Root represents the next step in 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. 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. I haven’t explored two or three player games as much as I’d like to yet, but the one experience I had of cats vs birds was incredibly close. The game felt competitive all the way through, until my wife beat me with a Dominance card. Had I had one more turn, I would have won, which is how close it was. I wouldn’t hesitate to play at fewer than four again.

Point scoring ministers may generate points every round per particular type of building on the board,or by discarding any number of cards of the same suit to score that many victory points.The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods. 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!

If you are familiar with playing the base game of Root then you will be able to start playing Root: The Underworld Expansion immediately. The base rules are the same, with only a few new additional rules depending on which new map you play. However, if you manage to craft something at the forge then as a reward you get an extra point and get to draw a card. This might slow down someone like the Rats who need items but really help the Eerie as they would get that extra point despite their ‘distain for trade’. Worth The Fight On 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!The Learning to Play book suggests combinations for two and three-player games, indicating what each player should try to do in those scenarios. Essentially, any combination of factions can be used for lower player counts except the Vagabond, who can’t be played at two.

The forest creatures are not passive bystanders in the war for control of their homeland. They have formed an alliance to fight against the cats, birds, and anyone who wants to control them. Though they start with nothing on the board, they use supporter cards to gain support tokens around the clearings, eventually rising up in violent revolts.

The Legendary Forge is perhaps the most complicated addition. When placed, you will take a number of crafted items from the board and place them on the Legendary Forge card. These items can now only be crafted if you have a player piece in the same clearing as the new forge. You still need to satisfy the needs of crafting etc and so this simply makes it more difficult to craft. On paper, this all sounds rather grand and, frankly, Wehrle’s execution is nothing short of genius. The services up for grabs consist of buying cards from the Riverfolk’s public hand, hiring their otter mercenaries for use on your turn or getting the chance to temporarily utilise the Riverfolk’s unique ability to travel along the map’s river. Instead of bundling the Riverfolk with some arbitrary currency, the Company exchange their services for each faction’s spare warriors. If you’re teaching people Root for the first time, make sure they know what to expect. If they can read the rules beforehand, even just for a single chosen faction, even better. The game gives you two rule books – one ‘Learning to Play’ walk through and one complete rules guide, the ‘Law of Root’. It even gives you a walk-through to follow on your first two turns. Even so, you won’t work out all the rules until you see them in action and that first play through is likely to go wrong. If you accept that and press on, you’ll find that this game is truly excellent. Components And Art 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