Root (board game)

Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right is a 2018 asymmetric strategy wargame board game designed by Cole Wehrle, illustrated by Kyle Ferrin, and published by Leder Games. Players compete for the most victory points through moving and battling using various factions with unique abilities. Upon its release, Root received positive reviews, and was followed by four expansions. A digital version, developed by Dire Wolf Digital, was released in 2020.^[1]

In Root, 2-4 players compete in an asymmetric strategy wargame to control a forest. Each player controls a different faction, each of which has different gameplay elements, tactics, and point scoring options. In the base game, 4 factions are present: the Eyrie Dynasties, Marquise de Cat, Woodland Alliance, and the Vagabond. The Eerie are a kingdom of birds and the original rulers of the Woodland, Marquise de Cat is a noble from a far land that is trying to takeover to expand their influence, the Woodland Alliance is a group of mice and rabbits that are rebelling to free themselves from tyrants, and the Vagabond is a explorer and adventurer making a name for themselves. While there is a common set of rules for movement, hands of cards, and battling each other, every faction adds an additional layer of rules complexity.^[2][3]

Faction mechanics

The base game includes four factions: the Marquise de Cat, the Eyrie Dynasties, the Woodland Alliance, and the Vagabond.^[4] The Marquise de Cat requires its player to construct buildings across the board - gaining wood via sawmills to construct other types of buildings and add combat units to the board. The Eyrie Dynasties has the player adding cards to their Decree each round to undertake actions in a prescribed order in specific areas of the board. If they are unable to fulfill an action in the Decree, the Eyrie player falls into turmoil, causes them to lose points and reset their Decree. The Woodland Alliance starts with no units on the board. Instead, the player spends cards in their Supporters stack to add Sympathy tokens to the board, which punish other players when they enter or remove them, and can be spent to create a revolt that removes enemy pieces, establishes a base and places warriors on the board. Unlike the other factions, the Vagabond has no warrior units, instead controlling just one piece. The Vagabond must complete quests and explore ruins to earn points, cards and items, which expand their action economy, and can purchase items from other players or battle them to gain victory points.^[2]

The Riverfolk Expansion added two new factions to the game. The Lizard Cult is a slow-moving faction that picks up discarded cards from other players, which influence the Outcast. During their turn, they can build gardens or spend acolytes to perform conspiracies in the portions of the board that match the Outcast, such as converting other players' warriors or replacing their buildings with gardens. The Riverfolk Company sells various services to other players, enabling them to buy additional cards, rent out troops as mercenaries or move along the river on the map. The Riverfolk then use the funds they obtain from these transactions to fuel their action economy.^[5]

The Underworld Expansion introduced two more new factions. The Underground Duchy has an exclusive space on the board, the Burrow, from which they can dig tunnels to appear anywhere on the board. They start with a small action economy, but gain further actions on their turn by swaying Ministers, though they risk losing them if any of their buildings are destroyed. The Corvid Conspiracy places secret Plot tokens on the board, which have various adverse effects on other players (like stealing cards or removing pieces) when flipped; opposing players can attempt to guess the type of Plot token to remove it, but will have to give cards to the Corvid Conspiracy if they are wrong.^[6]

The Marauders Expansion introduced two more new factions. The Keepers in Iron delve different relics from the forest, which they must then transport to their Waystations to recover them for points. They increase their action economy through placing cards in their Retinue, though the higher the point value of their relics, the more likely they will have to give up cards from their Retinue to delve and recover them. The Lord of the Hundreds are led by their Warlord, a powerful warrior piece whose abilities change with their Mood every round, and who Hoards items they craft or steal to increase their action economy, though this also restricts the Moods they can choose. They spread Mob tokens across the board, which destroy other player's buildings if they are not removed.^[7]

Root received critical success upon its release. Reviewing for Ars Technica, Charlie Theel praised the game's visuals and highlighted its strategic depth and asymmetrical factions. He described the Eyrie's design of adding decrees as a "fascinating and one of the most rewarding factions" that was "beset with challenges", the Marquise de Cat as "the most straightforward" but "deceptive", and considered the Woodland Alliance to be "a true guerilla force", with its power of destroying enemies to be "explosive and extremely gratifying". Theel concluded that the game offered "astounding depth" due to its "deep asymmetry" and "extended exploration".^[2] Jonathan Bolding from GamesRadar stated that it was "one of the best board games", praising the components, the accessible combat system, and "compelling" asymmetry, but commented negatively on the difficulty for new players.^[8] Similarly, Tom Mendelsohn commended the strategy, strategy depth, and "whimsical exterior".^[9] In a 2017 preview of the game, Destructoid commented favourably on the game's artwork; especially the contrast between cartoon animals and the mature themes of the game.^[3] Dicebreaker also listed Root as one of the best board games, describing the "absolutely adorable" artwork and balanced powers of the factions.^[10] In 2022, The New York Times named it one of the four best strategy board games alongside Brass: Birmingham, Ark Nova, and Lost Ruins of Arnak, praising its "unique ecosystem of conflicting and contrasting goals, powers, and win conditions" but noting that it was "an intimidating game for newbies".^[11]

