Root - Playthrough & Review (+ Clockwork Expansion) 

What are your thoughts on Root?

This is great. You guys did a great job with the rules and are a much needed balance to the VERY exuberant personalities on other channels. A breath of fresh air.

You guys are two of my favorite gamers to watch for a play through. I've picked up many games after watching your videos. Cameras are always in the perfect position for gameplay and commentary. Your instruction dialog is second to none. Thanks and keep the play throughs coming!!!!

you guys are the best, the way you play games makes them so easy to understand, also you are really relaxing to watch aha :D i would love to see you play PARKS or campy creatures

Your playthrough helped me learn the game much better than any of the rules explanations I have watched. Thank you and well done.

Excellent video! Great game :) and wow thanks so much for the shoutout guys! ❤️

I really liked how you did this teach. As someone who watched this never playing root before, I liked how you went over some basic rules at the beginning, and then as you played each faction, you explained what you were doing. This really helped me understand the game well without the huge overhead of learning a brand new game. Well done!

This video was beautiful to watch! The explanations of your action were precise and clear and I really enjoyed the playthrough and your energy!

This was mine and Joel's favourite playthrough and review that we've watched from you guys! We'd never considered getting Root before as we mostly game 2-player (particularly this year!) but this has totally changed our minds. So looking forward to more of this Root series!

I picked this game up last week, there are a lot of rules that conflict. It's a smashing game. I've watched many you tube video's to try and ensure we are playing correctly. so far your playthrough has been the most infomative and your camera placement makes it easy to follow. This video has been a great help.....Thank you

Thanks for the video and hard work guys! Really helped me understand how the Marquise works in the Clockwork expansion! Been trying to see someone play against them for ages in a well edited and described way 😊!

this was really clear and engaging! learnt a lot and had a great time watching you play ☺️ best one of these videos i’ve seen!!

Loved this playthrough video. I felt so invested in the game the whole way through. Can't wait to see more root videos from yourselves. Also would love to see a playthrough with the vagabot

I really really love this game. Awesome series, and you explain the game whit ease and joy. Thank you for that

Great review! High-quality presentation and explanation of the game. Looking forward to more content. Cheers.

I’ve been watching a few Root playthroughs lately and this is by far the best one I’ve seen. Very clear way of explaining as you play and it made what is a very daunting game not so daunting 😅. Nice to see a 2 player version of the game too, now just need to convince my wife that we should play this!

Loved this play through!! I have all of the expansions and looking forward to the new one coming. Also you should def get the exiles and partisans deck. It adds a whole new set variety to every faction you already own. Looking forward to the next play!

This is exactly what I was looking for! You explained things so well and I got to see a run through before I subject my family to learning it all. Thank you!

this was so fun. you two are wonderful. thanks! crazy this is 2 years old!

Really great video. I’m trying to learn Root and this play through was super helpful. Thank you both for doing such a great video.

I love this game and I love this video gameplay. You guys "get the game" and it's fun to watch. Also congrats on the production quality!

I am looking forward to this series!!! Root is my favorite board game. Theme, art, replayability, so much to dive in to!!! Thank you!!!

Thanks for your playthrough videos! They always help me so much. I have had Root for a good while and had not felt ready to play it, but it's time to stop being afraid and take off the training wheels. 😁

U guys make the game look so easy to play and smooth to watch. I'm from Brazil and love your channel.

Awesome playthough again! The year of the Naveen haha! This game looked a bit daunting to me but your excellent rules overview and playthrough made is easier to grasp. Loved seeing having that luch fun in a wargame ;-) Cheers!

Gosh, I've been studying this playthrough a lot and the more I watch these videos again and again the more I'm, dare I say, ROOTing for this game 😅, but honestly I wanted to buy and play it with my friends! I've also watched the other two Root videos you guys put out and thanks for the very clear and understandable playthroughs! ❤

Nice job guys! I played it once and also kind of bounced from it. I totally get what you guys are saying about getting to that level of understanding to appreciate it. Maybe someday I'll be able to try it out.

I’m so excited you’re playing this game!!! I’ve been looking for a play through by some gamers I trust! Finishing up obsession and then I’m headed here!!!

Ordered root 3 days ago. It turned up today, havent played it yet but watched this video and now ive ordered the clockwork expansion, as ill likely only be playing it with 1 other human! Cheers for the great vid :D

Enjoyed it a lot and look forward to see the next playthrough

I was just looking for the “Root” playthrough video. Right on time. Thx

Great video and gameplay/discussion. Very well done you two!

