Root

best board game to ever exist i would recommend this game to my children and grandchildren.

Board game was already awesome, but the steam game just makes it x100 better for me. It makes my favorite board game portable and very easy to setup/play. I can even play it on the steam deck which has been my favorite thing to do when I am board on a plane/train ride.

Root, the digital adaptation of the acclaimed board game by Leder Games, is a deeply strategic and asymmetric experience that translates its complex tabletop mechanics into a dynamic and engaging digital format. Developed by Dire Wolf Digital, the Steam version preserves the spirit of the original while offering smooth, well-designed interfaces and accessible tutorials to help players navigate the intricacies of faction-based warfare. At its heart, Root is about woodland conflict between vastly different animal factions, each with their own rules, goals, and playstyles, which makes every match feel fresh, challenging, and full of tense decisions. The game takes place in a woodland realm where four (and potentially more, with expansions) factions vie for control of the forest. Each faction plays fundamentally differently—more so than in most strategy games. The Marquise de Cat focuses on industrial dominance, placing buildings and generating wood to expand infrastructure. The Eyrie Dynasties must follow a rigid decree each turn, gaining power quickly but risking collapse if they fail to meet their increasingly demanding orders. The Woodland Alliance spreads insurgency, growing in power from sympathy and rebellion rather than traditional force. The Vagabond operates alone, using stealth and relationships to trade, sabotage, and complete quests. These wildly differing mechanics demand unique strategies and create rich interplay, where understanding your opponent is as important as executing your own plan. What makes Root especially engaging is its commitment to asymmetry. It’s not just cosmetic—the fundamental ways each faction earns points, interacts with the board, and handles conflict are unique. This forces players to learn multiple systems and think on their feet, adjusting their approach depending on who they're up against and how the game develops. Victory points are the shared goal, but the path to achieving them differs so much that it often feels like each player is playing their own mini-game, one that intersects and interferes with the others in surprising and emergent ways. The digital version of Root shines in how it simplifies and clarifies what can be an intimidatingly complex board game. The user interface does a good job of showing necessary information without becoming overwhelming. Tooltips, faction summaries, and guided actions make the game more accessible than the physical version for newcomers. The AI provides a competent challenge for solo players, while the online multiplayer is where the game truly comes alive. Each decision feels impactful, and the presence of human opponents adds layers of deception, alliance, and betrayal that elevate the strategic depth. Visually, the game retains the charming art style of Kyle Ferrin’s original illustrations. The whimsical character designs and vibrant woodland setting contrast cleverly with the brutal political and military struggles at the game’s core. It’s a beautiful presentation, blending playful visuals with sharp mechanics in a way that keeps the tone balanced and engaging. Animations are fluid, and the music adds a lighthearted, woodsy ambiance that complements the gameplay without distracting from it. Every element of the UI is crafted with respect to the board game’s aesthetic, giving the digital version a distinct, faithful personality. As with its physical counterpart, one of Root's most significant barriers is its learning curve. The asymmetry, while brilliant, means that each faction requires a fair amount of study and practice to use effectively. Although the tutorials are helpful and comprehensive, they don’t fully prepare players for the dynamic shifts and strategic interplay that occur in live matches. New players might find themselves overwhelmed in early games, especially when facing more experienced opponents who know how to exploit each faction’s weaknesses. That said, this depth is also what gives Root such incredible replay value—every match teaches something new. The digital version has continued to grow post-launch with expansions like The Riverfolk and The Underworld, which introduce new factions and mechanics. These additions further diversify the game and offer even more strategic possibilities. The developers have done an excellent job of maintaining balance while continuing to support the game with updates and community engagement. Cross-platform support and matchmaking options also help ensure that online play remains vibrant. In conclusion, Root on Steam is a masterful adaptation of one of the most unique and inventive board games of the past decade. Its commitment to asymmetrical strategy, gorgeous art direction, and careful attention to user experience make it an essential experience for strategy fans. It’s a game that demands your attention, rewards your patience, and invites you to keep coming back—not just to win, but to learn, adapt, and see how the ever-shifting balance of woodland power plays out each time. Whether you're a fan of the original or new to the world of Root, this is one of the best digital board game experiences available today. Rating: 9/10