Root also received numerous awards, including the 2018 Golden Geek Board Game of the Year award,^[12][13] the 2019 Origins Awards for Game of the Year, Best Board Game and Fan Favourite Board Game,^[14][15] and the American Tabletop Awards Complex Game award^[16] and the Spiel Portugal Jogo do Ano.^[17] It was also nominated for the 2020 As d'Or Expert award.^[18]

Root: The Riverfolk Expansion was released in 2018. The expansion adds two new factions (the Riverfolk Company and the Lizard Cult), the ability to play with a second Vagabond, and the ability to play with a bot version of the Marquise de Cat ("Mechanical Marquise"). A digital adaptation of the expansion was released in April 2021.^[19][20]

Root: The Underworld Expansion was released in 2020. The expansion adds 2 new factions: the Underground Duchy and the Corvid Conspiracy. It also introduces 2 additional maps: Lake and Mountain.^[21][22]

Root: The Clockwork Expansion was released in 2020. The expansion allows players to play against bot versions of all 4 of the factions in the base game: the Mechanical Marquise 2.0 (a modification of the version in the Riverfolk Expansion), Electric Eyrie, Automated Alliance, and Vagabot.^[23][24]

Root: The Exiles and Partisans Deck was released in 2020. This deck can be swapped with the deck from the original game to add variety.^[25][26]

Root: The Vagabond Pack was released in 2020. The pack includes 7 new Vagabond playing pieces, as well as 3 new character cards for the Vagabond.^[27][28]

Root: The Marauder Expansion was released in 2022. The expansion includes 2 new factions: the Lord of the Hundreds and the Keepers in Iron. It also introduces the hirelings mechanic and 4 hirelings.^[29]

Root: The Clockwork Expansion 2 was released in 2022. The expansion lets players play against 4 automated factions: the Logical Lizards, Riverfolk Robots, Cogwheel Corvids and Drillbit Duchy.^[30]

Root: The Landmarks Pack was released in 2022. The pack includes 4 new landmarks and setup cards for the 2 existing ones.^[31]

Root: Marauder Hirelings and Hirelings Box was released in 2022. The expansion added the hireling versions of both Marauder factions and a third, neutral hireling. It also added a box for all hirelings.^[32]

Root: Riverfolk Hirelings Pack was released in 2022. The pack added the hireling versions of the Riverfolk factions and a third, neutral hireling.^[33]

Root: Underworld Hirelings Pack was released in 2022. The pack added the hireling versions of the Underworld factions and a third, neutral hireling.^[34]

Root: The Homeland Expansion will be released in 2026. The expansion will include 3 new factions: the Lilypad Diaspora, Twilight Council, and Knaves of the Deepwood. It also introduces 2 additional maps (Marsh and Gorge) and 3 new landmarks.^[35]

Root: Homeland Hirelings Pack will be released in 2026. The pack added the hireling versions of the Homeland factions and a third, neutral hireling.

Root: The Squires and Disciples Deck will be released in 2026. This deck can be swapped with the base deck from the original game, much like the Exiles and Partisan deck to add variety.

In 2021, Magpie Games released tabletop role-playing game Root: The Roleplaying Game. It uses the Powered by the Apocalypse design philosophy.^[36] The entire adventuring party plays as Vagabonds. Charlie Hall for Polygon recommended it for fans of "swashbuckling adventure" and "high-stakes political theater."^[37] It won the 2022 Silver ENNIE Award for "Best Game" and was also nominated for "Product of the Year."^[38]

Root: Digital Edition was released in September 2020 by Dire Wolf on the PC, iOS and Android platforms, followed by a Nintendo Switch version in November 2021.^[39] The PC version was praised by Jason Ornleas from GamingTrend, who praised the tutorial, aesthetics, soundtrack and strategy, but criticised the quickness of the AI turns and the lack of an undo button.^[40] In their list of the best board games of 2020, Vulture named the digital version of Root as the best board game app, complimenting the animations, AI, and in-game tutorial.^[41] Theel from Polygon also recommended the Nintendo Switch adaptation, praised the addition of new modes, and concluded that it "accomplishes the unenviable task of bringing its machinations to the screen", but critiqued the lack of group dynamics.^[42]

In recent updates, the game has addressed many of critiques, adding an undo button and challenges that can be played in the solo game mode. The digital edition also has DLC equivalents to the physical expansions.^[43] Additional challenges for the solo game mode and achievements are included with each DLC.

In partnership with publishers in other countries, Root has been translated to Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Czech, Polish, Hungarian, Ukrainian, Russian, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese language editions.^[44]

• Oath: Chronicles of Empire and Exile, Pax Pamir, Arcs, and John Company, other board games designed by Cole Wehrle

• Root page on the Leder Games website
• Root at BoardGameGeek