Spring Staff Picks!

by: on April 13, 2021  |  

Everyone loves hearing about the games we look forward to playing. So here’s another round of Staff Picks!

Wrestlenomicon -Boyce Asquith

  • Name of Game: Wrestlenomicon
  • Number of Players: 2-4
  • Play Time: 20+ mins
  • BGG Rating: 7

Wrestlenomicon is a new 2-4 player card game where players take the role of competing Old Ones, with the goal of being the last one standing. Each Old One has their own deck with a different strategy. Uniquely, this game uses part of the deck as the Old One’s Health and telegraphs the Old One’s Attacks, allowing both players to see what is coming. So choose your favorite eldritch horror and may the Great Old Ones overlook you.

Parks – Nichole Davis

  • Name of Game: Parks
  • Number of Players: 1-5
  • Play Time: 40+ mins
  • Publisher: Keymaster Games
  • Year Published: 2019
  • Difficulty: Medium

Parks is a really fun game about going on hikes through a bunch of different parks, represented by beautiful art cards. It’s played in a few round with the trail getting progressively longer as you collect different kinds of resources, take pictures, and activate special abilities by drinking from your canteen. The bits are really nice, wooden and nicely colored. One of the things I love most about this game is how cleverly everything fits into the box so the game is never scrambled when you open it up to play. It’s a lot of fun to play and just such a beautifully crafted one as well. Available as a Rental Game!!

Deckscape Pocket Escape Rooms- Dani Kennedy

  • Name of Game: Deckscape (Behind the Curtain)
  • Number of Players: 1-6
  • Play Time: 1 hour
  • Publisher: dV Giochi
  • Year Published: 2017-present
  • Difficulty: Medium- Hard

I love a good escape room, and recently have picked up the games. If you have enjoyed Exit or Unlock! and need a new puzzle try out Deckscape. I played the Behind the Curtain one, where you have been invited to a magic show, then something unexpected happens and you find yourself trapped in the magician’s dressing room! Nichole and I played this while the store was slow one night and we couldn’t stop until we had figured out the puzzle (staying 5 mins after closing just to finish the game). What I love about Deckscape vs. Exit or Unlock! is that I don’t need an app to play the game and you can pass it on to someone once you’ve finished the puzzle. There are a ton of different ones to pick from, Behind the Curtain is available as a Rental Game!!

January Staff Picks!

by: on January 13, 2021  |  

The holidays have come and gone, but we are still here to give you a few of our favorite games and expansions! All of these games/expansions can be picked up in store or via our online store.

Nichole Davis-Charms and Potions Expansion for Hogwarts Battle

  • Name of Game/Expansion: Charms and Potions Expansion for Hogwarts Battle
  • Publisher: The OP
  • Year Published: 2020
  • Type of Game: Co-op Deckbuilder
  • Difficulty: Easy-Medium depending on how many people are playing
  • Play Time: 30-45 min
  • Number of Players: 2-5
  • Bits: Great!
  • Overall Rating: 5 Meeples

I really like this expansion to my favorite game of all time. It adds in two new components: Charms and a Potions Cupboard. Each player gets a new ability (a Charm) that they slot to the top of their player board that gives them a new ability that changes depending on their current health, there are a lot of them included in the box so there is lots of variety to mix up play throughs. The Potions Cupboard gets placed next to the main board and you need to meet certain conditions (play 3 spells, heal another player, ect.) to get ingredients for it to brew potions that can be added to your deck or discarded from the game for an additional effect. There are also new events added to up the difficulty that act somewhat like the Horcruxes from the main game. I’ve been having a lot of fun with this expansion, it’s really nifty when you manage to brew a potion and the element of trying to keep your health in a certain range to use a specific Charm ability add a lot to the already fun gameplay of the original. It also meshes very well with the Monster Box of Monsters expansion and I can’t wait to see what they come up with for the next one!

Boyce Asquith- Catch the Moon

  • Name of Game/Expansion: Catch the Moon
  • Publisher: Asmodee
  • Year Published: 2017
  • Type of Game: Kids/Family Dexterity Game
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Play Time: 20 mins
  • Number of Players: 2-6
  • Bits: Wooden ladders and stylistic plastic base
  • Overall Rating: 4.5 Meeples

Catch the Moon is a manual dexterity game where the players take on the role of dreamers reaching for the moon. Each player rolls a die that dictates how they will place their ladder on the growing tower of ladders. But beware, failing to place your ladder as the die dictates will cost you a tear. Three tears and you are out. The last player standing wins. An easy and light-hearted game, Catch the Moon can be played by all audiences ages 5 and up.

Dani Kennedy- Letter Tycoon

  • Name of Game/Expansion: Letter Tycoon
  • Publisher: Breaking Games
  • Year Published: 2015
  • Type of Game: Economic/Word Game
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Play Time: 30 mins
  • Number of Players: 2-5
  • Bits: Cool steampunk styled cards and an aeroship first player token
  • Overall Rating: 4 Meeples

Letter Tycoon is Scrabble meets the best parts of Monopoly!  Each player starts with 7 letter cards in their hand and on their turn using those cards  plus 3 public letters they spell a word. Players score money and stock options based on their word.  Players can use their money to patent letters, if patented every time that letter is used the patent holder earns money from the bank!

I am usually terrible at word spelling games.  But this one is super fast and easy to play.  I love the steampunk styled cards and the overall play style.  Will you earn enough to make yourself the Letter Tycoon?

