Root is the newest board game my family has purchased, and it is one of our new favorites! We bought it because it got excellent reviews, and people spoke praises of it on Board Game Geek. In this game, each player plays as a different group of animals (Marquise de Cat, Woodland Alliance, Eyrie Dynasties, or the Vagabond) and attempts to become the most powerful and get to 30 points to win the game! What is unique about this game is that each player has his/her group of animals who gets points by doing entirely different things. (The board game, Villainous, has a similar concept.) For example, Marquise de Cat gets points for buildings, while Woodland Alliance gets points for sympathy. Since everyone is working for different goals, it makes the game very interesting!
According to the box, Root is for 2–4 players, ages 10+, and takes about 60-90min to play. The age rating is difficult to decide, and I would put this game at 12+, rather than 10+ since it is slightly difficult. What makes it difficult is that everyone has to learn how to play their faction (animal group), and while there are general rules shared, a lot of the game is played off these factions. Once you learn your faction, the game really isn’t that difficult, but it takes some learning and getting used to for sure! Luckily, there is a Walking through Root booklet that comes with the game which can lead you through your first 2 turns if you are confused. For younger players, I would recommend Marquise de Cat since it is the easiest to play, but if everyone else knows what they are doing, it can also be the weakest. As for the time on the game, as always, it depends on how many players you are playing with. I would say a 2 player game takes 45 min, a 3 player game takes 60 min, and a 4 player game takes that full 90 min. (It will definitely take longer if it is your first play!)
Now, let’s talk about what I like and what I don’t like about this game. Overall, I really, really like this game! It has beautiful (and cute) components, the gameplay is fun, and it takes a lot of strategy. It is quickly becoming one of my new favorite games, although I say that about many games. Now, at first, I was unsure of whether I liked that everyone’s game was a little different. My reasoning for this was that the game could become unfair if some factions were more powerful than others. I’m going to pick on Villainous a bit here because I am not convinced that these are fair; a lot are decided by finding a card in the deck and some seem more powerful than others. So far, I think that Root is mostly fair. At first, it seemed like Marquise de Cat won the most, but we have had all three other factions win respective games! I have been pleasantly surprised by this game. It is so fun to play a different faction each game and learn the different experiences you get with each faction!
This is a fantastic game, and I’ve really enjoyed playing it in the past few weeks! Anyone who enjoys board games and/or animals should check out this awesome game! It really reminds me of the Redwall Books that I’ve talked about before. There is also a Root App which you can download on the App Store. It is $9.99 and it does an impressive job of portraying the original game. I have played a few games on the app, and it is an excellent app. Purchase it on Amazon by going here! There are also expansions that you can purchase to add new factions and change up the gameplay. I love Root, and I can’t wait until I get to play it the next time! As always, if you have any questions about the game or the rules of the game, please post them down in the comments, and I will answer your question to the best of my ability.