How board game apps should be done.
Sat Oct 17 2020 Chriss JacksonRoot is a fantastic game. It’s not an easy game to learn, nor is it for everyone. But for anyone out there interested in this strategic war game set in a woodland setting with cats, birds, mice, and even a lone badger thrown in, you couldn’t ask for better. Many apps translate a board game experience into a digital experience fairly easily, and with roots intrinsic complexity you wouldn’t fault a more basic experience for this one, but that’s not what you’re getting here. No, this is the premium deal with combat animation and catchy beats, each character on the map has heart; this is bar none the best digital adaption I’ve ever witnessed. Bravo to the developers.
If your new to root or just to the app, the tutorials are brilliant. The controls are fairly straight forward, but give the tutorials a glance, because there’s a lot going on. That being said, the app condenses much of the fiddliness of the physical game and manages things with ease.
A couple of points that I’d love the developer to consider in future updates: an option to invite friends to a game and a small notification when a message in in-game chat has been sent. Thanks.
Great way to learn the game
Thu May 05 2022 Jenching!Friends that we usually play board games with every winter weekend bought the board game and remarked how complicated it seemed. Not knowing anything of it, I downloaded the instructions and tried going through it without the board or pieces and I was lost. Even online videos were confusing but the game looked interesting and I read about the app. I decided to download it even though it was $10 and I was hooked!!! This game is so charming and a lot of fun and the app really explains well how to play the game and it translates to the board game very good as well. I played the four basic factions Friday and we played the board game Saturday with me using the app as a tutorial and it was a lot of fun. I even went out that day to my LFGS to snag what I could of Root and I’m still using the app as a tutorial. The app itself is great as the gameplay follows the board game and the animations are awesome with music that really fits the game. If you are a fan of the board game or just want to learn how to play, this app is a sold must have. Highly recommended and can’t wait for them to release the Underworld Expansion.
AI/Animation Speed Need Work — Rest is Good
Sat Nov 21 2020 robbjunk2Just echoing some comments from other people:
(1) Please, please, PLEASE implement an “undo” button. I can’t count the number of times that I’ve clicked the wrong button (especially on the phone, where the buttons are tiny), and can’t go back and fix it.
(2) The AI definitely needs work. One poster made a comment about (ex: ) the Eyrie putting cards into its decree that are automatic fails, and the Vagabond choosing strange items to damage. I’d add to that the fact that none of the factions seem to recognize when another one is about to win. They’ll just watch blithely as (ex: ) the Eyrie builds its 5th and 6th roosts and is just a few points away from victory, but the Vagabond with 3 swords or the Cats with plenty of warriors will just bypass lightly-guarded roosts. At some point — when a faction is nearing victory — the other factions need to pay some attention.
(3) One more +1 for speeding up battles/animation. The animations are really well done, but I think the game takes 50%-100% longer than it needs to in order to show them off. I don’t need to see (ex: ) each individual bird or cat leap out of the air when they’re recruited, or walk back and forth between clearings. Some sort of setting that lets you speed up the animations, or bypass them entirely with a screen press/button, would certainly make the game less frustrating at times.
But it’s a great start — keep up the good work!
Just 1 Issue (2 now, there's errata!)
Fri Nov 20 2020 Rob the W.Great port of the boardgame. This is really well-done! My only issue is that I usually play in 2D (I love to see the entire board at once) and, while in 2D, the bottom-most left clearing is covered by the Vagabond's "mat," when I play that character. I can't see the pieces in that clearing. Also, the 2 other clearings on the left side are obscured by other "mats." Since we can't scroll the board in 2D, I have to switch back and forth (2D/3D) to see what's in the clearings. We should be able to scroll the board in 2D so no clearings are ever obscured. Put this fix in and the game is a solid 5 Stars.
OK, lowered my score due to another HUGE problem -- the lack of an "Undo" button after you perform an action but before any dice are rolled/cards revealed, etc. I have now lost 3 games as the Vagabond as I selected an incorrect item by mistake, didn't notice until I selected it and was unable to undo the choice after I hit continue (twice this happened because the screen is small and my fingers aren't).
Please put in an Undo button to cancel a given action as long as you haven't rolled dice, revealed something or moved to a new action. Do this and the game's rating rises again. As is, too frustrating to me to lose games because I touched the wrong part of the screen. :-(
The best experience of a board game on mobile hands down
Tue May 18 2021 johnny nomafFor those unfamiliar with the og board game, root is a gem in every sense of the word with an unmatched level of replayability in the strategy/war game category. Each faction plays completely unique from the others which leads to tons of variability in matches, as well as tons of different play styles and combinations to try out for each player. The ability to play pass and play as well as turn based online is great, and the in game tutorials makes learning the complex mechanisms simple. To me this is the gold standard of a table top game being ported to mobile/digital and really puts other big name games with lesser ports to shame. Updates are frequent and there is clearly a dedication and care for the source material that is incredible huge fan and stoked for the underworld expansion to be added!
