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There is something quite amazing about receiving a new board game and opening up the box to find the wonderful components contained inside (especially the games with animal meeples). It is a real treat to find beautifully crafted boards, the amazing art on the cards, special custom dice, and best of all the Meeples. That is the one thing that all gamers agree upon is that Meeples are the best component and best of all the Meeples are the Animal Meeples.
Someone recently asked me what the best thing about being a modern board gamer was. Did I say the competitive nature, group activity, feeling of adventure and wonder? Nope, I said it was brilliant because you get to play with toys even though I am technically old enough to be a grandad.
If you are new to gaming or would just like to get some more games with amazing Animal Meeples then look no further than these five games.
ROOOOAAAAAARRRRRRRRRR - Draftosaurus
Do you want a game where you get to build a dinosaur park in less than 15 minutes for two to five players with 60 of the most adorable dinosaur Meeples ever? Of course you do.
Draftosaurus from Ankama is a very light game perfect for introducing people to the drafting mechanism. I have taught this to so many people and it has always been a success. However, everyone that plays it with me must adhere to one very important ‘house rule’, you must ROAR when you place your dinosaur. Even the most hardened gamer will smile with delight as they place a T-Rex into their park with a satisfying ROAR.
The game includes two different types of dinosaur parks which alters the scoring for each pen and we like to play both sides one after another. There is also the option to buy expansions for the game which provides even more cute Meeples.
If you know someone that loves Dinosaurs then get them this game and get ROARing.
Creature Comforts
If you are looking for a company that specialise in amazing components including custom made Meeples then look no further than KTBG (Kids Table Board Games). Their most recent release, Creature Comforts, is packed full of quality cards, boards, dice and most importantly Animal Meeples.
This is a lovely game about trying to get your home ready for the winter months by collecting comforts such as soup, blankets and board games. You do this with a clever twist on the worker placement mechanism by adding dice manipulation and push your luck.
The Animal Meeples in this game are Squirrels, Rabbits, Foxes, Raccoons, and Porcupines. Everything in this game screams adorable and it looks amazing on the table. I can’t wait for the sequel called Maple Valley coming to Kickstarter soon.
Squeak Squeak – First Rat
Another amazing release this year is First Rat from Pegasus Spiele. I know rats are not first on most peoples list of cute animals, but I think they can be quite adorable and I bet you will too when you see the Meeples included in this game. That's why it made it to my list of games with animal meeples!
In this game the rat families are all working against each other but with the same goal of getting rats to the moon. To do this they need to build rocket parts, collect apple cores and cheese for food, and provide Rattronauts to fly the rocket.
The game mixes several different mechanisms seen in previous games (engine building, point salad scoring, contract fulfilment, resource management) and yet it feels unlike any other game in my collection. It is a very fast game. If playing with a skilled player who gets the right combination of backpacks and comic books (both are effectively modifiers to the standard rules) they can push the end game in less than 30 minutes.
The more I play this game the higher my appreciation rises. Originally I rated it as an 8/10 but I am now more inclined to rate this as a 9 or even 9.5.
Everdell
Everdell is probably the ‘heaviest’ game on this list however please do not let that put you off as it is still very approachable.
I am a big fan of Everdell and as soon as you see it on a table you will see why. The components are amazing (from the giant tree to the cutest ever Animal Meeples) and the gameplay is so satisfying (tableau and engine building combined with worker placement and recourse management).
The game has proved incredibly popular with three expansions already released and another two due now. The rules do not recommend you play with all of the expansions in one game and rather they suggest playing with one at a time. But as gamers we know better and when I play Everdell it is with all of the expansions together for an epic 90 minute table hogging game.
Meow – Isle Of Cats
I have saved the best for last. Cats. The cutest animals ever features in this wonderful game about rescuing cats from an island before an evil pirate arrives and destroys it.
I absolutely love this game and I have all of the upgraded components from the Kickstarter campaigns hence why I also have the adorable fish Meeples (the currency in the game).
Isle of Cats, from The City of Games, is a mix of card drafting and polyomino placement which is always frustratingly one round shorter than you wished for. You can never quite get everything done that you want to which is a mark of some of the best games. There are several expansions now released which all add slightly more variation to the game and there is even a family mode which reduces the complexity and just allows you to try to fill your ship with as many cats as possible.
Frank West from the City of Games has just announced a follow up to the Isle of Cats called a Race To The Raft which directly follows on from the Isle of Cats and it tells the story of what the cats left on the island did next to escape the evil pirate.
Quack Quack – Ducks In Tow
I know I said this was a top 5 but I have to mention Ducks In Tow from First Fish Games as this game was the inspiration for the list.
Do you want to play a game that feels exactly like its theme then this is the game for you. The whole aim of the game is to get the most points by lining up ducks in a row and you do this by feeding ducks and getting them to follow you to their favourite part of the park where you take a photo of them. There is no urgency to this game and very little player interaction, however, the Duck Meeples are easily some of the best components to a board game I have ever seen.
I hope this list of 5 games with cute Animal Meeples has helped you find a new game you might not have heard of before. I am sure I have missed lots of amazing games with cute Animal Meeples but these are some of my favourites.