Bad news - Good news

[Matthias M.]

So Jimmy (or Nicolas), do you have any tips for the AI?
I'm trying to rebuild some games just for fun.

[Stephanie E.]

What a bummer!  My country is going to pot and now happy meeple will only be a memory.  Thanks so much for this fun, safe place to meet people and have fun.  Our loss that this did not turn out to be a viable endeavor.  I have been here since before you created the inn!  I shall cherish all the fun I've had here and give BGA another chance.  Stephanie E

[Harry B.]

Terrible news, but I understand your position. I guess I better play nonstop until I get my 6th Meeple.
Harry B.

[Guest 373911]

Hi Jimmy/Nicolas/Roitelet- I echo all the sentiments above and want to express my gratitude to you for sharing your multiple talents in creating this space. I've enjoyed the puns and will miss starting the Beauty and the Beast song whenever there are 5 Bonjour!'s in a row in chat. Anyways, do you have any public facing projects we can support or visit?  Or causes that you would want good vibes directed to? -Much thanks!

[Jimmy V.]

Hi Jimmy/Nicolas/Roitelet- I echo all the sentiments above and want to express my gratitude to you for sharing your multiple talents in creating this space. I've enjoyed the puns and will miss starting the Beauty and the Beast song whenever there are 5 Bonjour!'s in a row in chat. Anyways, do you have any public facing projects we can support or visit?  Or causes that you would want good vibes directed to? -Much thanks!

Not really no. Thanks for asking!
I'd be very happy if the "Happy Meeple players" group started to liven up a bit. So if you want to contribute, by organizing something (tournament, game discovery, discussion with the BGA team...), you are more than welcome. There is not much traction there yet. That would make me happy.

[Jimmy V.]

So Jimmy (or Nicolas), do you have any tips for the AI?
I'm trying to rebuild some games just for fun.

That's too general a question. You may want to contact me directly.
I think I wrote an article about the AI somewhere. On Boardgamegeek or in this forum maybe. Very general.

[Melissa F.]

Thank you for all you did.  It is a good resolution.

[Jimmy V.]

If you already had a BGA account before and followed the link that was given on the forum, did you manage to see the 1-month offer there? Or did you get a message saying the link did not work? If you have had difficulties, please give me your BGA username so that I can investigate with them.
One player said it has not worked and I have not managed to get in touch with him to get to the bottom of it (by email).
Thanks for your help!

[Jen K.]

Just wanted to leave a note with my eternal thanks to those who designed this site, maintained it, and welcomed new users like me. I was only here a month, but it instantly became an online home and Happy Place. The user interface was so clean and uncluttered and cute and cozy, and the game play superb. Even got my housemate to join. A masterpiece that will be missed! Yes, I saved a few screenshots of my games and world

I'm shadoj over on BGA, though I don't really know how much I'll play over there. Cartographers was the reason I stumbled upon Happy Meeple, then I bought the game, which again directed me back to Happy Meeple to learn to play Not sure where I'm gonna find Raging Bulls, nor some of the less-popular games I was just starting to learn. Sigh. At least I have a good local game store, but was certainly nice having folks here online from all over the world at all hours. Super friendly. Just can't say enough good things.... so, thanks again!

[Eddy V.]

Thank you Nicolas for all your work on the site, Happy Meeple brought me a lot of joy, especially during the Covid lockdowns.

While I agree with all the comments about the friendly atmosphere and players here, for me the food system and the quality of the bots were really important.  The food system because running out of food saved me from myself more times than I would like to admit.  The bots were key because they provided a good range of difficulty, which was especially important when you were learning the games but also later on because, for me at least, they were always challenging opponents.  Being able to always play against them in full play or training mode was great, especially for someone like me who was in a very different timezone to most users of the site. So a big thanks to the bot designer(s).

And thank you for your efforts to ease the transition from the site for users rather than just flicking the switch and walking away.

[Taycho .]

