What is a Meeple?

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“Then, place your meeple on the board and score points based on where you placed it.”

This seems like a simple enough instruction, but some players might be left wondering, “What is a meeple?” A name unique to board gaming, this moniker is now beloved by many.

What is a Meeple?

In a sentence, a meeple is a small human-shaped playing piece used in board games. Typically made out of wood, meeples are used in games when players want to indicate a physical person on the board. As such, the name is a fusion of the words “my” and “people.”

The History of the Meeple

Board game enthusiasts give credit to player Alison Hansel for coining the term while playing a game of Carcassonne. However, some players have noted that a similar German term, “Pöppel,” was used to describe wooden player tokens of Ravensburger games of the ‘70s and ‘80s.

As the term “meeple” grew in popularity, debates began over what, exactly, constitutes a meeple. Does it need to have the iconic rounded sides, giving it almost a star-like shape? Or can it be any wooden piece that depicts a human or a humanoid? For that matter, does it have to be wood? While the average board gamer may debate these questions for fun, most are not sticklers when it comes to what pieces have earned the right to be called a meeple.

Meeples have found a home in social media, too. Since a meeple essentially represents a person, many avid board gamers have begun to refer to themselves as meeples through social media handles.

Games with Meeples

In addition to Carcassonne, there are several games containing pieces that could be considered similar to meeples. Stone Age, for example, uses meeples to depict tribespeople who aim to build up their civilization.

Wits and Wagers: Family Edition features small and larger meeples. Each player bets on the answers to trivia questions using their meeples in the hopes of earning points.

Animal meeples have become quite popular, as well. Agricola, for example, features animal-shaped meeples for farming purposes. They are also the focus of the two-player version of the game, Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small.

Similarly, rabbit meeples are used for scorekeeping in Dixit. In Camel Up, players bet on camel races, which are depicted through stackable camel meeples.

Designers make games all the time with new meeples and other figurines. Some designers have even made them the focus of the game, such as in Meeple War and Meeple Circus.

If you love meeples, plenty of wooden friends await you in modern board games.

What do you consider a meeple? What games do you love which feature meeples? We’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!