John Hobkinson, Author at Big Boss Battle (B3)

Viticulture: Bordeaux Expansion Review – A Worthy Vintage?

John Hobkinson — Wed, 01 Apr 2026 18:00:37 +0000

With Viticulture, we’ve previously sipped along the Rhine, strolled through Tuscany, and now Viticulture: Bordeaux invites us to one of the most prestigious wine regions in the world to see what the locals are fermenting. First things first: you do need the base game of Viticulture to play. If you don’t own it, I’ll politely […]

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Perch Review – Birds Behaving Badly

John Hobkinson — Mon, 30 Mar 2026 13:00:21 +0000

There are many board games about animals living peacefully in nature. Grazing deer. Industrious beavers. Happy little woodland creatures cooperating under the gentle glow of the forest canopy. Perch is not one of those games. Instead, Perch asks a far more interesting question: what if birds were petty, territorial opportunists willing to shove each other […]

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Earth Must Die! Review – Polite Apocalypse, Delivered with Alien Indifference

John Hobkinson — Sat, 28 Mar 2026 12:00:21 +0000

There are villains, and then there are the sort of villains who gaze thoughtfully at an entire planet and decide, with quiet conviction, that it’s all a bit unnecessary. Not evil, exactly. Just… inefficiently existent. Earth Must Die! is built on that very particular flavour of logic. Earth Must Die! is a gleefully odd, very […]

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Arkham Horror The Card Game Chapter Two Core Set Review – A Perfect Starting Point?

John Hobkinson — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 14:00:08 +0000

There are games that invite you to sit around a comfy table with friends and enjoy a pleasant evening full of laughs and light-hearted competition. Then there is Arkham Horror: The Card Game. This one hands you a flickering lantern, leans in just a little too close, whispers something deeply unsettling about things man was not […]

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Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown Review – There’s Coffee in That Nebula

John Hobkinson — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 19:00:21 +0000

“There’s coffee in that nebula.” Few lines capture the spirit of Star Trek: Voyager quite like that one, and it’s a fitting starting point for Star Trek: Voyager – Across the Unknown, a strategy game that puts you in command of the legendary USS Voyager as it attempts the long and dangerous journey home across the […]

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Dark Quest 4 is a big stab of nostalgia, right to the face.

John Hobkinson — Thu, 19 Mar 2026 14:00:07 +0000

There’s something undeniably comforting about a dungeon crawler that knows exactly what it wants to be. From Brain Seal Entertainment — the studio behind other gems like Monarchy (which I happily lost an entire weekend to) and Story of a Gladiator (a game I enjoyed far more than I expected) — comes the latest entry […]

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When the great eye of The King is Watching, you better be ready to get back to work.

John Hobkinson — Wed, 18 Mar 2026 14:00:06 +0000

The King Is Watching comes to us from relative unknowns Hypnohead, but is published by the figurative giants tinyBuild. To give you a quick idea of what it’s about, Imagine Lord of the Rings, but in this instance the all-seeing eye is not that of the enemy — it’s that of the king. Of who, […]

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Defenders of the Wild: Critter Moon – More Bite, or Just More Fur?

John Hobkinson — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 21:24:21 +0000

When Defenders of the Wild first hit my table, it brought claws, teeth and a fierce identity to the co-operative space. Now, with Critter Moon, the forest fights back with added variety and a small new twist. But is this a howling success, or just more fur on the same frame? From Outlandish Games, Critter […]

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Hard Choices, Harder Losses in Defenders of the Wild 2nd Edition

John Hobkinson — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 14:11:45 +0000

Defenders of the Wild 2.0 is charging toward Kickstarter, and it is not here to ask politely. From Outlandish Games and designed by T.L. Simons and Henry Audubon, Defenders of the Wild 2.0 this is a fierce, uncompromising cooperative experience that looks you square in the eye and asks whether you’re actually ready to live […]

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The Last Book – The Diary of the Last Earthling

John Hobkinson — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:50 +0000

From Hungry Minds, the Dubai-based group that brought us The Book – The Ultimate Guide To Rebuilding Civilization comes their second offering: The Last Book. There are books that tell stories, and then there are books that feel like artefacts — the sort of thing you’d expect to find half buried in the ruins of […]

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Get ready to feel the highs and lows of the slot machine with CloverPit

John Hobkinson — Tue, 10 Feb 2026 19:00:51 +0000

From developer Panik Arcade — a relative newcomer — CloverPit comes hot out of the gate and is already grabbing attention. CloverPit is chasing two very loud modern trends. First, the ongoing roguelite renaissance that truly kicked off in the early 2010s with The Binding of Isaac and FTL, then roared into the mainstream with […]

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The Book – The Ultimate Guide to Rebuilding Civilization by Hungry Minds

John Hobkinson — Sat, 07 Feb 2026 12:00:05 +0000

People always say “never judge a book by its cover,” and normally I’d agree. A flashy exterior can hide a hollow, over-marketed mess. But when The Book arrived, in a box so large it felt like it contained a lost relic, I felt that familiar tug of the halo effect. Fancy packaging can trick your […]

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21X is like playing Dr Kawashima’s Brain Training, only you can’t play it on the toilet.

John Hobkinson — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 14:00:05 +0000

21X comes to us from designer Leo Samson and published by Naylor Games, who gave us Sub Terra and Snowdonia: Grand Tour. Now comes their newest project to grant new life to the classic game of blackjack. Like blackjack, the goal of the game is to get a card total of 21, or as […]

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Stock the shelves and roll the dice as Tabletop Game Shop Simulator opens for business

John Hobkinson — Wed, 04 Feb 2026 14:00:14 +0000

Time to open the doors, dust the shelves, and make sure you’ve stocked up for the day, because Tabletop Game Shop Simulator hands you the keys to your very own wargaming store. May the dice forever be in your favour. Developed by newcomer Knight Fever Games, with additional development from Ludogram (Worlds of Aria, Firebird), […]

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Prepare to wrap up warm as Battle of Hoth hits your table

John Hobkinson — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 14:00:56 +0000

“Greetings Lord Vader, the shield will be down in moments, you may start your landing.” With that line, Battle of Hoth hits the table, giving players the chance to relive one of Star Wars’ most iconic battles. Published by Days of Wonder and designed by Adrien Martinot and Richard Borg, it’s a fast, accessible skirmish […]

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Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Stonemeier Games newest release: Origin Story!

John Hobkinson — Mon, 12 Jan 2026 14:00:05 +0000

From Stonemeier Games, the company that brought us familiar game shelf favourites such as Wingspan, Scythe and Tapestry; Origin Story is the newest member of their gaming pantheon. Designed by Jamey Stegmaier, one of the world’s most easily known board game designers, and design newcomer Pete Wissinger. Origin Story blends classic card play with a […]

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The Puzzle – Octopolis by Hungry Minds

John Hobkinson — Sun, 04 Jan 2026 12:00:48 +0000

From the creative minds at Hungry Minds — the studio behind The Book and The Last Book — comes their latest creation. It’s simply called The Puzzle — Octopolis. I am starting to see a pattern in how they name things. Not the most imaginative series name, sure, but after spending time with it, you quickly realise the series name is definitely […]

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