Board Games
How to play Root
Factions pursue different scoring engines on one woodland map. The usual race ends immediately at thirty points; shared geography does not mean identical turns.
What you need
Base board, faction boards/pieces, shared cards, ruins/items and battle dice
Set up the game
- For a first four-player game use Marquise, Eyrie, Alliance and Vagabond on autumn. Put scores on zero, deal three cards, set ruins/items and follow printed faction setup order. Two-player faction choice needs reach guidance; arbitrary pairs need not make a balanced game.
Missing pieces, or need a fresh copy? Miniature Market stocks current editions; compare the edition and component list against the rules here before you buy. (Affiliate link: we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How links work.)
Playing Root
- Follow your faction’s Birdsong, Daylight and Evening, then pass clockwise. Actions are available when your particular faction permits them.
- Rule means more combined warriors/buildings than each opponent; tokens do not count. Eyrie wins rule ties involving its pieces.
- Normal movement follows one path and requires ruling origin or destination. Vagabond ignores that rule requirement and spends items on actions.
- Battle resolves ambushes before dice. Attacker uses higher, defender lower roll, capped by each side’s warriors. Battle hits remove warriors before buildings/tokens and losses are simultaneous.
- Score from faction abilities, crafted items and removed enemy buildings/tokens. Ordinary warriors give no automatic point. First to thirty wins immediately.
A high die still needs warriors
An attacker with two warriors rolls three-one against three defenders, with no modifiers or ambush. Attacker deals two rolled hits, capped by its warriors; defender deals one. Remove two defenders and one attacker. A nearby building does not raise that cap to three.
Dominance replaces the point race
At ten points in Daylight, an activated dominance card removes your score marker and supplies a control condition checked at Birdsong’s start. Vagabond uses coalition rules in four-plus-player games. Remove dominance in two-player setup; it is not an extra points bonus.
Read the chosen faction boards
A full teach also needs Eyrie decree/turmoil, Alliance supporters/outrage, cat wood connectivity and Vagabond exhaustion/damage. This page maps shared rules and cannot replace those individual procedures. The Law governs conflicts with an older Learn to Play sheet.
Beginner decisions
- Ask what opponents can score next turn, not just how many warriors they have. A quiet engine may be the nearer threat.
- Keep spent cards apart from persistent crafted effects, which remain capable of changing rules.
Common rule mix-ups
- Treating a matching hand card as the only crafting cost; faction crafting pieces matter.
- Assuming a nonbinding bargain prevents a legal attack.
Questions about this game
Do all factions score for buildings?
No. Cats build, Eyrie scores roosts, Alliance spreads sympathy, and Vagabond uses aid/quests and other item-driven opportunities.
Do buildings absorb battle hits first?
No. Warriors must be removed first. Separate card effects may remove pieces differently.
Sources and edition notes
Root base four-faction overview, autumn standard setup, checked against October 2025 Law. Full faction-board procedures remain necessary.
Sources and stated format checked October 14, 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.
Report a rule or edition correction →