In board gaming lingo, a meeple is a small, usually wooden, character or figure that represents a player on the game board. The term is a combination of “my” and “people.” Meeples are commonly used in various board games to denote a player’s position, presence, or control over a specific area or piece of the game. They come in different shapes and colors, often reflecting the theme of the game. So, when you hear someone talking about moving their meeple or placing meeples on the board, they’re referring to these cute, iconic game pieces that add a personal touch to the gaming experience!

Meeples are popular in many board games, and here are some examples of games where you’ll find these iconic little figures:

1. Carcassonne: This tile-laying game has players use meeples to claim features like cities, roads, and fields as they build the landscape.
2. Agricola: In this farming game, players use meeples to represent their family members who work on their farms, cultivating crops and raising livestock.
3. Ticket to Ride: Meeples are used as the player markers in this railway-themed game as players build train routes across the map.
4. Pandemic: While not exactly meeples, this cooperative game uses small colored cubes to represent diseases spreading across the world.
5. Puerto Rico: Meeples in this game represent colonists who work on plantations and produce goods in the Caribbean.
6. Settlers of Catan: Players use meeples to represent their settlements and cities on the resource-rich island of Catan.
7. Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small: A two-player version of Agricola, focusing on the animal husbandry aspect, where meeples represent farmers and their animals.
8. Kingdomino: Meeples are used to determine the order in which players select tiles to build their own kingdoms.

These are just a few examples, but meeples have become a charming and recognizable component in the world of board gaming.