Board Game - Roots. Root

Root – is a board game about adventures and war, where from two to four players clash for control over a vast forest.
The cunning Marquis de Cat has seized most of the forest, intending to steal all its riches. Due... to her rule, many creatures have united in the Woodland Alliance to fight against the cats and undermine their power in the forest. In this endeavor, they can gain the support of wandering Vagabonds, who can traverse the most dangerous forest paths and provide invaluable assistance. But some Vagabonds are old enough to remember when predatory birds once ruled the forest and express sympathy for their ideals. Meanwhile, on the edge of the forest, the proud Winged Dynasty has found a new leader who, they hope, will lead their faction to victory and the revival of ancient traditions.
The scene is set for a competition that will determine the fate of the great forest. And it is in the hands of the players that the opportunity lies to decide who will ultimately become the victor. The board game Root is a new milestone in the development of asymmetric gameplay. Each player has unique abilities and different ways to achieve victory. And with the help of multitasking cards, the gameplay has become even more diverse.
Each faction in the game operates under its special rules, although the victory conditions are the same for all sides. But even if you develop a successful strategy for each role, this does not guarantee you victory, as in Root, the ability to negotiate with other players matters a lot, and sometimes even betray them. Thanks to this, along with the element of chance in the game itself, each of your games in Root will proceed completely differently.
 
Key Features of the Game:

Completely asymmetric roles.

There are quite a few games where all roles differ in starting resources or unique abilities, but the author of Root has gone further and created a game where each participant plays by their unique rules in a sense. The goal for everyone is the same – to be the first to score 30 victory points or to play and fulfill the conditions of the dominance card – however, each will pursue this goal in their own way.
 

A game of thrones set against the backdrop of an autumn forest.

Root is a game that is not easy to classify into a specific type. It involves strategic calculation, the need to wisely distribute limited resources, territorial control, and the unpredictability of certain events. Diplomacy and backroom intrigues play a significant role in the game: you never know where the treachery might come from, sometimes you prepare for defense against a flock of birds, and instead, the mouse partisans, who posed no threat last turn and promised to coexist peacefully, begin a rebellion, destroying all your warriors and carefully built structures. You will need to keep a close watch on all opponents, as the moment you divert your attention to one, another will quietly surge ahead and snatch victory right from under your nose.
 

Strategy with high replayability.

Despite the fact that Root is a strategic game where the ability to manage your faction is of great importance, it offers high replayability. It won’t be enough to just learn to manage one of the roles. To call yourself a specialist in conquering forest territories, you will need to master the tricks of each side of the conflict to understand the actions of each player during future battles and be able to adapt to them. And having learned to fight masterfully in the autumn forest, you can always flip the field to the "winter" side, where the initial arrangement of clearings-territories will always change, making the situation more advantageous for one role and challenging for another. It is also worth mentioning that the game's publisher, LederGames, plans to release one game scenario a month, introducing new mechanics and variety into the usual forest routine. They have already prepared the October scenario dedicated to Halloween.
 
Game Components:

Double-sided game board
4 faction boards
56 wooden warriors with printed faces (25 cats, 20 birds, 10 mice, and 1 Vagabond raccoon)
2 battle dice
54 main deck cards
4 winged rulers cards
2 loyal minister cards
3 Vagabond character cards
15 Vagabond quest cards
16 reminder cards
6 tokens for sawmills, workshops, and the Marquis de Cat's barracks
8 tree tokens
7 nest tokens
10 support tokens
3 rebel base tokens
23 item tokens
4 ruin tokens
3 Vagabond relationship tokens
12 suit tokens for the winter side of the board
Game rules
"Laws of Root"

 
Game duration: from 60 to 90 minutes
Number of players: from 2 to 4