How MeepleIt AI Enhances Your Game Search Experience
Sharing my journey of developing Meepleit, an AI-powered tool designed to help board game enthusiasts discover new games quickly and easily.
It's been a while since I last published an article! In the meantime, I've been diving into playing board games as usual while also putting in a lot of effort to develop new features and updates for Meepleit.com.
This article is going to be a bit different from my usual posts, as I typically focus on board games and reviews. This time, however, I’ll be sharing a project I’ve been working on that’s still very much connected to the world of board games.
First off, for those who may not know, I’m a web developer by profession. Over the past year, Meepleit has been my passion project—a platform that features an AI-powered search engine for board games using smart semantic search technology. The goal is to help both new and experienced board game enthusiasts easily discover games tailored to their interests.
What is MeepleIt?
As mentioned, Meepleit is an app designed to help you search and discover board games more efficiently by letting you ask questions or use prompts with keywords. For example, you can type: "Featuring deck-building mechanics and worker placement" or "What games are similar to Wingspan?" Below are a few more examples of what Meepleit can do.
Even if you already know the exact name of the game you're searching for, you can simply type it into Meepleit, and a suggestion list will appear to help you quickly select and navigate to the game’s profile page.
Once on a game profile page, Meepleit uses AI to suggest related games, making it easier to discover new titles that might interest you. For example, when viewing the profile for Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition, you’ll see recommendations for similar games that align with your interests.
If you're unsure what to search for and simply want to browse games, Meepleit features a YouTube-style homepage. This page dynamically pulls in random mechanics and categories, performing queries to display a variety of games you can scroll through. If a particular category or mechanic catches your interest, you can click on it to dive deeper into the results.
What About BoardGameGeek?
By no means am I trying to bash BoardGameGeek—they are the undisputed leader in the board game community. There’s no way I could ever reach the scale they’ve achieved.
They have a huge community and excellent community-driven site with an extensive database of board games. Think of IMDb but for board games instead.
I use BGG regularly to find resources, read discussions about the games I enjoy and those I’m curious about. However, I feel the site caters more to hardcore, experienced gamers since you often need to know the names of specific games to navigate it effectively.
One of the most convenient way is through Google, as the site ranks highly in search results. Simply searching for the name of a game will often bring up BoardGameGeek pages right at the top.
When I first got into the hobby, this was exactly how I stumbled upon BoardGameGeek—by searching for a game's name on Google and landing directly on its profile page. Even then, I wasn’t quite sure how to navigate the site beyond reading the comments. I didn’t know how to perform another search within the site itself, so I’d just go back to Google and type in the name of a different game.
What if users wanted to discover games without already knowing their names? For example, what are similar to Terraforming Mars or Scythe? Or what about lightweight civilization games? This is where MeepleIt comes in and solves the problem.
The site also has issues pointed out by the community, such as inaccurate reviews and ratings. Some users leave overly negative reviews with no valid reasoning, while others give games high ratings without offering any explanation. This can make it difficult for users to make informed decisions. Personally, I don’t rely on these ratings, as I’ve had some disappointing experiences with them. Maybe this is another issue MeepleIt can tackle in the future.
Why MeepleIt?
Meepleit leverages advanced AI technology to help you discover board games quickly, saving you hours of sifting through discussions and reviews to decide what to buy. Whether you're new to the hobby and unsure where to start, or you're looking for fresh ideas, this tool is designed to guide you.
Looking ahead, we have plans to introduce even more AI-driven features. One upcoming feature is an AI chat tool that will let you ask detailed questions about a specific game directly on its profile page. I’ve already tested this, and it helped me decide to purchase a game recently Gaia Project—a decision I definitely don’t regret.
We also offer a quick Meepleit AI Review feature that highlights the pros and cons of a game, giving you a helpful overview to aid in your decision-making.
Another AI feature in the works is a side-by-side game comparison tool. If you’re torn between two or three games, this feature will help you figure out which one is the best fit for you. While I’m still brainstorming the design and functionality, it’s definitely on our development roadmap.
Finally, once you’ve decided on a game, Meepleit will provide price comparisons using affiliate links to online board game stores, helping you find the best deal available.
Future Of Meepleit
While AI recommendations can help guide you, they may not be as accurate as insights from someone who has physically played the game. That’s perfectly fine, and I still recommend relying on human recommendations, such as watching gameplay videos, to get a clearer picture of how a game works.
Nevertheless, by utilizing AI features, you can make quicker decisions and discover new games more easily. Just look at how ChatGPT is helping users refine their searches.
I’m hopeful that users will give the app a try and provide feedback—whether positive or negative. So far, I’m proud of how the app is progressing; it’s a significant achievement for me, especially considering I never imagined I could bring this project to life.
Will provide more progress of new features in the upcoming months.