In Tabletop Games M is for…
Magic: The Gathering (MTG)
What started as a trading card game has expanded into deep, lore-rich worlds perfect for RPGs. Magic: The Gathering settings like Ravnica, Strixhaven, and Zendikar provide unique environments full of powerful factions, ancient mysteries, and arcane conflicts. Whether you want political intrigue in a city of guilds or an adventure in a plane-spanning university, there’s plenty to explore.
Mana (Magic Points)
Spellcasters often have a limited resource to fuel their abilities—usually called Mana or Magic Points (MP). Spend too much, and you’ll be left without spells when you need them most. Some games, like Dungeons & Dragons, use spell slots instead, where each spell is a separate resource. Either way, running out at the wrong moment can turn a powerful wizard into a very fragile person in a robe.
Mathy
Ever played a game that felt more like solving an equation than playing? That’s what people mean by a “mathy” game. Whether it’s calculating probabilities in Brass: Birmingham or optimising resources in Power Grid, these games require a good head for numbers. If you enjoy crunching numbers and optimising every move, mathy games can be incredibly satisfying.
Meat Shield
A “meat shield” is exactly what it sounds like—a character who soaks up damage for others. Usually, this is the tank of the party, standing between enemies and the more fragile damage dealers or spellcasters. It’s a thankless job, but someone has to do it. Without them, the rest of the group would be in serious trouble.
Meaty
A meaty game isn’t necessarily long or complex—it just has a lot to chew on. It’s the kind of game that makes you pause and really think about your next move. Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island and This War of Mine are great examples. These games are full of meaningful decisions, but they don’t necessarily take all day to play.
Mechanics / Mechanisms
The mechanics of a game are what make it tick. Drawing cards, rolling dice, placing workers—these are all different game mechanics. A game’s mechanics often define how it plays, while its theme dictates how it feels. You can have the same mechanic (deck-building) in wildly different themes, from magical duels (Magic: The Gathering) to running a space station (Star Realms).
Meeple
You’ve definitely seen them—small, human-shaped wooden pieces used as player tokens. The word “meeple” supposedly comes from a player combining “my” and “people” back in 2000. Now, they’re a staple of modern board games, especially eurogames like Carcassonne. They even made it into the Oxford English Dictionary!
Melee
Melee combat is all about getting up close and personal. If you’re swinging a sword, punching, or wrestling, you’re in melee. Most RPGs split combat into melee (close-range) and ranged (attacks from a distance). Some characters, like rogues or barbarians, excel in melee, while others—like archers or wizards—prefer to stay far away.
MERP /MERPS (Middle-earth Role Playing)
If you’ve ever wanted to explore The Lord of the Rings beyond the books, MERP is the classic system that brought Tolkien’s world to the tabletop. Compared to other fantasy settings, Middle-earth is lower-magic and deeply rooted in mythic storytelling. While it’s out of print, its influence still echoes in modern adaptations like The One Ring RPG.
Meta
The Meta is sometimes what is referred to as the optimal way to play a game. The currently optimal strategy. Also often found in Online games where balance changes can change the Meta over time.
Meta-game / Meta-gaming
Metagaming happens when players use knowledge their characters wouldn’t have. Maybe you’ve read the monster manual and know that trolls are weak to fire, even though your character has never encountered one. Or perhaps you position yourself perfectly to avoid a trap you only know about because another player fell into it. It’s a tricky thing—sometimes useful, sometimes frowned upon—but always a hot topic at the table.
Minis / Miniatures
Minis are small figurines used to represent characters, monsters, and scenery in tabletop games. They can be as simple as plastic tokens or as detailed as hand-painted works of art. Some players spend hours customising their minis, while others are happy with whatever’s on hand—even if it’s just a spare dice standing in for a dragon. Games like Warhammer 40K revolve entirely around them, while others like Gloomhaven use them to enhance immersion.
Min-Maxing
Min-maxing is all about squeezing every last drop of efficiency from a game’s mechanics. It’s common in RPGs where players build characters optimised for a specific strength while ignoring weaker stats. In board games, min-maxing can sometimes break the game—finding an overpowered combo that wasn’t intended by the designers.
Minion
Minions are the disposable foot soldiers of the gaming world. They’re weaker than standard enemies, often going down in one or two hits, but they tend to show up in large numbers. Whether they’re goblins, skeletons, or space grunts, minions exist to make fights more interesting—without overwhelming players with too many high-powered foes.
Modular Board
A modular board means the game setup changes every time you play. Instead of a static board (Monopoly), modular games like Zombicide use tiles that can be rearranged for a fresh experience every game. This adds replayability and keeps things unpredictable.
Monster Manual – MM
A core rulebook for Dungeons & Dragons, the Monster Manual is filled with creatures for GMs to use in their games. From goblins and dragons to bizarre cosmic horrors, it provides stats, lore, and abilities for an array of enemies. Many GMs love flipping through it for inspiration when designing encounters.
Multi-player Solitaire
Some games feel like everyone’s just playing their own separate puzzle with little interaction. If players are focused on their own area and rarely affect each other (Wingspan, Terraforming Mars), that’s multi-player solitaire. While it’s great for those who enjoy planning without interference, some prefer more direct interaction.
Murder Hobo
A Murder Hobo is a player character with no real ties to the world—just wandering from place to place, looting and killing without a second thought. No home, no relationships, just violence. While fun in short bursts, this style of play can derail campaigns, especially if the rest of the group is trying to follow a serious story. That said, every game has that one player who just wants to burn everything to the ground.
Have I missed anything?