MEEPLES & MONSTERS (2022)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	PUBLISHER
2-4	45-60 mins	Ole Steiness	Alderac Entertainment Group

In MEEPLES & MONSTERS players draw Meeples from their bag and use them around the board to use buildings, level up, and, fight monsters.

You start with a bunch of white Peasant meeples and three grey Corruption meeples. These grey ones do nothing, so just clog up your Tavern.

As the game goes on players will add Yellow (Mage), Red (Cleric), Black (Knight), and Blue (Warrior) to their bag, making their adventuring party much stronger.

Meanwhile there are Monsters outside the city walls that you need to contend with.

This game is a great variation on Deck Building. Instead of gaining stronger cards into your hand, you’re building up better Meeples into your bag that you use, discard, and then recycle.

The game also has Quest cards that can be completed for points or bonus. Some add Meeples to your bag, while others increase their strength or make them play better when paired up with another specific colour.

And all the while you’re building up to the end game trigger when you’ll finally be able to take on the three Dark Overlords for an epic finale.

While the game has a Worker Placement feel, turns are solitary. So you’re never getting blocked for space.

The most conflict you’ll get is over the limited Special characters buildings (if they enter play) and as well as the monsters (there is a little set collection aspect).

However, this does give a weird flow to the turns. The game splits building and leveling out as a separate phase.

Also, the placement of all Meeples followed by bringing them back and carrying out actions feels clunky as you’re the only one doing anything, and turns can be quick.

Overall, MEEPLES & MONSTERS is a great variation on the Deck Building Mechanic. Your starting Peasants soon get joined by a whole host of Adventurers. The art is great and the teach is easy.