I think the best way to teach Root is to teach all of the common rules and give a basic overview of each faction, including details to the difficulty of each faction. Past that, I encourage the players to read over their chosen faction and clarify any confusing points and encourage questions. I have had great experiences and feedback with teaching plays for Root. Of course, the biggest caveat is that most players I’ve played with would not consider themselves hyper competitive.
The bash the leader issue is, unfortunately, what eventually drags down all of these higher player count wargame/area control games for me.. I say eventually, because you can usually get a few plays out of the game before the board state is obvious as to who's clearly running away into the lead, with no opportunity to recover individually by the other players, unless alliances are forged. So with enough plays, it just devolves into a game that's more about politics and negotiating than it is winning through clever strategic and tactical plays. This is why the cream of the crop when it comes to wargames are the 1 vs 1 head to head games... that poses far more replay ability with the creative tactics/strategy's and counter tactics/strategy's that develop through multiple play sessions. Its why the bulk of my collection are games that play well at two as I find them to be a true battle of wits, one that my mind seems to crave, much more depth to explore, a higher degree of unique intellectual puzzles to solve, providing you have the right opponent.
your not wrong about how games play out but that is literally the point i get that the 1v1 honor dual format easyer to enjoy because you can just focus on the abstract mecanical puzzle in front of you instead of needing to worry about a social deduction puzzle on the side but adding diplomacy really isn't any less strategic
Root sits on my shelf barely played because I never have a consistent group. I don't have a place that can host, I'm just the traveling board game guy.
Root is definitely not an accessible game. It's the product of this golden age of board games that we live in today. There are so many games that are brilliant and accessible that there's space on the market for a more complex game that has a higher barrier of entry and rewards players with a more rich experience for crossing that barrier. I'm not going to say Root is easy to teach or learn because it isn't, but what I will say is that the core rules are very clean and intuitive, learning the factions feels like a neat and tidy extension of the core system. As for the year down the leader problem, that's just different strokes for different folks. What I hate more than anything in a game is a lack of agency or control over my destiny. If I can see plain as day that an enemy is going to win and there's nothing I can do to stop them, why even continue the next 20-45 minutes of the game when the ending is set in stone. Tear down the leader is a result of the game giving its players agency to affect the board and balance the game using their own judgment. Newer players will make mistakes like overextending, leaving themselves exposed, policing the wrong player, accidental kingmaking, etc. The point of the game is to learn from those mistakes and sharpen your threat assessment and tactical skills for next time. Playing with brand new players can feel like a chore and it does lead to more swingy or predictable outcomes. But when you have 4 skilled and competitive players who all know the game very well and are able to use every tool that the game presents to maintain competitive balance, strike deals and extend the game long enough to squeeze out 1 more turn to push for the win, then Root reveals itself as the greatest game of all time.
I've actually also compared Spirit Island to Root lol. I came into Spirit Island first then finally got into Root and thought "Root feels like the competitive Spirit Island" haha. I think I've come to appreciate Root more, esp now that it has things that fine-tune the experience (more faction variety, hirelings for lower player count games, and advanced setup for balance changes to factions).
I love Root and Spirit Island for some of the same reasons even though they're really different games. Both games have tremendous replayability due to asymmetric "characters" and the different combinations thereof, the ability to pull off amazing coup de grâce moves that string together a series of well-planned actions, the complex spacial puzzle they both present and the really compelling theme blends with mechanics really nicely. Both are excellent 10/10 games.
On any given day I could say Root is my favorite game of all time. It most certainly isn’t a game for everyone because of a hundred different reasons previously discussed but man, it hits all the right notes for me and my group. I can’t ever seeing it leaving my collection.
I'm glad you came back around to loving this game. I've yet to formally rank my games, but I'm pretty sure Root would be #1 for me. Your critiques are all valid, I believe, but it just provides such an amazing and unique experience that no other game quite can (especially with the variability of the expansion factions). Additionally, I've found that (with my game group at least) it often unintentionally leads to a fulfilling and engaging emergent narrative, powered by the juxtaposition of the adorable theme with the gritty warlike nature of the game mechanics/interactions. It's just a masterpiece!