However, I cannot remember any glowing review of the platform. To be honest, there have been very few reviews and I initiated most of them. I don't remember reading an article or even a post saying "Wow Happy Meeple is wonderful, you must try it, it's so good, so special". As a result, an organic growth was difficult.

For me, HM was exactly that.
Not a bunch of keyboard warriors with the need to make themselves heard.
Just regular people, enjoying a game...

I am genuinely sad that this platform closes because the members weren't vocal enough...

[Matthias M.]

So Jimmy (or Nicolas), do you have any tips for the AI?
I'm trying to rebuild some games just for fun.

That's too general a question. You may want to contact me directly.
I think I wrote an article about the AI somewhere. On Boardgamegeek or in this forum maybe. Very general.

I know it's very general.
I'm new to explicitly creating some AI, but I know some general things about math, physics, informatics, statistics, web development, computer achitectures, administration and model building as I studied math, went over to physics for a short time and now cumulated in computational science where I'm currently writing my Master's thesis.
Furthermore, I'm interested in such things for a long time and started programming 25 years ago at the age of 8 and stick to the computer since then.

So I'll give it a try.
Maybe you could give me some general hints about common errors or good practice. Or some clue about promising strategies.

I'm sure I'll run into some errors and will learn from them but it might be more motivating if I can ask some luminary. So may I ask you even beyond the end of Happy Meeple? I'm not angry if you deny but I would appreciate.


Last but not least in my wish list: As you created Raging Bulls, may I use your concept for non commercial use? Just your concept, no graphics, sounds or anything.
When I have enough time, I'd like to recreate something looking partly similar (well, I'm no graphics guy...) to raging bulls for the people here who liked it.

[Jimmy V.]

So Jimmy (or Nicolas), do you have any tips for the AI?
I'm trying to rebuild some games just for fun.

That's too general a question. You may want to contact me directly.
I think I wrote an article about the AI somewhere. On Boardgamegeek or in this forum maybe. Very general.

I know it's very general.
I'm new to explicitly creating some AI, but I know some general things about math, physics, informatics, statistics, web development, computer achitectures, administration and model building as I studied math, went over to physics for a short time and now cumulated in computational science where I'm currently writing my Master's thesis.
Furthermore, I'm interested in such things for a long time and started programming 25 years ago at the age of 8 and stick to the computer since then.

So I'll give it a try.
Maybe you could give me some general hints about common errors or good practice. Or some clue about promising strategies.

I'm sure I'll run into some errors and will learn from them but it might be more motivating if I can ask some luminary. So may I ask you even beyond the end of Happy Meeple? I'm not angry if you deny but I would appreciate.


Last but not least in my wish list: As you created Raging Bulls, may I use your concept for non commercial use? Just your concept, no graphics, sounds or anything.
When I have enough time, I'd like to recreate something looking partly similar (well, I'm no graphics guy...) to raging bulls for the people here who liked it.

Get in touch via contact@happymeeple.com please.

[Modo R.]

I am new(ish) to this site, but late to this thread. I too will miss HM. It was calmer and nice and forced me to play online rather than just solo. I will be over at BGA and join the group as well, but I will miss the comfort feel of this site.

Thank you for all the hard work you put into this site over the years. I wish I'd found it sooner!

[Kcekce G.]

Jimmy, I find it quite riddling why you never really answered the questions if there is any possibility HM could be sold or given away to another owner to maintain it. A simple "no" would do, or if it's a "yes" many of us would love to know your conditions and difficulties for such a deal. Even if HM members might lack finances/skills to do the job, we all know people and if we had any idea what the terms of such transfer would be (technically and money wise) we could look for a buyer. For instance I have friends working in gaming industry and their employers could be interested, but for now all we could tell them would be "They said in the HM inn 10 000 000 sounds good"  I feel some stubbornness going on, like "I'm not about to maintain it anymore, you all get over it", but even having full understanding of your own right to drop your project I'm curious about the reasons for not wanting to give it to anyone else at any circumstances:)