Root
茂林源记
Cats, birds, a woodland alliance and a wandering vagabond fight over a forest, each playing by completely different rules.
- 2–4 players
- about 75 min
- Hardcore
- Strategy
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Nature
The goal
The first player to reach 30 victory points wins immediately.
How it plays
- 1Everyone starts with three cards and a faction board. Your board spells out your faction’s own rules and how it scores.
- 2Each turn has three phases: birdsong, daylight and evening. Your faction board says what you do in each.
- 3To move, you must rule the clearing you leave or the one you enter: more of your warriors and buildings there than anyone else.
- 4In battle, roll two dice. The attacker deals the higher number of hits, the defender the lower, each capped by their own warriors in the clearing.
- 5In evening draw one card, plus any bonus draws uncovered on your board, then discard down to five.
How you win
The game ends the moment someone reaches 30 points. Dominance cards offer another way to win.
First time?
- Before you start, have everyone read their faction board aloud so the table knows what each side is doing.
- Watch the score track. When someone gets close to 30, everyone needs to slow them down.
- Removing an enemy building or token scores a point each, so fighting pays.