Bad news - Good news

[Matthias M.]

Technical problems could be solved (what's the matter?), monetary might be solved as well...

Killing Happy Meeple kills a part of the soul of most of the players here.

And yes, this 2000-like design is the most important thing. Happy Meeple is neat, calm and cozy. And you can play alone if you want.
Everything is remarkably attuned and elaborate, just the right portion of everything.
One quasi sees the efforts made and the detailed work done.

Maybe a handful additional games and a little change in monetarization (which is, at the moment, very player-friendly and fits into the whole masterpiece of detailed construction).
With respect to some graphical issues I must admit, I'm also no design guy. Most of my own webpages look notably more angular and spare then Happy Meeple does. Its design looks appropriate and professional.

[Nils]

design should first and foremost satisfy visitors, not designers)
that's what it was invented for

[Matthias M.]

Jimmy, you couldn't be more wrong about it Whoever criticized your platform as "outdated" may be honest, but lacking taste in the same time. HM is the ONLY enjoyable platform for online boardgaming for me since the first time I tried looking for such a place to begin with - and it is still now the best! Year 2016 the first result for that search was again BGA, but it was so appalling I continued browsing until I found HM. TBH I was looking for a platform to play Carcassonne online, but HM was inviting enough for me to stay there and try new games. You don't appreciate your own achievements fairly. It might be a niche platform, but it's still beautiful, funny, cozy and perfectly doing it's job - and it's something that when it's about to be closed people feel like losing a home or a friend. You don't get that from BGA, if it closed at some point players would just look for other sites to play the games. HM has a soul and a heart, it's a world of itself where one can still be a child, aspiring to get smarter. Just open your eyes and stop being so modest - it's a jewel in between the platforms around.

Full agreement!!
Happy meeple and its very special soul furthermore have helped various people through sometimes very dark times! It's a massive loss.

[Nils]

It's cold now and not much sun, I often feel like throwing away important things at this time of the year.
Could you please make us a favor and wait until the summer, maybe you could change your mind or a solution will be found.
If the owner changed, a lot could change. I think it is important not only to keep the site, but also that its creator is motivated to continue to keep it successful.

[Kcekce G.]

Definitely the OG Jimmy should still be involved as a consultant, if the platform gets another owner. Since the way HM was till now was PERFECT and we know who's behind that;) The platform could include more options for donation and tasty payed features - but HM at no means deserves to be just closed. Honestly, it breaks my heart, I find myself elaborately explaining to my BF and my flatmate why am I crying for a gaming platform, as stupid as it may sound. And I'm a tough 42 yo woman, lived through death of the most loved ones and shit.

[Rebecca H.]

Thank you so much for all the enjoyment here. It's the only game site that had the features I prefer and the design is top notch - there's no way I can overstate that. I'll really miss Happy Meeple. A couple people used the word gutted and I agree.

While being doubtful I'll end up playing elsewhere (having looked at other game sites in the past), I did sign up on BGA to give it a chance. HAS ANYONE FOUND LEVEL X there? It's not coming up for me even trying with various searches and filters and order settings.

Already this reminds me that Happy Meeple above all feels friendly and intuitive, while other sites... not so much.

Level X is called Mountain Goats on BGA. It's basically the same game, but there are some small differences.

[El C.]

Thank you so much for all the enjoyment here. It's the only game site that had the features I prefer and the design is top notch - there's no way I can overstate that. I'll really miss Happy Meeple. A couple people used the word gutted and I agree.

While being doubtful I'll end up playing elsewhere (having looked at other game sites in the past), I did sign up on BGA to give it a chance. HAS ANYONE FOUND LEVEL X there? It's not coming up for me even trying with various searches and filters and order settings.

Already this reminds me that Happy Meeple above all feels friendly and intuitive, while other sites... not so much.

While Happy Meeple will always be my favorite gaming site, I have played on BGA, and it is fine.
I hope those of us who play regularly here can reconnect over on BGA!

[Kcekce G.]

BTW, all of the spectrum of my nickname here is taken in BGA and that's why I'm registered there as Ksetofon. Just for anyone to know here, I'm not really sure if BGA would hook me as a safe sandbox as HM did to visit it frequently in my spare time.

[Guilhem J.]

Thanks a lot for all of the work done and the happiness provided, I enjoyed a lot playing on happy meeple all these years, and wish you all the best for the life to come!

[Stuart L.]

I'd had a bad feeling for a little while now that this day was coming soon... 

I have joined the Happy Meeple Players group on BGA but can't get any bonus perks as I was already a premium BGA subscriber.  (Any chance of convincing them to offer a little something to existing subscribers as well?  With a special, exclusive link, of course..)

Is there really nothing that can be done to save this site from extinction?  I too would pay a monthly or yearly subscription to keep it alive.

Could you sell it on to someone who wants to continue it?

Anyway, thank you for so many years of fun and community and I wish you all the best for your future.

[David G.]

i will finish on positive note : it has always a pleasure ton play on happy meeple. it's cute, people are nice, the meta game is a good idea (game within the game : build a village to produce food to be able to play : wow), the training mode is perfect.


if BGA editors can steal some idea and implement in their platform , would be great. if BGA is a factory or an industry, happy meeple was that local shop you are attached to.

[Jimmy V.]

i will finish on positive note : it has always a pleasure ton play on happy meeple. it's cute, people are nice, the meta game is a good idea (game within the game : build a village to produce food to be able to play : wow), the training mode is perfect.

if BGA editors can steal some idea and implement in their platform , would be great. if BGA is a factory or an industry, happy meeple was that local shop you are attached to.

I like your final word very much. Great touch!!! Many thanks for that! I'll keep that with me for sure.

[Jimmy V.]

Please note.
After the platform closure, the website happymeeple.com will display for a while the text published her.
So if you forgot the Board Game Arena link, you should be able to find it by visiting happymeeple.com again.

[Ulf L.]

Very sad to see Happy Meeple go! 

I have been using both HM and BGA for a while, but I always found HM to be the simpler and cozier of the two. Happy Meeple was always the one I chose when I just wanted to relax with a few games and not spend a whole day immersed in games.

I would very much like to join the “Happy Meeple players” group on Board Game Arena. Unfortunately, I can't get the referal link to work. Clicking it (while logged on to BGA) yields the following message for me: "The referral has not been registered (it may have already been registered, or the link may have expired)". You said the link would be valid until November 2025, so why is it not working for me? (No, I was never a premium member there.) Anyway, I'll definitely look for the group and try to join it manually!

[Anne E.]

As others , I'm sad to read that Happy Meeple will close. But I understand  and  know that at one point it is a full time job that needs to pay back.
On my side want to thank you for initiating this wonderful board game platform and want to thank all the people that invest their time and skills to make it work so far!
I want to congrats you all for these efforts because to me playing daily at the beginning and add paused in my gaming later on as life goes on, I never encountered big issues or whatever. People I've played with have all been great and I think this is because of the spirit that had been given to happy Meeple by the creators and crew..
I also discovered some games I didn't know and can now play with my family, SO thanks a lot for all these great moments. And wish you all the best for the future.