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ (3/5) Root is a fun strategy game with unique factions, but it’s not without its issues. The digital version is much easier to learn compared to the board game, which is a huge plus. However, I ran into frequent glitches where the game would freeze, forcing me to restart. Another downside is the battle cutscenes. They’re fun at first, but they get old quickly, and there’s no option to skip them, which would’ve been nice to keep the game flowing. The art is charming and the gameplay is solid once you get past the technical issues, but the glitches and repetitive scenes really hold it back. I feel like Steam should allow more than just thumbs up or down because, while I’m giving it a thumbs down, it’s not a bad game—it just doesn’t quite live up to the original board game experience. Pros: -Easier to learn than the board game itself (can play by yourself) -Fun factions sticking with the original illustrated art Cons: -Frequent game freezes or glitches -No skip option yet for battle cutscenes (becomes repetitive)

I bought this game on sale to give a try before buying the board game and i am thoroughly enjoying it. Super helpful for trying to understand the rules. Just a great adaptation of the board game. Will end up playing this more than the actual board game because of the CPU options.

It is a great video game based on a great board game. no complaints

If you like board games like risk, axis & allies etc. this should be your next purchase. It's the best board game in this category in my opinion.

such a good board game, this digital version makes it really easy to learn and practice

Very cool and faithful adaption of the board game.

I own the board game, and wish I had more friends to play with. This really helps with learning the game and understanding scoring

One of the best board games in digital format. The digital version is the best way to learn all the mechanics without feeling overwhelmed so I recommend it to newcomers most. Best with friends but randoms online are always welcoming and chill.

Lovely game with many ways to play and ways to compete. There is even the possibility of cooperation and alliances.

Genuinely such an addicting and fantastic game.

Very good game, one of the excellent adaptations of the board game counterpart. Playable repeatability.

Great strategy aspects and really fun graphics. Balanced but takes a bit of time to learn the mechanics of each faction sufficiently. Great to play with friends if you're not that competitive.

This game is good when you have people to play with and against. When you're playing against AI the game is blatantly unfair, especially when facing the avian faction. I don't have many people to play this with, so I played several rounds of AI and each time the game was overwhelmingly in favor of the AI both in battle resolutions and their card/clearing suits. Can't recommend unless you have actually have people to play with.

The game is fantastic and lots of fun. The digital version is a great way to get to know and learn to play all the different factions. The main reason why I don't reccommend is the multiplayer. The lobby system seems very outdated and a proper matchmaking system would be much better. That's my only take, everything else, perfect.

While playing in local vs AI, the tutorial popup for scrolling is stuck in the middle of the screen and I can't get it to disappear. Unplayable for me.

Man.. Nothing can be more depressing than playing as Eyrie and getting kicked of the game because of the timer and the naturally long time it takes for you to run your decree..

Really nice port for the physical game.

under no circumstances play this game, i could not recommend a board game less

Not worth, Definitely has some great concepts and gameplay features, each character plays very differently with extremely varied playstyles. I really like the designs too. My problems start with 1. Why do I have to make an account for online multiplayer 2. The UI is really annoying, no search bar or steam shift-tab. You have to manually scroll through a long list of names to find your friends and input a password to join. Unnecessarily annoying. 3. This game is based strongly on luck. In a 1v1 situation, especially when playing the birds whose playstyle revolves around the cards you've drawn, You can start the game with a bad hand and basically be guaranteed to lose. Furthermore the dice make it a luck tossup even more. 1 roll not in your favor can pretty much turn the tide of battle. 4. Woodland Alliance is literally a faction built off of the idea of being annoying. Taking people's cards, insta-killing bases, etc. Frustrating design. 5. Many core concepts are not effectively explained in the tutorial. It definitely explains some of the major ideas, but during gameplay I would sometimes be surprised by features that were not effectively explained to me. I don't recommend buying this game.

fire game tbh i love the animals dlc's also great 10/10 would recomend tbh

This is one of the best strategy games I have played, so much variance but good balance too!

This game is way to confusing for me to enjoy. I welcome all the clown points.