Let me help you: You don't grasp the asymmetric genre to its fullest. It is pure logic that the disparites amongst factions make some factions or a specific one the best at taking down other factions or a specific other one. If this had to be watered down so players don't feel that homework effect it will mean to provide more similar pros and cons to all factions that will contraditct the assymetric vision.
As far as accessibility is concerned… there is an apparently phenomenal app for Root. Tom Vasel has a great review and has named it his favorite app adaptation of all time. He mentioned it being great for learning the rules and intricacies of the game for new players. I’ve yet to play it but I know it’ll be my jumping off point for Root when I purchase an iPad in the coming weeks.
Well, now I do not know if I want or if I do not want this game, I appreciate the review on a 2 player game, that is mainly how I play games. So until I find a solid group it will be a no for me. Thanks again Alex.
My one complaint about Root is the vagabond. I love the idea, but I just don't find the vagabond fun in comparison to the other factions. The lord of the hundreds kind of resolves this by adding a new way to interact with the ruins which I'm super happy about.
I find that Hirelings work really well for 3 players. However, at 2 players, we find that Clockwork Factions are better, as the Hirelings feel swingy as they quickly swap back and forward between the two players.
Hello, Alex. Thank you for always offering a very honest opinion and experience. Now, I'd LOVE to know about your house rules for Root, please. Thanks!
I think you should give Root a score of "5 - 0.5" instead of "4.5". The gameplay is a five, but teaching new players is dragging it down. If that is not an issue for some, then five it is.
I feel like the "teaching" all other factions problem might be slightly exaggerated. A general summary of what other factions do in a few sentences is all that is needed to get a player going in the game outside the base rules.
Thanks for the honest review. I love this game, and think it's a great example of a game that shows how approachable this hobby really can be. I have been able to bring people to the table for this game purely on its looks and style. And despite the significant learning curve, I have yet to have a single person walk away from this game unwilling to give it another go. Granted I love teaching games, but root has so much to offer on multiple fronts that I've found it easier to get in front of people who don't typically play anything this competitive or complex. Thanks again, and keep the great content coming!
Root is probably my favorite game. I wish there was an easier way to intergrate and teach new players, but when it does hit the table it's amazing every time.
Its a very good review of the game, but if you accept my fifty cents; you should breath more often. I understand that, its hard to put this much content without an hour long video but still its kind of hard to watch it.
Firstly I completely agree with your analysis of Root. It’s brilliant but I wouldn’t want to teach it, especially not weekly. On top of that my collection size ping pongs between 180-200 games (not counting party games) due to space and having to relearn Root every time I break it out was a lot. Secondly what’s that between Xia and Fantasy Brawl on the top shelf?
I've always been super interested in this game but never picked it up for the exact same reasons as you mentioned. I do not have consistent enough players to justify the purchase. Maybe one day I will get to play it.
I love Root but prefer Vast to this day (both of them, although Mysterious Manor is a smoother experience), and both games are wonderfully asymmetric which is great fun, but makes them more difficult to teach and learn. The similarity between the games is obvious and makes them both great games I also recommend. Like Root, Vast is not good at 2, and I'd never suggest playing it with 2. At 3, I find Vast is solid with the right combo (like Paladin, Skeletons, Spider), but Root is only ok at 3, and Vast isn't great at 3 with the wrong combo. At 4, both games are brilliant and they're fine at 5. You can play Vast with up to 8 if you really want to (by adding the Ghoul, Ghost, and having the Nightmare Unicorn in addition to the Dragon (or spider or shadow paladin), but I don't think that's the best idea! I have all of Root as well, but haven't played the new stuff yet. My favorites are the Woodland Alliance and the Underground Duchy, but the Lord of the Hundreds looks very interesting.
