FOUNDERS

Founder Article Template

A ready-made HTML layout for the articles you publish to your community. Copy it, swap in your brand colour and prefix, and fill in your content.

The template gives every article the same clean magazine layout: an italic subtitle, clear sections, a tip box, one or two highlights, a closing pull quote, and a community question at the end. You keep the structure exactly as it is and change only the values flagged for your brand.

How to use it

  1. Copy the full template below.
  2. Replace every [PLACEHOLDER] with your own content.
  3. Find each value marked BRAND COLOUR and swap the hex value to your own.
  4. Find each value marked BRAND PREFIX and change mee to your own prefix, in every class name and selector.
  5. Leave all class names, structure, and CSS properties alone. Only the flagged values change.
  6. Do not add inline styles or extra HTML elements outside the structure provided.
Pro tip: when you paste your finished article into the founder article block, use the paste without formatting option rather than a normal paste.

The template

<!--
===========================================
FOUNDER ARTICLE TEMPLATE
===========================================
HOW TO USE THIS TEMPLATE:
1. Replace all [PLACEHOLDERS] with your content
2. Find every instance of BRAND COLOUR and swap the hex value to your own
3. Find every instance of BRAND PREFIX and swap "mee" to your own prefix
4. Do not change any class names, structure or CSS properties — only the values flagged below
5. Do not add inline styles or extra HTML elements outside the structure provided
===========================================
-->

<div class="mee-article">
<!-- ↑ BRAND PREFIX: change "mee" in "mee-article" to your own prefix throughout -->

  <div class="mee-subtitle">
    [YOUR SUBTITLE HERE — one punchy line that sets the tone of the article]
  </div>

  <p>
    [OPENING PARAGRAPH — set the scene. Who is this for and why does it matter to them?]
  </p>

  <p>
    [SECOND PARAGRAPH — expand on the idea. Keep it conversational, no jargon.]
  </p>

  <h2>[SECTION HEADING ONE]</h2>

  <p>[SHORT INTRO LINE FOR THIS SECTION — one or two sentences max.]</p>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <h2>[SECTION HEADING TWO]</h2>

  <p>[SHORT INTRO LINE FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <div class="mee-fact-box">
    <strong>[YOUR BRAND NAME] Tip:</strong> [ONE STANDALONE INSIGHT OR TIP RELEVANT TO YOUR AUDIENCE — this sits outside the main flow so make it count.]
  </div>

  <h2>[SECTION HEADING THREE]</h2>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <p>
    <span class="mee-highlight">[A KEY PHRASE OR SENTENCE YOU WANT TO HIGHLIGHT — use sparingly, one or two per article maximum.]</span>
  </p>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <h2>[SECTION HEADING FOUR]</h2>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <h2>[SECTION HEADING FIVE — CLOSING SECTION]</h2>

  <p>[BODY PARAGRAPH FOR THIS SECTION]</p>

  <p>
    <span class="mee-highlight">[SECOND HIGHLIGHT IF NEEDED — again, use sparingly.]</span>
  </p>

  <div class="mee-closing">
    [CLOSING LINE — one memorable sentence that lands the whole piece. Italic pull quote style. No fluff.]
  </div>

  <div class="mee-community-box">
    <h2>[COMMUNITY QUESTION HEADING — short, inviting]</h2>
    <p>
      [CALL TO COMMENT — ask the community a direct question related to the article. Keep it open ended and genuine. Two to three sentences maximum.]
    </p>
  </div>

<style>
/*
===========================================
CSS — WHAT TO CHANGE AND WHAT TO LEAVE ALONE
===========================================
CHANGE: Any value marked with ← BRAND COLOUR or ← BRAND PREFIX
LEAVE:  All property names, selectors, layout values, font sizes, margins and padding
===========================================
*/

.mee-article { /* ← BRAND PREFIX: replace "mee" with your prefix in every selector below */
  max-width: 850px;
  margin: 60px auto;
  background: #ffffff;
  padding: 50px;
  border-radius: 18px;
  box-shadow: 0 10px 35px rgba(0,0,0,0.08);
  font-family: Georgia, serif;
  color: #222;
  line-height: 1.8;
}

.mee-article .mee-subtitle {
  font-size: 20px;
  color: #555;
  margin-bottom: 35px;
  font-style: italic;
}

.mee-article h2 {
  font-size: 28px;
  margin-top: 50px;
  margin-bottom: 20px;
  color: #111;
  font-family: Georgia, serif;
}

.mee-article p {
  font-size: 18px;
  margin-bottom: 24px;
  font-family: Georgia, serif;
}

.mee-article .mee-highlight {
  background: #178080; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with your hex value */
  color: #ffffff;
  padding: 2px 8px;
  border-radius: 6px;
  font-weight: bold;
}

.mee-article .mee-closing {
  font-size: 20px;
  font-style: italic;
  color: #111;
  border-left: 5px solid #178080; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with your hex value */
  border-radius: 0;
  padding-left: 20px;
  margin-top: 40px;
  margin-bottom: 40px;
}

