Tabletop games
Root
MatagotCole Wehrle2018
- players
- 2–6
- minutes
- 90
- years
- 10+
In the box
1 double-sided board: Autumn and Winter · 4 Faction boards · Wooden meeples of the four factions · Buildings and tokens · Shared cards and Vagabond cards · 2 twelve-sided dice
Official rules (PDF, publisher's site)
Box details
- Designer
- Cole Wehrle
- Artwork
- Kyle Ferrin
- Publisher
- Matagot
- Mechanics
- Asymmetric PowersZone of ControlHand ManagementDice RollingArea Movement
- Expansions
- Root: Underworld · 2020
- Root: Marauder · 2022
Where to buy it
Near you and online
In a shop
Within 50 km.
Online
Affiliate link: Marquoir may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
The basics
Each player leads a faction with its own rules, aiming to be first to 30 victory points. On your turn, play your faction’s three phases, Birdsong, Daylight and Evening, as described on its board: move your warriors from or to a clearing you rule, battle with two dice (the attacker deals the higher, the defender the lower) and craft items with your cards. You score 1 point per enemy building or token removed, the points of crafted items and your faction’s own points. From 10 points, you may switch to a Dominance card: you give up your score and win by ruling the clearings it requires at the start of your Birdsong.
Checked against the official rules · October 2026
The rules, step by step
Setup
1 faction each, 3 cards each, No Dominance with 2
- 2 to 4 players with the four base factions; for a first game, the learn-to-play booklet removes the Vagabond with three players, the Vagabond and the Alliance with two, and suggests other combinations. The French edition adds the Lizard Cult and the Riverfolk Company, for up to 6 players, and the Mechanical Marquise, an automated opponent for solo and cooperative play.
- The first player and seating are drawn at random. Each player takes a faction, its board and its pieces, and sets it up as shown on the back of its board, in the given order: Marquise, Eyrie, Alliance, Vagabond, then the others.
- Score markers start at 0; place the 4 ruins and the item supply on the board.
- Each player draws 3 cards. With two players, first remove the 4 Dominance cards from the deck.
How to play
Birdsong to Evening, Battle with 2 dice, Craft with cards
- On your turn, play your faction’s three phases, Birdsong, Daylight and Evening, as described on its board; then the player on your left plays. Each faction has its own actions and its own way of scoring.
- A clearing is ruled by the faction with the most warriors and buildings combined there; in a tie, nobody rules it, except the Eyrie, who rule clearings where they are tied for the most and have at least one piece.
- To move, you must rule either the clearing you leave or the one you move to.
- In battle, roll both dice: the attacker deals as many hits as the higher result, the defender as the lower, each limited by their warriors present. A defender with no warriors in the clearing takes one extra hit.
- Before the dice are rolled, the defender may play an ambush card matching the clearing (a bird ambush matches any clearing): it deals 2 hits at once, unless the attacker cancels it with another ambush valid in that clearing.
- Crafting a card means activating your crafting pieces in clearings matching the suits of its cost; a crafted item scores the points printed on the card.
- At the end of your Evening, if you hold more than 5 cards, discard down to 5.
Scoring
Enemy piece removed +1, Crafted items, Your faction's points
- Each enemy building or token removed: +1 point.
- A crafted item scores the points printed on its card (the Eyrie score only one).
- Each faction also has its own source of points, shown on its board: the Marquise’s buildings, the Eyrie’s roosts, the Alliance’s sympathy, the Vagabond’s quests and relationships…
End of the game
30 points: victory, Or Dominance card
- The game ends as soon as a faction reaches 30 points: it wins at once.
- If several factions reach 30 points at the same time, the player whose turn it is wins if they are one of them; otherwise, under the Law revised in 2025, the first of them clockwise after that player.
- From 10 points, you may activate a Dominance card during your Daylight: remove your marker from the score track and you no longer score. You then win if, at the start of your Birdsong, you rule 3 clearings of the card’s suit, or, for the Bird Dominance, 2 clearings in opposite corners.
- The Vagabond does not play a Dominance card to win alone: with four or more players, he may activate one to form a coalition with the player who has the fewest points (in a tie, he chooses). If that player wins, the Vagabond wins too.
House rules and pitfalls
With two players, the learn-to-play booklet suggests playing two games, swapping factions…
- With two players, the learn-to-play booklet suggests playing two games, swapping factions, then adding up the points of both games.
- A Dominance card that would go to the discard pile, whether spent or discarded, is placed next to the board instead: anyone may take it into their hand during their Daylight by spending a card of its suit.
Going further
Frequently asked questions · In the same family
Frequently asked questions
Do the factions play by the same rules?
No. The common rules (rule, movement, battle, cards) apply to everyone, but each faction has its own actions and way of scoring, detailed on its board.
What happens to my score if I play a Dominance card?
It no longer counts: you remove your marker from the score track, and you can only win by meeting the card’s condition at the start of your Birdsong.
What if two players reach 30 points at the same time?
The player whose turn it is wins if they are one of them; otherwise, it is the first of them clockwise after that player.