Enough of that though, how does it feel to play against them? In a 1 v 1 game (playing as Eyrie as recommended), it’s a pleasingly tight affair. The Mechanical Marquise doesn’t use building tokens, so the focus is on taking down hordes of feline warriors. This makes it good practice for an aggressive Eyrie player. You have to work hard to stop clusters of Marquise warriors accumulating (which allow it to score points). There’s a nice ebb and flow to the two player game which I’ve always been fond of. On paper, this all sounds rather grand and, frankly, Wehrle’s execution is nothing short of genius. The services up for grabs consist of buying cards from the Riverfolk’s public hand, hiring their otter mercenaries for use on your turn or getting the chance to temporarily utilise the Riverfolk’s unique ability to travel along the map’s river. Instead of bundling the Riverfolk with some arbitrary currency, the Company exchange their services for each faction’s spare warriors. The nefarious Marquise de Cat has seized the great woodland, intent on harvesting its riches. Under her rule, the many creatures of the forest have banded together. This Alliance will seek to strengthen its resources and subvert the rule of Cats. In this effort, the Alliance may enlist the help of the wandering Vagabonds who are able to move through the more dangerous woodland paths. Though some may sympathize with the Alliance’s hopes and dreams, these wanderers are old enough to remember the great birds of prey who once controlled the woods.

The obvious draw of the Riverfolk Expansion is the two new factions it introduces. These are the titular Riverfolk Company and the devious Lizard Cult. Both come with delightful screen-printed wooden meeples, cardboard tokens, player boards and reference cards. Even before we get into playing the game itself, I have to say that the Riverfolk and Cult warrior designs are my favourite across the whole Root series. Those little grinning Lizards are adorable. If you and your game group love interaction between players and negotiation then the Riverfolk expansion has to be top of your list. This expansion offers the otter Riverfolk company who are constantly trying to peddle their wares to their fellow woodland creatures. They set the costs of their wares to try and capitalise on the chaos of woodland war. As your opponents scrabble to gain traction in the woods, you can expand your trade operations with the hope to toppling the power tower in your favour. The other faction in this big box expansion is the Lizard Cult, these are the mormons of the Root world, spreading the good word of their leader throughout the land. The Learning to Play book suggests combinations for two and three-player games, indicating what each player should try to do in those scenarios. Essentially, any combination of factions can be used for lower player counts except the Vagabond, who can't be played at two. It would be remiss of me to hide the difficult side of Root. Though I don’t think any one faction is very complex, teaching it for the first time to a group at full player count was hard. The teaching takes a while because you need to give different guidelines to every player andmake sure everyone understands the basics.

However, the beautiful design of the asymmetric factions means there's more depth here than almost any game on my shelf. I simply cannot see myself getting bored of it. I want to play every faction and I want to play them again and again in all the different combinations you available. With other faction combinations, it’s always going to be a limited solo experience. The smaller, insurgent factions of Root such as the Woodland Alliance always work better when they have several players to bounce off, so I can’t really recommend the bot for solo play if your favourite faction isn’t the Eyrie Dynasty. As an addition to a two or three player game, I tend to just pass on it. Root is such a political game that it just feels weird playing with a mix of people and the bot. The Marquise have such a crucial role in Root as the forest policewomen that leaving it to a bot gives the game a slightly empty feeling. Final Thoughts I particularly enjoyed playing with the new maps. The lake map is very different from previous maps, with a large lake in the centre. This makes mobility an extra challenge. Taking command of the ferry gives you free rein over the lake! This added an extra, fun dimension to the game.

Soup Kitchen’, (a bird card), allows for your tokens to be counted toward rule. Not just counted, but counted twice. For someone like the Badgers or the Duchy where rule is so important in their scoring, or the Cats that need a route for their wood so they can build, this could be priceless. It would be remiss of me to hide the difficult side of Root. Though I don't think any one faction is very complex, teaching it for the first time to a group at full player count was hard. The teaching takes a while because you need to give different guidelines to every player andmake sure everyone understands the basics.

If you're teaching people Root for the first time, make sure they know what to expect. If they can read the rules beforehand, even just for a single chosen faction, even better. The game gives you two rule books - one 'Learning to Play' walk through and one complete rules guide, the 'Law of Root'. It even gives you a walk-through to follow on your first two turns. Even so, you won't work out all the rules until you see them in action and that first play through is likely to go wrong. If you accept that and press on, you'll find that this game is truly excellent. Components And Art Root’s designer, Cole Wehrle, has done a great job of tweaking the factions so they still play with the panache they do in the base game. Despite being automated, each one plays like its original counterpart in regular gameplay and there are no sharp edges. Each bot shares an ability which means they can’t have a hand of cards. However, Wehrle has designed a workaround so that the factions can still work and interact with the Vagabond. Sometimes the hype over a new release is overdone but I can't think of a game more deserving than Root. The Riverfolk Expansion is now also available, featuring two new factions and a solo/co-op mode! Bring on more Root; it's a fantastic game.

In the base game, four factions battle for supremacy in the woodlands. I'll introduce them here. I don't have space to go into their mechanical nuances, but I'll give you an overview of how they work. The Marquise de Cat Every conflict encourages opportunists who travel around trying to make a profit and a name for themselves. In Root, this role is played by the Vagabond, a lone wanderer who is allied to no one and everyone. The Vagabond is just a single pawn that can move freely around the board, no matter who's in control. After playing a few games with the Grand Duchy, overall, I found them to be very versatile. They can be aggressive, with hordes of mole warriors spread out across the board, or they can be played peacefully, crafting in a few places and swaying lots of ministers in a secluded area. Final Thoughts on Root: The Underworld ExpansionThe Marquise and her feline legion are in control of the woodland. They start with a warrior in every clearing except one. They pushed out the forest’s previous rulers and now subjugate its denizens – the foxes, mice and rabbits. Root represents the next step in our development of asymmetric design. Like Vast: The Crystal Caverns, each player in Root has unique capabilities and a different victory condition. Now, with the aid of gorgeous, multi-use cards, a truly asymmetric design has never been more accessible. On a similar note, if you enjoy the base game of Root, then you will almost certainly appreciate this expansion. There are no major changes in the core mechanics of the game. Rather, The Underworld Expansion adds variation and expands on the world of Root.