Originally posted at https://theroomandboard.com/reviews/2019/02/15/epic-review-r...
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Ahhh, cute furry animals. Who doesn't love cute, furry animals? Also, who doesn't like massive woodland forest battles? And asymmetric gameplay? And really, really great meeples? Ahhh.
Root is an asymmetric, strategic wargame where you control one of 4 factions (or 6 with the must-have Riverfolk Expansion), each having its own ruleset and strategy. Do not relate this too closely with it's predecessor, Vast: Crystal Caverns, another asymmetric game which fell under its own weight of loosely connected priorities and actions. Root is tight, nuanced, and fiercely competitive - especially as players become familiar with each faction, games will get increasingly close and exciting.
The theme is excellent, too - instead of your normal military troops or ships, Root goes full Animal Planet on us, putting the factions as various compilations of cute, cuddly animals (animeeples? meepinals?). More on them later. You're essentially competing to see who gets to control the forest. Sort of. See, each faction not only has its own rules, but its own motivations, which add to the theme, as each play style fits neatly into the theme of each character.
Unlike Vast, each faction still does a bunch of common things together: moving, attacking, building, crafting, recruiting - these are all for the most part done similarly per faction. Even the turn phases (Birdsong, Daylight, and Evening) for each faction are mostly similar. This breeds a familiarity with the core mechanics of the game, keeping play fast, while still allowing the depth and nuance of each faction to keep you coming back to the game to just try to win with those damn lizards one. more. time. It also helps with attention spans: in Vast, it was easy to check out during other turns, as there was just an overwhelming amount of difference; in Root, you can generally keep track of what each player is doing, and how it will affect you directly.
Combat is brazenly simple - the attacker rolls two 0-3 die, and deals hits based on the highest die roll of the two, with a max of how many units they're attacking with. The defender deals hits according to the lower number. The simplicity is actually quite nice - there's only a few surprises that can happen, so even though the board gets crowded and crazy at higher player counts, you generally feel like you can try a plan and execute it, without having to worry about huge RNG on dice rolls crippling you. 579
Though, they definitely still can - a poor 0-0 roll will make even the most seasoned Root player cry. Movement allows you to move either from or to a place you rule, where rule is majority of pieces.
Each spot - called "clearing" - on the board represents a population center, and has a limited number of building spaces. Furthermore, they have types (Mouse/Bunny/Fox) that determine card and action play in that space. Cards similarly have types, including a wildcard-style blue "Bird" card - thematically appropriate as the birds live in the trees above the forest, so they have no specific clearings.
Those cards you can craft, depending on how many crafting spots you have. Crafting grants you either points and items (more on items later, when we talk about the trash panda. Yes, I said trash panda.) or permanent effects throughout the game. Winning is fairly straightforward - you'll vie to get 30 points before anyone else, unless someone plays a nasty Dominance card which then becomes their victory condition, which involves getting - and holding - multiple spots on the board before it becomes their turn again. In other words, putting a target on their back and hoping people miss.
But the true beauty of this game is in the factions. Lets dive into those.
Marquise de Cat
Ahh, the Galactic Empi...I mean <PERSON>. An industrious feline bourgeoisie empire, they desire to raze the forest to build their kingdom. They usurped the rule of the forest from the Eyrie Dynasties, a fowl group of entitled former rulers that desire to reclaim their former glory. We'll get to the birds later. The cats are here to dominate, both militarily and economically. They make most of their points not through battle - surprisingly enough given their starting meeple count - but through building an economic engine. Like most empires, the cats have learned that the true sword is the coin. By controlling their supply and digging in, the Marquise under a skilled play can come to simply out-class the rest of the factions, if they play their diplomacy right. 629