Table Golf Association – Welcome to Meeple Beach Kickstarter Preview

GamesReview is always excited when we are considered for Kickstarter preview coverage, but we still only choose to preview games we think we will enjoy. The trouble with doing preview work is you walk that fine line between being a marketing tool and actually providing solid coverage on a game. Thankfully, I’ve been having a blast with Welcome to Meeple Beach from the Table Golf Association, so everything you are about to read is my legitimate thoughts!

Outside of sending us a copy of the premium version of this game, GamesReviews has not been compensated in any way for this Kickstarter preview.

Table Golf Association originally ran a very successful Kickstarter campaign for their first table top dexterity golf game. Players used tiles to create golf courses, and used their fingers in a variety of different ways to hit golf ball marbles across the course and ultimately into the whole. The first campaign raised for $200k and there have been expansions and add on packs sold since then.

The duo behind the Table Golf Association are coming back to Kickstarter in mid April with Welcome to Meeple Beach, and completely stand alone Table Golf Association experience that heads for the lush beaches and fairways of picturesque ocean-side golf courses. The highly detailed tiles – wood in our case, but a cardboard option will be available – showcase terrain we’ve come to expect from these games (greens, tee boxes, fairways, etc.) but also adds in sandy beaches, ocean/water, cliffs and more. The amount of content in the box is phenomenal, and while you might not be able to build multiple holes at once without one of the available extra purchases (or a copy of the original), you have more than enough to create 18 unique and varied holes.

What I’m most wow’d about here is the production quality. The wood tiles, as mentioned before, are amazing. While I fully believe that cardboard is a very suitable alternative, for those looking for a premium experience, these wooden tiles definitely give it to you. The golf balls roll wonderfully across them, and I do believe that over the long term, they will remain more consistent in height. Cardboard COULD squish a bit over time with enough wait constantly pushing down on them. These wood tiles aren’t going to change much, if ever.

Great production doesn’t matter if the gameplay and mechanics don’t work. Thankfully, everything that made the original Table Golf Association game so successful is back again, with rules for all different kinds of shots. You have max fly distances for all terrain types, and different rules for how you can flick the marble depending on your position on the course. While more experienced players will have an obvious advantage when the game is being played, it’s still great fun for all, and definitely less stressful and infuriating as real golf!

We have plans to hold a small tournament locally soon – hoping to use our local board game cafe to not only show off the game, but have fun as well – and will provide more feedback on what folks thought during that event in the near future. Rest assured, however, that this is a great product with fun and engaging gameplay. If you have a group of friends who love golf, his will easily get played often. Be sure to check out more information over on the Table Golf Association website !