That was the best play through I've seen of Root! I've been on the fence for a while, but I 100% want to get it now after watching this 🙂

Superb playthrough. You covered the rules brilliantly.

This made me buy the Clockwork expansion. Really well made (and narrated) playthrough!

Glad I came across your channel. I enjoyed your approach to playing the Eyrie. I sometimes get caught up putting a lot of cards into the move column to keep my program working, but at the cost of not using the other leaders as you pointed out is a good thing. Forcing a turmoil can be a good thing but it’s difficult to get past.

This was great! I'm still new to ROOT and am impressed by how different each faction plays. I love asymmetry in games and this i by far the best implementation of it. Merchants Cove may be in contention as well when it's finally released.

Ah, at last the long awaited Root play through! Makes for a great evening to watch on this blizzardy night!

I've been playing the digital version so much, it was much more refreshing to see a real game! It was a lot of fun watching you both play!

super presentation ! Perfect demo of the game. Keep up the great work!

Very straightforward and helpful, even though you guys messed up once I really learned a lot to take to my games

I particularly enjoyed two aspects of this video, the way the rules where explained and her hair. Both pure 🔥

This was great. I love the different ways the factions play.

Been waiting for you to do a playthrough of this to help me work out if I would want it or not! Thank you!

Was super excited to see this! I love Root and have finished a game of it once after getting it to the table multiple times and having it drag on.

Love these videos guys. Hope y’all do one for Oath!

thank you for so elegant, so smooth and so educational video :)

I'm actually super excited for their next KS coming in a couple of weeks. They will be bringing two new factions and some 'minor' factions as well as more bots. These minor factions are beign designed with the main focus of improving the 2p game. The future of 2p Root looks so good!

This was fun, I have only played Root once and I played as La Resistance, aka The Woodland Alliance and won, of all things. I enjoyed it but felt I had a huge advantage. Your playthrogh was great fun. ¡Vive la Resistance!

I played 100+ time and I´m still Learning the game. Root is amazing by his complexity of strategic interaction. More you play it, more you love it ;) Glad you enjoy it!

I also do alot of online competitive plays, after about 300+ games, I still enjoy the game every time I play, yet still more to learn.

Are you guys planning on doing a Gaia Project playthrough? Would love to see that one

Thank you for the video, can't wait for the next root playthrough 😃

Late to the party on this one for sure. I just played the iOS app a few days ago and I’ve been binging it. There were some things not clicking with me (i.e. escalated cost of spreading sympathy for Woodland or escalated bonus points for buildings with Marquise), but I ended up buying the game anyway because I think it’s a great fit for my game group. While I wait for it to arrive, I’ve been looking for videos to help me break it down to a teachable level and came across this one. Admittedly not my first time watching your channel, but I’m new and hadn’t seen this series. Thanks for the great video and explanations! You did a better job of explaining these three factions, for me, than the in-game tutorial. Well done!

This was the best play through that I’ve seen for Root. Thank you!

Love this game. I bought the base game and all the expansions last month. The digital version is good too.

You guys did a great job !

I absolutely love your videos! The ONLY aspect I'd like to talk is that I cannot see the text or small icons on your videos. Because sometimes that is the difference between understanding a game or don't understand it completely. I see your efforts on every aspect of the videos but a zoom or closeup camera (or just an image of the icons and text) would help very much and makes a huge difference!

I have attempted to watch 4 videos explaining how to play this game and have quit midway because I just don't get it. I want to give you kudos because you made the game not only understandable to me but also enjoyable.

Awesome! Thanks for this one!

I play Root mostly solo, so the app is just perfect for me. Great video as always

Love your videos! I own Root but haven't tried it yet. Re: asymmetric games I'd love to see you guys try netrunner.

Thanks for this guys! Roots has always intrigued me but the rules and play seemed intimidating. I still don't really get it..haha but looking forward to the rest of the series!

Fun fact, there is a pizza joint in Nashville called Two Boots, modeled after Italy and....Louisiana. Fun toppings and it was good. Fun find while visiting Nashville.