.mee-article .mee-community-box {
  background: #edf7f7; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with a very light tint of your brand colour */
  border-radius: 14px;
  padding: 30px 35px;
  margin-top: 50px;
  border: 2px solid #178080; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with your hex value */
}

.mee-article .mee-community-box h2 {
  margin-top: 0;
  color: #0d5252; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with a dark shade of your brand colour */
}

.mee-article .mee-community-box p {
  color: #1a6666; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with a mid shade of your brand colour */
  margin-bottom: 0;
}

.mee-article .mee-fact-box {
  background: #111;
  color: #e8f5f5; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with a very light tint of your brand colour */
  padding: 25px;
  border-radius: 12px;
  margin: 35px 0;
  font-family: Georgia, serif;
  font-size: 17px;
  line-height: 1.7;
}

.mee-article .mee-fact-box strong {
  color: #178080; /* ← BRAND COLOUR: replace with your hex value */
}

@media screen and (max-width: 768px) {
  .mee-article {
    padding: 30px;
    margin: 20px;
  }

  .mee-article h2 {
    font-size: 24px;
  }

  .mee-article p {
    font-size: 17px;
  }

  .mee-article .mee-subtitle {
    font-size: 18px;
  }
}
</style>

</div>

What a finished article looks like

Below is a real article written with this template (brand prefix mee, teal brand colour). If it is easier, you can also copy the template and ask AI to write your content into it, keeping this exact layout.

Show the finished example

So Your Partner Thinks All Board Games Are Monopoly

Because "so what do you do for work" is the most boring opening move on the board.

A board game date is already a great idea. You have something to do with your hands, something to talk about, a built in reason to laugh and a natural way to see how someone actually behaves under mild competitive pressure. But the conversation between turns? That is where the real game is played.

Here are 25 questions worth asking. Some are silly. Some catch people off guard in the best way. All of them will tell you more than a standard dinner date ever could.

The Warm Up Round

Before the game even starts. Keep it easy, keep it fun.

  • 1. What is the game sitting on your shelf that you have never actually played but absolutely cannot bring yourself to get rid of?
  • 2. What are you currently playing? And how deep in are you?
  • 3. Do you have a game you will never play again no matter who asks? What killed it for you?
  • 4. Are you a one game at a time person or do you have six on the go and a mild sense of guilt about all of them?
  • 5. Have you ever played a game solo? Do you think that says something about a person?

Mid Game: Things Are Getting Interesting

The ice is broken. The game is moving. This is where the good stuff comes out.

  • 6. On a scale of totally chill to quietly devastated, how do you actually feel when you lose?
  • 7. If I turned out to be significantly better than you at every game we played, would that bother you? Be honest.
  • 8. Have you ever talked someone into a terrible trade or deal mid game just because you could?
  • 9. What is your biggest green flag in a fellow player? And your biggest red flag?
  • 10. Are you someone who plays to win or someone who plays to make sure everyone is having a good time? And do not say both.
  • 11. What is the most unhinged thing you have ever witnessed happen during a game night?
  • 12. Do you think how someone plays a game actually tells you something real about who they are?
Meeples Tip: Watch what happens when they are losing. Not because losing badly is a dealbreaker, but because how someone handles it tells you everything about how they handle life.

The Power Move Questions

Ask these when things are flowing and you want to go somewhere a bit more real.

  • 13. Have you ever let someone win on purpose? Would you admit it to their face?
  • 14. What is the game that completely surprised you? The one you wrote off and then it got you?
  • 15. Is there a genre of game you just cannot get on with no matter how many times you try?
  • 16. If the people who play games with you regularly had to describe you as a player in three words, what would they say?
  • 17. Have you ever genuinely fallen out with someone over a game? What happened and where are you both now?
  • 18. What does your ideal game night actually look like? How many people, what kind of game, what is the vibe?

The Silly But Telling Round

Never underestimate a ridiculous question. The answers are almost always the most revealing ones.

  • 19. You are designing a board game about your life. What is the wildcard event card that derails everything just when things were going well?
  • 20. What is a house rule you have introduced that you think genuinely improves every game it gets applied to?
  • 21. If someone designed a game mechanic specifically to drive you up the wall, what would it be?
  • 22. What is the pettiest thing you have ever done during a game and are you even slightly sorry about it?
  • 23. If this date was a board game, what kind of game would it be so far and who do you think is winning?

The End Game

The game is wrapping up. The evening feels like it has legs. These are your closing moves.

  • 24. Rematch. Same game or are you picking something completely different next time?
  • 25. On a completely honest scale of one to ten, how did I do tonight? And yes, that includes the game.
The best dates are not about performing well. They are about finding someone worth playing the long game with.

Your Turn

Got a question that always lands brilliantly on a game night date? Or one that went completely sideways? Drop it in the comments. The Meeples community has strong opinions and we are absolutely here for all of them.