# Meeple Circus

Meeple Circus is a board game for 2–5 players. It plays in 45 minutes and is meant for ages 8 and up. Ludoya players call it best with 4. It is rated 5.6 out of 10 by 26 Ludoya reviewers. The cheapest copy in stock is $44.75 (United States).

- **Players:** 2–5 (best with 4)
- **Playing time:** 45 minutes
- **Minimum age:** 8+
- **Complexity:** 1.4 out of 5
- **Year published:** 2017
- **Categories:** Action / Dexterity, Animals, Real-time
- **Mechanics:** Push Your Luck, Open Drafting, Stacking and Balancing, Real-Time, Pattern Building
- **Ludoya rating:** 5.6 out of 10, from 26 reviews
- **Owned by:** 65 Ludoya players
- **Plays logged on Ludoya:** 163
- **Unique players:** 283

**Designers:** Cédric Millet

**Artists:** Mathieu Leyssenne, Angelina Costamagna, Sabrina Tobal

**Publishers:** Matagot

## Where to buy in United States

| Shop | Price | Link |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ludifolie | 34.9 € | https://www.ludifolie.com/5454-meeple-circus.html |
| World of Board Games | 399 kr | https://www.worldofboardgames.com/meeple-circus |
| Zatu Games | 32.15 £ | https://zatu.com/products/meeple-circus |
| Alphaspel | 429 kr | https://alphaspel.se/491-bradspel/83188-meeple-circus-eng-regler |
| Games Empire | 63.99 $ | https://gamesempire.com.au/products/meeplecircus |
| Fantasiapelit | 41.1 € | https://www.fantasiapelit.com/index.php?main=ai&kat=single&mista=indeksi&etsittava=_204147 |
| Good Games | 68 $ | https://www.goodgames.com.au/products/meeple-circus |
| Nexus | 7995 kr | https://nexus.is/vara/meeple-circus/ |

## Expansions

- [Meeple Circus: The Wild Animal & Aerial Show](https://www.ludoya.com/games/meeple-circus-the-wild-animal-and-aerial-show)
- [Meeple Circus: Show Must Go On!](https://www.ludoya.com/games/meeple-circus-show-must-go-on)
- [Meeple Circus: Tomatoes and Awards](https://www.ludoya.com/games/meeple-circus-tomatoes-and-awards)
- [Meeple Circus: Tiny Acrobats](https://www.ludoya.com/games/meeple-circus-tiny-acrobats)

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## Rules questions

### What's the goal of the game and how do we set up?

The goal is to earn the most applause by building successful circus acts across 3 acts (two rehearsals and a main performance). Setup places the clap-o-meter board, each player's ring and score token, 2 starting acrobats, shuffled Public Demands piles, 6 Component tiles, and act tiles plus the measuring ruler and Speed tokens as described in the setup steps (page 1).

### Can I touch or move my components before or during the presentation?

Before the presentation all your components must be outside your circus ring and you are not allowed to manipulate them; when the music starts all players build their acts simultaneously and may then place components (page 2).

### Are there any placement rules my pieces must follow to count?

Yes — every component must be placed inside your ring, placed on its side except for beams and barrels (which may stand upright), and any component on the ground must support at least one other component; pieces that fail to meet ALL these rules are not counted (page 2).

### How do acrobat meeples score — do beginners/intermediates/experts score differently?

Each blue (beginner) acrobat touching the ground scores 1 applause; each yellow (intermediate) acrobat that does NOT touch the ground scores 1 applause; each red (expert) acrobat carrying no element scores applause equal to the height it reaches, measured with the ruler (page 3).

### How do Speed tokens work — how do you get them and what do they do?

The first and second players who finish their act before the music ends take the Speed tokens (the single‑star and double‑star tokens, respectively), and each Speed token grants the amount of applause printed on it (pages 2–3).

## Links

- [This page](https://www.ludoya.com/games/meeple-circus)
- [Meeple Circus in the Ludoya app](https://app.ludoya.com/g/meeple-circus)
- [BoardGameGeek entry](https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/193214)

_Data from Ludoya, updated 2026-09-19. Ratings, ownership and play counts are Ludoya's own._