My Favorite Meeples

I am a sucker for nice game components, especially wooden meeples, especially especially cute meeples. Here are some of my favorites.

Bosk

Floodgate Games

There is a lot to love about Bosk, especially when it comes to the component design. Sitting on top of a simple board, players grow trees made of cardboard standees. Players then scatter leaf tokens across the forest floor, and deploy their squirrels to claim contested territory.

If I had to nit-pick I would say that the squirrel meeples are a little thick for my aesthetic preference, but functionally their design makes sense, as they need a sturdy base so they don’t topple off of piles of leaves.

Battle Peak (unreleased)

Bandit Brothers Board Games

I was on the fence about including an unreleased game, where I haven’t been able to actually handle the physical components…. but Battle Peak was the inspiration for making this list, so I decided it more than deserves its slot.

In Battle Peak players play the part of dueling wizards, casting powerful spells, foiling their opponent’s plans, and proving themselves as the true wizard. The wizard meeples are some of the most dynamic meeples that I’ve seen. They have motion, and character - which is hard to accomplish in a flat faced component.

Battle Peak is currently live on Kickstarter. Given the funding trajectory, I am not confident the campaign will fund, but if the game looks cool to you, I would encourage backing it anyway. Either you’ll get a great game this time around, or have a front row seat when designer Eric Blackenburg comes back with a second, better campaign.

Root

BGG user @analisisalcubo

In Root players play the part of critter factions battling for control of the great woodland. Each flavorful faction operates by its own rules, be they the Marquise de Cat, the Vagabond, the Woodland Alliance, or the Eyrie Dynasty.

When released in 2018, Root made waves in the board gaming community both because of the extent of its asymmetrical design, its whimsical feel, and the top notch art and graphic design by Kyle Ferrin.

The meeples in Root are somewhat simple, but full of character, and the restrained use of screen printing really takes them to the next level.

Nut Hunt!

I am excited to see what our graphic designer Christine Santana comes up with for Nut Hunt’s meeples. We’ll have a wily fox, scurries of squirrels, and perhaps most challenging to design, squirrel nests.

Which games have your favorite meeples?