Whats a “Meeple” – The history of Meeples in Boardgames

The Meeple

The meeple is possibly one of the most recognizable components of Euro-style board games and has become an iconic symbol for the board game community but where did this little guy come from and how was term meeple coined.

This little 2D person gets its name from Alison Hansel fusing the words “my” and “people.” For a long time, I thought it was a term meaning mini people and this has also become an accurate but incorrect alternate story of the meeples origin.

So now that we know where it came from how they have changed over the years, new games are released all the time and because of this we now have a diverse selection of these people to play with here are a few games that have changed the look over the years.

Meeples Over the Years

2000 Cartagena – The Pirate Meeple

2002 Trias – The Dinosaur Meeple

2007 Agricola / Fabled Fruit – The Animal Meeple

2008 Stone Age – The Caveman Meeple

2011 The Forgotten Planet – The Robot Meeple

2017 Meeple Circus – The Circus Meeples

As the meeple changes and takes different forms they will forever remain a staple in the modern board game.

Did we miss any huge changes to the meeple let us know in the comments below.