Love Root so much, super excited to see you guys cover it. The Marauders Expansion is going live on kickstarter at the end of this month and has a heavy focus on making the 2 player experience more enjoyable. Me and my partner are looking forward to it :) Also a note that there's errata available for a printing error on the Electric Eyrie board. *edit* Just got to the part of the video where you mentioned the kickstarter haha

The clockwork expansion seem very good. To me its less about adding an actual "player" as much as adding an environmental factor that players contend with. So it's not so much about the bot winning than it is giving the players a *lose* condition, a distraction and something to potentially negotiate (which can't really happen in a straight head-to-head) over to avoid the double loss.

I'm excited that there will be more opinions on the 2p experience with this new expansion. I played this game once at 5p and it's as much fun as people say it is, but I know the 2p experience is different. Thank you for this video!

Great video, thank you! I was looking forward to seeing you guys play Root. I think the Eire Dynasty is the harder faction to play. I always lose... by a landslide when I play it.

Hey! Love the way both you express the game which in turn is really helpful. I wanted to know if the clockwork expansion works with all 4 base factions and also with other expansions like lizards etc. Also how good is the replaybility of Root?

This was an awesome playthrough! I am in the boat of having played a few times at 2 players and we have feeling a bit meh about the hype around the game. Definitely motivated to try out the new expansions and devote some time to get more out of the game after watching!

I love root 😍 I already have base + riverfolk and have pre ordered Underworld. Can't wait for the Clockwork to be translated in Italian! My favourite factions are Alliance and Lizardfolk and I'd like to see the Automated Alliance 😁

Love Root and two players!!! Wish I had seen this when I bought it, it would have made me far less hesitant about buying it.

Would love to see you guys revisit with the new Hirelings and see your thoughts on 2p now!

Just bought this game, and cant wait to try it! Wonder if two will do more of root, or spirit island? 😁😁

This was a great! I was also looking towards getting into Root, because Cole Wehrle is a really original designer and his games are very much unique. I love that you are going to do several playthroughs of this, I believe it will really accent on the game's strengths. I think Monique took a hard task in this playthrough, as the Eyrie appears to be the most difficult to play out of the base factions, at least at first look. Still, I see how much fun it is to figure out how to play a faction's strengths and look out for its weaknesses :) Regarding the game's depth, I somewhat disagree with the terms you used. Yes, the rules are simple, no doubt about that. However, I don't believe the game's strategy aspect is shallow. This is something I have observed in many players, as they tend to consider a game heavy if its ruleset is vast and complicated. I don't believe there needs to be a correlation between the two. In fact, the games I love the most are those with relatively simple rules but which give you a lot of space to strategize. Here is an example with ancient board games - Go (or Wei Qi, if you prefer) - that ancient Chinese board game, has very simple rules, far more simpler than those of chess, for instance. Yet, its strategic depth outpaces by far what chess offers. From what I have seen from Leder Games and Cole Wehrle, this is his design style and I love it. Also, the vast asymmetry among the factions is great, though some say it makes people focus on a single faction. I am now tempted of collecting the entire game :) As always, thank you for your great work! I love it how you present games in a way that is friendly to people who have never played them and yet it allows to get in deep quickly enough, it is just the right doze of teach and strategic play.

We love Root! Early impressions say that the new expansion makes 2 player Root even better. I can’t wait :)

I bought Root as a couples gift for my fiance and I for Christmas but we've been busy getting everything in order for a move to a new apartment and havent had a chance to play it yet. can't wait and can't wait for covid to be over so we can bring our friends over to play it

I have Root on the shelf since summer, but not able to play it yet (we're usually playing with two right now, not the best player count). But so excited for it, such a fascinating game. Fortunately the clockwork expansion will be released here in germany soon, so everything will be fine :)

Very excited that you are doing Root! We are only 2 players and I'm intrigued to see how you use the Clockwork expansion with different combos. (So far we've been playing the app to get more factions into the game but the tabletop meeples are so much cooler and cuter than the app version) Do you think 2 players should not bother with the Riverfolk expansion? will you be playing through this one too? Love your play throughs!

Root is awesome! New Kickstarter next week with 2 new factions + minor factions (that also improves small player count) + new draft and set-up rules AND also more clockwork bots options! Underworld is the better expansion because of the new map and two very cool factions... even though River folk expansion's 2 factions are probably my favorites'. Otters trying so hard to sell goods and lizards converting the other meeples to their Great Journey are so much fun to play! Finally, I don't know if you have it already, but the Exile and Partisan deck is a must - it improves the game a lot!

Guys, I would love to see you playing through the ages!!

I'm voting for the Vagabot for your next playthrough. I haven't tried any but the Mechanical Marquise. The Vagabond is a points machine in the game so I'm guessing it would make for an interesting bot.