I get it why it is brilliant, but it is a really bad game beside that. You never play to win. If you do the others will break you so hard you'll come in last. The winner is basically the most neglected, the one who looks the most harmless. We never had a good game with it.
I've never played Root but I find myself compelled. I don't have anyone to play it with but I found it as a video game. would you recommend Root as a video game?
Reminds me of Terra Mystica. I have played hundreds of games of Terra Mystica online competitively and it really only makes sense to play it once you know all factions and understand how the factions interact in various setups.
I ended up getting everything for Root and the new stuff as well and unfortunately have zero desire to even try the game now. When the new stuff KS arrives I'm just going to sell the game. Admittedly, I probably should've never invested into it being a solo player (i suffer from serious FOMO lol), but at this point it's become bloated to the point I don't even want to attempt learning it to try and teach myself, let alone anyone else who might want to play it with me. Even playing the digital version I'm just like "meh, i'd rather do something else" Same thing with Oath, just zero desire exists anymore to try and learn this company's games. I'd rather spend the money on games that don't take a half a day to teach/learn, don't take another half day to re-learn after stepping away for a while, and that I can still enjoy by myself.
I have this game on my “shelf if shame” as i haven’t talked anyone into playing with me, but this review makes me want to move it up the list and play sooner then later.
This is actually timely for me since I was just the other day thinking about getting the Root physical copies. There is a Japanese version and it is quite popular in game circles here but the English version I often see for sale cheaper lol so it depends on what one I find for cheapest.
Great review. Really like your work and your channel. I've been hesitating to buy this game for a long time and still hesitate. Would you recommend to try pax Pamir before ? Is it more accessible ?
I can’t remember if it was Scythe or Root that led me to Quackalope and, consequently, yourself about two years ago. In any case, I should get Root someday… unless Arcs or something else from Leder appeals to me the right amount and in the right moment in my budget, first. 🙃
I see the potential but my first and only game wasn't a good experience... playing the Woodland Alliance was fun for the last 40% of the game or so... the first rounds felt like a slog... very little to do while all of the other factions had so much to do so the downtime was nearly unbearable. Would still like to give it a second try but with another faction. Spirit Island is great! 😀
Root needs more than 1 play. Its asymmetrical nature means that any first play will necessarily be a learning experience. The WA are awesome but it plays very differently to other factions. I don’t enjoy playing the Eyrie but they are popular with other people.
@@lukejw11 My problem still is that I don't see any more fun with the WA in further games. I won against far more experienced players so I had no issues to wrap my head around the gameplay but the WA just is so limited in their actions during the first rounds that they just weren't fun to play until the point where your preparations are over and you really start to "play". I'm aware that due to its asymmetrical nature every faction plays very differently and I'm willing to give it another shot with all of the other factions but the WA just wasn't a great experience for me.
@@Armand7734 : It’s cool if WA don’t work for you. One of the cool things about Root is that the variety of factions means that there is likely to be one that suits your preferred playstyle better :)
In my opinion Root has an amazing game design, but after playing it quite a lot... I would not recommend it. Is hard to teach and hard to play well. The success of the game comes from the AMAZING art and presentation. Without it this game will be lost between many wargames. Root is a game that people WANTS to enjoy it because is has an amazing presentation and really interesting game design.
It's no Cthulhu Wars... I like the idea of the game but the price 50€ base game, my inconsistant game group and my dislike for the artwork keeps me from getting it.
Thank you Alex for this video and your perspective. I’m hoping to add Root one day to my collection. In your opinion if you had to choose would you get Root or Nemisis (the first one)?
I played it yesterday for the first time against some more experienced players and I managed to win with the Eerie because the Woodland Alliance player messed up. And even though I won, it still didn't feel great because I spent the whole time not knowing how the rest of the factions were supposed to work, how I could stop them and what I could do to reduce the chance of them messing with my win condition.
The arbitrary 30 point limit killed "Root" completely for me. Also, the way the factions work rules-wise felt more like a straitjacket than like opportunities for different strategic play. "Root" is one of those games where the idea of the game is a lot better than the actual game.