I never write reviews
Thu Oct 15 2020 Shar MomBut this is important. BUY ROOT. I need enough people to buy this game that they have reason to release the expansion factions! At the very least the winter map would be a nice change of pace. We need new content, and you need to experience the sleekest version of what very well might be the greatest board game of our generation.
Oh, and devs - if you could speed up quick battles like 20% more (especially when the outcome is certain like removing an Alliance token) you’ll have earned your fifth star.
Also also - the AI for the birds is nearly braindead (ive seen it place cards in recruit for suits it doesnt have a roost in at the time, and it doesnt value having a card in build especially a bird nearly enough) although at the same time the bird bot made a galaxy brain play and favor of the foxed on the last turn one time which was hilarious. And the vagabond has a pretty weird prioritization for which items get damaged - instead of letting other items get damaged then repairing them with hammers or ranger repair it just damages the hammers in the first place.
Great board game, meh mobile game
Thu Oct 15 2020 Impact8887888A great board game that hasn’t translated too well to mobile. While the artwork and UI looks great, it does not bode itself well to how the game actually plays. In fact, if you haven’t played Root the board game, I wouldn’t recommend this mobile adaptation - not before watching gameplay of the actual game, at least. Even with the tutorial, new comers will find themselves stuck and confused with any race other than the Marquis as many of the game mechanics that are normally quite clear on the board game are poorly visualized here (the Vagabond especially). That’s not to say that it “looks” bad - in fact the game looks and sounds amazing - it’s just hard to tell what’s going on. Unfortunately, it seems too much info needs to be displayed to fit on a tiny screen, and while the developers have tried their best to condense that amount of info, much is lost. If you are a fan of the board game, then it’s not a bad purchase and will provide hours on fun, but I would wait for a few updates as a newcomer.
Review for root’s digital board game.
Sun Jul 31 2022 hrryuhdsrghjI am here to tell you of how good this game is with pros and cons.
Pros: Menu is well made, I found no bugs or glitches from my experience, Great port for any apple user, Just a fun to play board game, No pay to win schemes, Graphics and attention to detail is very good, When on the board everything is so immersive, Also updates are vast and amazing so remember that, Now to cons of this game.
Cons: Ai does some quirky things yet not common it is something to know, If you don’t like complex rules this may not be your cup of tea, Fights are randomized by dice so strategy during fights is not there I only say this just to keep you informed yet strategically doing things is a big part of the game so take this with a big grain of salt, So that is the review cons are rare so I say 4 stars is deserved some things could be fixed but overall 4/5 stars also thanks to the developers for such a great game good job 👍
I Adore This Game
Fri Oct 06 2023 SirSilversWhat a deep, adorable, and endlessly iterative game to have in my pocket 🥰
I love the charming design and solid implementation of this fantastic board game. I’ve played hundred of hours of this game between the PC and iPhone versions, and have joined a great discord community (shout-out Woodland Warriors) with lots of experienced and kind people to play with.
That said, it would be amazing to get more support from DireWolf with the game’s online. While it’s certainly functional, there is a big problem with players leaving in the middle of games without consequence, and a no ability to report other players. If you’re playing with folks you know (or through Woodland Warriors) this isn’t an issue, but be wary if you’re looking for games solo.
That, and it would be *huge* to have more control of some more rule set elements when making a game. Being able to ban factions while making an adset game, and adding the popular Despot Infamy home rule as an option would be my two top picks that would put the digital experience over the top!
Hoping to see Marauders sooner than later, but that DireWolf takes the time they need! I’d love to see this version properly replace TableTop Simulator as the standard for non-physical play.
Can’t wait to play this game for years to come!
Hoping for more factions
Mon Mar 15 2021 Alan02155Love the board game and your app! I don’t have much spare time but spend all my waiting at the doctor’s office and waiting to pick up my kids playing this game. It’s my go-to app for some fun when I have the time. The app far exceeded my expectations but now I have expectations for the rest of the factions. I really really really want to play the others. I have a board game group but they don’t want to play root with me anymore because of all the practice I’ve had on the app. So if you play with a competitive group, you need this app for practice. I need a new board gaming group!!! And thank you so much for the “undo” button. So many times I’ve made a stupid error while playing the Eyrie. You really have to be on your toes or you’ll go into turmoil. I’m hoping that this “undo” will help me with that. Kudos to the developers and thank you to Leder Games!!!!!!!