I have original plus expansions and still play it regularly with my kids.❤

It is like a MOBA. You can’t really understand how the games works without playing it multiple times so it tends to bounce off some groups. I love the table negotiation in the game as well.

Hey, at 14:35, for the eyrie, u can't rule only the destination clearing : u have to rule the origin clearing which matches your move decree.

I've only played it twice and as much as I love the artwork, the theme, the asymmetry, it did not click with me at all. I actually felt incredibly frustrated through the entire two games. But I'm glad I got a chance to play it - back to Everdell for me for my woodland creature fix!

Thank you! I have some root stuff and tough to learn. Also clockwork had a board errata I think. You playing everything off the box, right?

As you mentioned, the app (Android and iOS) is sooo nice and cute with animations and all, it's the best way to learn the game faction by faction, since 1 solo game vs IA on the app takes 20-30mins... And it simply makes you want to play the board game if possible with 3 other players ! The Lizard Cult and Riverfolk from 1st expansion are also interesting. The initial clockwork Marquise from base game doesn't work at all though.

You are the best!

I really wanted to like root, I liked it then slowly got pretty bitter about it. I was excited to play it, but over time I realised it tends to turn into a slow painful knife twisting feeling as it gets closer to the end.. It's so hard to get a balanced game because it relies heavily on every player playing well. You can't make others lose points, so you can't push back their progress only try to slow it down. The problem with this is that you don't gain anything from attacking the vagabond, if you wanna hinder WA you end up giving them cards and gain 1-2 points, so people are not compelled to do it. Let's say A is in position to hinder B who is ahead, but they rather do their own thing to get points, I cant affect B so to not waste my turn I get points at the expense of A or C, thus B gets even more ahead. On the other hand it's much more compelling to hinder the more "traditional" factions, cats, birds and moles, cause attacking them and removing their pieces both hinders them and gets you points. Also as the game progresses everyone gets more powerful, thus you can't reasonably affect them in a single turn, so when someone gets around 18-22 points you cant make them lose points, you cant affect the game too much because most likely they gonna be able to get enough points easily to win, so lot of times it comes down to, who hinders the leading player and lets someone else win or just lets the leading player win..

Clockwork simulate players so well, by far the best bot system I have ever seen. It doesent matter if it doesent exactly everything a real player does. By the end of a Bots turn, you can check the board and say "yeah this made sense, this is what a player would liked to have accomplished" Also I think Im almost like the game the most as a 3 plauer with a Bot. Becouse then you have this faction that does influence the board but doesent do so from anger or in memory of past actions of other players. Its just a cool entety that everyone need to be aware of. MM2.0 or Vagabot is probobly the best fo that experience :)

Nice playthrough, well s%#t I'm going to have to buy this and the clockwork exp.... Thanks for the video!

Bought Root some time ago, played once with my wife. We both liked it but haven't had the chance to play again (been lots of Lacerda and Mindclash games!). Recently bought Clockwork and looking for videos to get ready and you just put one up! Great timing and great video ! Have you played the Electric Eyrie with the errata?

Monique seems to be panicking a couple of times playing that wargame :D We can feel the tension! Amazing.

I love it. I hate teaching it though. I have not played enough to really know the mechanics of any of the factions let alone the strategy and it's really hard to get people up to speed on all that when you're a bit ropey yourself. I am not a fan of bots but given the way the world went I sure wish I'd kick started the clockwork expansion with all the rest :)

Great video, thank you! I got Root so that I can play a wargame with my daughters, who think they're playing a cute forest game. It works beautifully!

Is this how a typical playthrough with two players and the Marquise bot goes? Naveen's point that the Marquise bot feeds points to the Woodland Alliance player seems valid based upon what happened here, and it looks hard for the Eyrie player to build up enough momentum.

As someone who primarily plays at 2 players my initial experience with Root wasn't the greatest. BUT given how well received this game was I decided to get the Clockwork Expansion, and it really is a game changer. It's still not my favorite game to play at less than 3 players, but it is definitely much better because of this expansion.

For a long time I wanted this game but I did not buy it because of its direct aggression between players. I thought my wife would never like it. After buying it for playing solo with the Clockwork expansion, she wanted to play it. Guess what? She loved it and said it's probably the best game in our collection. That's what I needed to hear to get the other available expansions. What a great game! Thanks for the video!

Would love y’all to play Dune: Imperium