Staff Picks-December Edition!

by: on December 14, 2020  |  

These games are some of our favorites that are sure to make wonderful holiday gifts! These can be purchased in store or follow the links to our webstore.

Fort-Maddie Schenck

  • Name of Game Fort
  • Publisher -Leder Games
  • Year Published -2020
  • Type of Game -Deck Building Game
  • Difficulty – Medium Light
  • Play Time – 40 mins
  • Number of Players – 2-4
  • Bits – friend cards, pizza and toys tokens, fort and scoring board
  • Overall Rating (out of 5) – 5 Meeples!

Fort is a beautifully illustrated game, in which the players are trying to gain victory points by having the best gang of friends and fort. I get joy out of looking at the friend cards, which are all very creative and cute. Each friend has different abilities that help you compete in the game. You collect wood pizza and toy tokens that are used in exchange for buying cards and activating abilities, which in turn help upgrade your fort.

Harry Potter House Cup Competition- Nichole Davis

  • Name of Game Harry Potter House Cup Competition
  • Publisher – The OP
  • Year Published -2020
  • Type of Game – Worker Placement
  • Difficulty – Easy
  • Play Time – 30-45 mins
  • Number of Players – 2-4
  • Bits –  Good, there are sliders for keeping track of your skills and gems to fill the house cup vials, it’s pretty cool.
  • Overall Rating (out of 5) – 5 Meeples!

This is a really fun and quick worker placement game set in the Harry Potter universe. You pick your house and send students from that house around to upgrade their skills (potions, charms, defense) and to complete challenges to earn points for your House. What I really like about it is that it never feels as if someone pulls too far ahead that you can’t catch up. It plays real quick once you know the rules, too which is nice. It’s pretty satisfying to put the gems you earn into the vials and see your progress towards victory. I find it very replayable and a definite must for Harry Potter fans.

Staff Picks- Spooky Edition!

by: on October 21, 2020  |  

The staff at Meeples Games has put together a list of their favorite spooky games just in time for Halloween! Some of these games may not be in stock at the moment, but we can always order it for you!

Arkham Horror Board Game-Nichole Davis

  • Name of Game: Arkham Horror
  • Publisher: Fantasy Flight
  • Year Published: 2005
  • Type: CO-OP Adventure
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Play Time: 1.5-2 hours
  • Number of Players: 1-8, works best with 4
  • Bits:  Great, art and quality of pieces and cards are really nice.
  • Overall Rating (out of 5): 5 Meeples

Arkham Horror is one of my favorite co-op games. It’s spooky and creepy and you really have to work together to win. One of the more interesting aspects of the game is that your characters can die or go irrevocably insane, forcing you to choose a new person to continue the game as. It is steeped in the Cthulhu mythos and a roaring 20’s aesthetic with an almost infinite amount of replayability due to the plethora of character options and scenarios. If this sounds awesome, check out Arkham Horror Final Hour.

Mysterium- Boyce Asquith

  • Name of Game: Mysterium
  • Publisher: Libellud
  • Year Published: 2015
  • Type: Murder/Mystery, Cooperative
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Play Time: 40 minutes
  • Number of Players: 3-7
  • Bits:  Nice Cards, Cardboard bits
  • Overall Rating (out of 5): 4.25 Meeples

Mysterium is a mystery game where one player assumes the role of a ghost who cannot talk while the rest assume the roles of mediums helping the ghost figure out who killed it. The ghost has seven rounds to supply the mediums with visions, via paintings on cards, that inform them of what killed them, who killed them, and where they died. It can be a struggle as the medium to decipher what the “vision” the ghost sent you is supposed to mean, while as the ghost you can find yourself with a suboptimal set of visions to hand out. I think that is part of the fun and charm of the game.

Dead Man’s Cabal-Maddie Schenck

  • Name of Game: Dead Man’s Cabal
  • Publisher:  Pandasaurus Games
  • Year Published: 2019
  • Type: Strategy Game
  • Difficulty: Medium
  • Play Time: 90 minutes
  • Number of Players: 2-4
  • Bits:  sanctum board for necromancy, guest cards, runes, and skull and bone pieces, oracle and scriptorium markers
  • Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Meeples

The goal of Dead Man’s Cabal is to bring the dead back to life and throw a party better than your competitor. Spooky aesthetics and necromancy, count me in! My favorite part of the game is the guest cards; many of them have a likeness to dead celebrities and the art is really nice. I also love the little bone pieces that you use to do rituals, buy runes and guest cards. The only qualm I have is that the rules are a little complicated for such a light strategy game, but that is what Youtube is for.

Campy Creatures- Dani Kennedy

  • Name of Game: Campy Creatures
  • Publisher: Keymaster Games
  • Year Published: 2017
  • Type: Hand Management, Bluffing, Family
  • Difficulty: Easy
  • Play Time: 30 minutes
  • Number of Players: 2-5
  • Bits:  Amazing card art in the campy horror genre
  • Overall Rating (out of 5): 4 Meeples

From the makers of Space Park (another of my favorite games), Campy Creatures is a great quick game with incredible card art! In this game you will play as a mad scientist deploying monsters in order to collect mortals. This game is a really fun and quick. It is also small so it is easy to pack in a bag for travel purposes. There is also an expansion, but I haven’t played with it yet!