Joined in 2023 
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In the base game, four factions battle for supremacy in the woodlands. I’ll introduce them here. I don’t have space to go into their mechanical nuances, but I’ll give you an overview of how they work. The Marquise de Cat In Root, players drive the narrative, and the differences between each role create an unparalleled level of interaction and replayability. Explore the fantastic world of Root!
Every conflict encourages opportunists who travel around trying to make a profit and a name for themselves. In Root, this role is played by the Vagabond, a lone wanderer who is allied to no one and everyone. The Vagabond is just a single pawn that can move freely around the board, no matter who’s in control. However, the beautiful design of the asymmetric factions means there's more depth here than almost any game on my shelf. I simply cannot see myself getting bored of it. I want to play every faction and I want to play them again and again in all the different combinations you available. The Underworld Expansion adds two more factions and two new maps. The Mountain and Lake provide new battlegrounds to fight to victory on while the factions give you new ways to do so. The Great Underground Duchy mixes the play style of the Marquise and Eyrie factions, while The Corvid Conspiracy are a sneaky faction that plot and plan. All factions can also gain victory points in a couple of ways to help them get to the winning total of 30. Removing an opponent’s buildings in battle will always earn you points, as will crafting certain items. As well as these methods, each faction has unique abilities that grant them other, more effective ways to gain points.
On a similar note, if you enjoy the base game of Root, then you will almost certainly appreciate this expansion. There are no major changes in the core mechanics of the game. Rather, The Underworld Expansion adds variation and expands on the world of Root. However, the beautiful design of the asymmetric factions means there’s more depth here than almost any game on my shelf. I simply cannot see myself getting bored of it. I want to play every faction and I want to play them again and again in all the different combinations you available. Some of the time, there simply is great joy to be had in being bad. We can deny it, but often our joy in a game does come from the downfall of others, often sweetened if we think that we created that by our own superior devious planning. If you are willing to accept that you enjoy the schadenfreude of watching your opponents fall into your trap, then there really is no other expansion better suited to you than the Root Underworld Expansion. The Corvid Conspiracy in this expansion is the guerilla band of spies that secretly place out tokens that create dastardly opportunities for them to gain the upper hand. Trouble is, if your opponents can guess what you have played out, then they can foil your plans and remove the token. However, the risk of potentially being able to ignite a bomb and decimate that clearing of pieces really makes the reward worth the risk.
Root is a game of adventure and war in which 2 to 4 (6 with the 'Riverfolk' expansion) players battle for control of a vast wilderness. Sometimes the hype over a new release is overdone but I can’t think of a game more deserving than Root. The Riverfolk Expansion is now also available, featuring two new factions and a solo/co-op mode! Bring on more Root; it’s a fantastic game. The Lost City turns a clearing wild. Throughout the game it can be counted as a fox, mouse or rabbit clearing for all purposes. This will be incredibly powerful for certain factions in the game and relatively useless to others. The vagabond could run away with Quest points just by sitting here turn after turn. Now I run away from the mormon analogy as these are not nice people, of course this is a war game after all. You will be converting other pieces to become your followers with your wily ways, sacrificing warriors to gain more actions and ramp up your “spreading of the creed” engine. This expansion offers new types of factions that feel nothing like any of the base game ones, but are definitely best suited to groups you love to have a bit of negotiation and fun with their Root games. Perhaps not so much for the quiet and serious groups. It also brings into the foray three new vagabond characters for use with the base game material, and instructions for both cooperative and competitive bot play for those smaller player count games. With all the content from this game, Root can now be played with up to 6 players, although I am not sure I could sit at the table long enough for such a huge game to run its course. Best For Those Who Love To Be DeviousOn opening the box, I was immediately drawn in by incredible artwork and high-quality components. Clearly, there is so much detail and love throughout the entire design of the game. The maps, player boards, and cards each have unique and charming artwork. Praise must be given to artist Kyle Ferrin for illustrating this fantastic world!
If you’ve played Cosmic Encounter as the Zombie you’ll know what I’m talking about. Of course, if you found the kingmaking and ‘bash the leader’ flavour of the original not to your taste, then Riverfolk is not going to alleviate those problems for you. In fact, the introduction of the wheeling-dealing Riverfolk Company adds even more opportunities for table-talk and petty negotiating!When I first heard Root being talked about I had one burning question: would it play well at two players? I was concerned that the balance of the game would be off when the number of factions was reduced. It turns out that I needn't have worried.
Root represents the next step in our development of asymmetric design. Like Vast: The Crystal Caverns, each player in Root has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. Now, with the aid of gorgeous, multi-use cards, a truly asymmetric design has never been more accessible. The Ronin, a racoon, however, is faster, starting with two boots as well as a sword. His torch action allows him to exhaust a sword to do an extra hit, being one of the more violent vagabonds. The strongest in the set for me is the Adventure. A wise old owl, the Adventure starts with a boot and hammer and is able to damage an item to use it as any other one. This makes him much more adaptable. However, with so much care and design in the rest of the aesthetics, it always feels sadly dissatisfying to be playing a character that doesn’t look like the meeple in front of you. Well not any more! A Myriad Of Meeples
I particularly enjoyed playing with the new maps. The lake map is very different from previous maps, with a large lake in the centre. This makes mobility an extra challenge. Taking command of the ferry gives you free rein over the lake! This added an extra, fun dimension to the game.
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