When the year began and we were looking at the landscape of upcoming games, we didn’t foresee that Root would emerge as a contender for Game of the Year. Even for those who don’t see what all the fuss is all about, there’s no denying that Root is generating a lot to fuss about.
What’s the deal? Anthony, Jason, and special guest The Brandt from the Portal Gaming Podcast break down where it improves on Vast, how it succeeds at being both asymmetrical and accessible, and some issues people have.
For our Improve Your Play segment, we invited the designer of Root, Cole Wherle, to share his thoughts (22:01). We have a long discussion about general strategy for Root, as well as how to win with (or, perhaps more importantly, how to beat) each of the base game’s four factions. Special thanks to my friend Harrison for helping out, who has played Root a bunch and who contributes his own perspectives.
Please do not be intimidated by the length of the show! A good chunk of the audio occurs after the outro music, where Cole talks about the expansion factions and gives some more general thoughts.