Root
I’m playing a four player of this tomorrow so I worked through the solitaire rules of it this evening.
Root is like a COIN game of Mouse Guard. Radically asymmetrical (it’s by the same publisher as Vast, a five sided dungeon delver), super interesting, not like anything else I’ve ever played. Lots of board games have obviously learned or stolen from other games, and it gets pretty obvious if you’ve played a lot of board games, but Root is something else entirely.
Sat down and read the rules last night, and COIN was the first thing that popped into my head. There is also a little bit of CDG influence I think, and maybe even a touch of Friedrich/Maria in the idea of matching card suits to where you are on the board.
Cole Wehrle is a designer to watch, he’s been giving us some really interesting blends lately (Pax Pamir,
The Expanse, John Company, and now Root)He did The Expanse? Daaang, that’s a good one.
Paul Beakley oh no, I am wrong on the Expanse. That was Geoff Engelstein. Teach me to check my references.
(another up and coming designer to watch)
But yeah, to your point, Root looks like a real refreshing departure in a sea of ever more indistinguishable point salad engine builders. I’m jonesing to get it on the table myself.
Interesting. Knowing your propensity for heavy games, Mr B, is this towards the lighter end of the spectrum?
I put it on preorder at my game store. Sounds delightful
.
My daughter would LOVE about a billion of those cat pieces I bet. đŸ˜€
Paul, I do not think I was ever sold on a game so quickly. Not sure if the pics sealed the deal or the text did.
I’ll pick this up. The only PoSEBus I enjoy nowadays are from Rosenberg and Dorn (even Feld is starting to get tiresome).
Neil Robinson I don’t think it’s that light, no. The art and theme are “cute” but also not: the Marquise de Cat wants to cut the forest down and industrialize, the Eyrie Dynasties is a weird aristocracy that’s constantly getting deposed, the Woodland Alliance is basically South Vietnam, and the Vagabond is a war profiteer. So that’s why it’s like Mouse Guard to me: it’s dressed up with cute animals but is not actually childish.
Mechanically it’s really tricky. There’s a card deck that’s multipurpose, and changes depending on which team you’re playing. There are some overarching common systems, like crafting items, battle, recruiting, and moving. But then each side doors those things in a different order and for different reasons.
Cheers Paul. That is a shame, but that sounds like a miss for me. You have to know your audience and mine will not go for lots of complexity.
I’ll have a more comprehensive report after today!
Man, I have been regretting not backing this. Way to rub salt in the wound, Paul!
Mark Delsing I’ll rub Root salt every time you rub Coriolis salt, how’s that?
Paul Beakley Seems fair.
I want the full report. Haven’t got it to the table yet but it has the potential to be truly amazing.
We’re on our second game and it’s fucking amazing.
So many woodland critters to murder. So many faces to stab.
Paul Beakley what was the actual play time on your first game?
3 hours, lots of rules referencing.
4 players.
Keen. I’m signed up to run it at a con in two weeks, and I guesstimated at three hours, so good to have a confirmation.
Second go, four players, was about 2:15. And way more really hard choices, now that we understand the implications of our decisions better.
Knowing how the game works from multiple perspectives really changed it. So good!