-and-expand game while the single meepled faction of the Vagabond is kind of doing a Robin Hood act. The meeples are all printed with lovely details giving them all the character and life of illustrator and artist, Kyle Ferrin’s artwork. When it comes to warring with little wooden soldiers in the woodland, there’s little better.
3. COLT EXPRESS
This is a robbery! Well, it might be, if you can get everything to work out in order. A classic Spiel des Jahres winning game of action programming. Players are controlling law-breaking meeples across a ‘3D train’ by playing a series of cards in order – blind to others around the table. These are then resolved in order, often with hilarious results. Naturally, the inability to react and have to watch a kind of slow-motion farce roll out in front of you is both excruciating and deeply funny (really depends if it’s happening to you or not). Oh, and of course you can shoot each other.
4. ANIMAL UPON ANIMAL
The classic stack-em-up of, again, meeple animals. This runs from ages four plus, so there’s an argument that this is more of a toy than a game – but what a lovely one it is. It’s also a rare sighting of the snake meeple. The game consists of stacking animals, and if you drop any pieces during your animal placement, you have to pick up two to return to your hand. Simple stuff that makes it a family classic which has lasted the test of time. For adults who find it too easy, chuck in a few limiting factors like time, closing an eye or using your off hand to even things up a bit. It might be trickier than you think.
5. PAUPER’S LADDER
A small indie game about virtuously collecting bits and bobs until you get crowned the new monarch. An interesting game for the way that the world undulates as you play it. For example uncovering a monster in one area might see your opposition for the crown either rush in and kill it for the glory, or avoid the area entirely. Charmingly rendered in a lumpy style by Paul Stapleton, the game’s designer, its major contribution to meepledom isn’t that there’s loads of them, but the ones you do get are massive.
6. MEEPLE CIRCUS
Roll up, roll up, the circus is here – and recently reprinted. Meeple Circus is the game of putting on a top notch big top act – use the elephant, horse, strongman and generic meeple to put on the show of the century. The promise of the game is that you’ll be doing what everyone does at the start of a worker placement game – stack your meeple – but this time you’re doing it to get points. Simultaneous building, and rules around making sure every meeple is holding something makes the puzzle to get the most points out of your troupe tricker than you expect.
7. FIVE TRIBES
Camels, trees, and the odd building here and there. It’s also another great Bruno Cathala game – maybe the great Bruno Cathala game to some. The turn order track is the star of this show, despite the 90-odd meeples in the box, with options to pay more to go first each turn being the knife-point on which the game balance. Otherwise it’s a case of move a meeple, and take all of that matching colour – claiming the tile if you clear it too. For those who like a bit of abstract area control in their puzzly games, this is a classic worth seeking out.
8. TERROR IN MEEPLE CITY
Previous versions of this game had a more direct name, that of Rampage. And those that immediately think of the arcade game from the 1980s, you know what’s coming. Players are big meeple monsters trying to smash a city made up of layers of cardboard and meeples like a delicious and terrified Mille-Feuille. Flick discs, drop your monster in a satisfying WWE body-slam kind of way, and generally mess up the city until your monster’s appetite is sated (hint: it’s the end of the game).
9. EVERDELL
For the expanded meeple universe (which when you take the expansions into account), this might be the premiere moose outing. Played in the shade and between the branches of the huge Evertree (it’s a big cardboard tree) players are doing a bit of worker (cute animal meeples) placement, town tableau building and prepping for the next season. We gave it a Must-Play on its release, and we’re still very much fans of the roots it’s set in the hobby.
10. MEEPLES AND MONSTERS
Reviewed later this bag-building meeple militia marshalling game sees players adding meeples to their bag to fight monsters, upgrade towns and investigate the world around them. If you’re a fan of bag building and worker placement this is a winner – but more importantly, the sheer joy of having to grab a fistful of meeples from a bag is worth it alone. After all, don’t we all regret having to place our workers and just leave them there?
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This review came from Tabletop Gaming Magazine, which is home to all of the latest and greatest tabletop goodness. Whether you're a board gamer, card gamer, wargamer, RPG player or all of the above, find your copy here.
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