Welcome

Welcome one and all to "Life Beyond the Meeple", a blog containing my musings on hobby board gaming from a Christian perspective and my musings on life (and particularly the Christian life) from the perspective of a board gamer.

And yes, I do realise that this blog is aimed at a niche market, so the readership is more likely to be 'one' than 'all'. Nonetheless. The following categories of people might be interested in it.

• Members of the faith community who want to know a bit more about the wonderful world of modern board games. See "The Board Gamer's Life" page for an introduction to the kind of games I'm talking about.

• Members of the gaming community who want to explore something of the Christian faith, which is, when all is said and done, a trifle more important than any mere hobby. See the "Life Beyond" page.

• Anyone who knows Paul Cockburn and is curious as to what makes him tick. Bear in mind that this blog doesn't contain a complete description of his life, just a few insights into one aspect of it.

And for those who don't know what a MEEPLE is, here's one.

Meeples are a common component in many modern board games. Instead of the unrealistic 'sphere on top of a pole with a round base' piece of coloured plastic which had been used in board games from time immemorial (e.g. Cluedo), the modern Meeple is a lifelike representation of a human being. Well, comparatively lifelike. And it's made of coloured wood. According to internet lore, the name is an abbreviated form of "My People" and was first used during a game of Carcassonne. Another internet source describes it as a corruption of "Miniature People". No matter. It's called a meeple. That's all you need to know for now.