Splotter Spellen has named its first new game since 2023's Horseless Carriage, and it's exactly as chunky as you'd expect. Bailiff of Boscoop is a 2-5 player land-grab strategy game running 150-240 minutes, set in late-medieval Rhineland in what's now the Netherlands. Pre-orders are open at the Splotter Shop for €111.85 (about £95), with copies shipping alongside an Antiquity reprint in early 2027.
Looking for board gamers near you? Browse local communities and find your next game night.
Find events near youSplotter has a tiny catalogue and a cult following. Their masterpiece Food Chain Magnate sits at 8.0 on BGG with over 23,000 ratings, and Antiquity, Roads & Boats, and Indonesia have all spent years in the BGG top 200. The design philosophy is famously austere, with minimal randomness, brutal player interaction, and a willingness to let players make moves that sink their own game on turn three.
In Bailiff of Boscoop, players control rival families across a flooded Dutch landscape, sending family members to found villages, serve as judges, and trade in regional staples like ducks, Boskoop apples, and cheese. Whoever ends up sitting on the most land wins. Early playtest builds included a heavy negotiation layer, but the designers have scaled it back to keep turns moving while preserving Splotter's signature "well, that just ruined Steve" interaction.
Got a regular group? Create a private community, poll for the best date, vote on games, and let your friends RSVP in one place.
Set up your group for freeProduction is targeted at Q4 2026, with shipping in Q1 2027. Splotter's small print runs mean ordering early is essentially mandatory if you want a copy. Their previous releases have routinely sold through and resold at multiples on the secondary market.
For groups who can carve out a four-hour evening, Splotter games are a love-it-or-hate-it ritual. Worth rallying your heaviest-game friends and clearing the diary.
Sources: Splotter Shop | Zatu Games | BoardGameGeek