Its good but has a few problems that the physical board does not have.

managed to kill around 30 warriors with a revolt in one clearing with my friends because my friend failed to kill 2 woodland alliance warriors 6 times in a row with around 15 warriors

9/10 Mole players recommend leaving the game early

Do not let the cute, fuzzy animals deceive you: Root is a strategic wargame, and you'll be using banned warfare tactics, coordinating (probably) illegal insurgencies, plotting for and against major woodland organizations, and generally causing chaos and madness. Root is complicated, but the digital format takes a lot of the work out of keeping in line with the rules. The tutorials will teach you the basics, but you'll learn more in-depth tactics in due time. The base AI is okay, but not great. Play hard difficulty once you know what you're doing. The Clockwork DLC makes them much harder (and introduces PvE) which will probably prepare you well for the absolute trouncing you will get playing in some online matches. Seriously, some people do [i]not[/i] play around in this game. Make one wrong move and you'll be picking up the pieces of your shattered empire. It's interesting: for a game with such very different gameplay loops and sets of mechanics for each faction, the game feels shockingly well balanced. In the base game there are four main factions: - The Marquise de Cat is your standard woodland superpower. Their strength is in their ability to slowly build overwhelming power and victory points while crushing the opposition with military force and tactical usage of cards. They may not have the special abilities or mechanics of the other factions, but their simplicity to understand and use is not to be underestimated. - The Eyrie Dynasty is for the true tacticians. You'll be planning your strategies 3 turns in advance and hoping nobody tries to deliberately sabotage your "mandate of heaven". They are probably the strongest of the original four in the hands of a keen strategist, but a few choice moves can sabotage their war effort and set them back significantly. - The Woodland Alliance may not have the sheer military force of the big guys, but your power lies in the support of the woodland. And try as the major powers might, every time they try to stamp you out they're only bringing you more support. They're like a hornet's nest: every time they get kicked they just get angrier and angrier, until they play a Favor of the Foxes card and your Marquise keep burns to the ground, at which point you begin to question your friendship and/or purchase of Root. - The Vagabond is the faction for the player who'd rather be playing Skyrim or D&D on their own. You decide who to support, and who to destroy. You forge your own adventure and leave your own mark on the wood, and sometimes that involves launching a one-man-assault on the Marquise supply lines, Alliance bases, or Eyrie towers. You have sizable combat power, but you are but a single animal, and and as such your success will depend on you forging strong alliances or, failing that, striking decisively and with overwhelming force against other players. The DLCs are alright. I think some could use some balancing updates, but you'll always be learning new strategies and counter strategies and so on to keep things interesting. And even when you're losing, the sheer hilarity of the chaos that any one faction (especially any insurgent faction) can cause is very enjoyable. Side note: at the present moment, buying DLC for Root through Steam will allow you to also access said DLC when signed into the mobile app version of Root. It's worth it, and will let you play games on your phone or tablet. I highly recommend Root, even at full price. I'd get the DLCs on sale.

This digital version speeds up many of the mechanical and time-consuming parts, while retaining all the other fantastic aspects of the board game, Not to mention, the music is great and the character models are adorable. This is an outstanding game.

Very good game, best played with friends

good adaptation of the board game, definitely a good buy if youve played the board game before. online matchmaking is okay, would recommend a playgroup/other ways of finding players. the game looks cute and easy, but is in reality pretty rulesy and can be brutal. dastardly game 8/10

super fun, deadly and cute! great wood land strategey game

I love this game. Definetly helps to learn for the fysical boardgame aswell.

This boardgame adaptation does most things right. It's faithful to the original with its artwork, but with animations that add to the charm. It has the expansions as DLC (and this is single-purchase cross-platform also!), It has tutorials for the factions which do a good job of running through how to play. AI opponents as well as multiplayer. No game-ending bugs to remind you you are playing this on a computing device. It's arguably the best way to get started in Root!

It's Root. Could use some ELO or marks against leavers, as that's very common. Otherwise it's Root.

once i played root with my friend and then he and then when and i had a lot of fun :> and

Good game. I am still learning it but its fun

THIS IS FUCKING WOODLAND WAR!!!! THE WOODLAND ALLIANCE JUST HIT THE SECOND ROOST!!!!

One of the best board games I have ever played.

Needs the 5-6 Player Expansion!

this is actually what happens in the woods everyday #real

add remote play and this becomes a positive review

i love everything about this game

Its the board game

Great war game.

It was very fun!!!!

it's not a bomb. i swear.

good

Very Fun Strategy Game.