Root

Today's review is of the 2018 release, Root. For 2-4 players, it takes 60-90 minutes.

Overview

In Root, four factions vie for control of the woodland. Will you play as the:

• Cats, who have siezed control and seek to keep it,
• Eyrie, who seek to reclaim their holdings,
• Woodland Alliance, commonfolk who need to band together and generate sympathy, or
• Vagabond, who wants to complete quests by aiding- or hurting- the others?

An asymmetric game, each faction has starkly different abilities and turn actions. But different paths lead to the same goal: the first to 30 victory points wins, or you can choose to play a dominance card, creating a different win condition for you only.

game in progress; image from here

Review

I like this game. The asymmetry means there is a lot to learn, but it's not so bad once you play a turn or two. I did feel like one play-through wasn't enough- it would require multiple sessions trying different factions to fully explore each one, as the asymmetry makes each faction feel like learning a different game, in a sense. But that's part of the fun. The game is well-designed and the components are of top quality. Overall, recommended. 

Rating: A