Root (board game)

Root is an asymmetric strategy wargame for two to four players, released in 2018. Designed by Cole Wehrle with art by Kyle Ferrin and published by Leder Games, it tasks players with earning the most victory points by moving and battling across a forest. Each player controls a different faction, each with its own rules and scoring methods. The base game includes four factions: the Eyrie Dynasties (a bird kingdom and former rulers), the Marquise de Cat (a noble from afar seeking to expand influence), the Woodland Alliance (rebellious mice, rabbits, and foxes), and the Vagabond (a lone explorer). While movement, card hands, and combat follow common rules, each faction adds its own layer of complexity.

The Marquise de Cat builds sawmills to generate wood, which is used to construct other buildings and deploy combat units. The Eyrie Dynasties adds cards to a Decree each round, dictating actions in a set order and location; failing to fulfill a decree causes turmoil, costing points and resetting the decree. The Woodland Alliance starts with no units, spending cards from a Supporters stack to place Sympathy tokens that punish opponents entering or removing them, and can later revolt to remove enemy pieces and establish a base. The Vagabond controls a single piece, completing quests and exploring ruins to earn points, cards, and items that expand their action economy, and can purchase items from or battle other players for points.

Four expansions add more factions. The Riverfolk Expansion introduces the Lizard Cult, which uses discarded cards to influence an Outcast, building gardens or spending acolytes for conspiracies in matching board areas; and the Riverfolk Company, which sells services like extra cards, mercenary troops, or river movement to other players, using the funds to fuel its own actions. The Underworld Expansion adds the Underground Duchy, which tunnels from a special Burrow space to anywhere on the board, gaining actions by swaying Ministers but risking them if buildings are destroyed; and the Corvid Conspiracy, which places secret Plot tokens that harm opponents when flipped, with opponents able to guess the token type to remove it (paying cards if wrong). The Marauders Expansion includes the Keepers in Iron, who delve relics from the forest and transport them to Waystations for points, using a Retinue of cards that must be given up for higher-va