Playing the cats is painful you basically need to become a massive wall that isn't worth people's time to run over but also keep your forces numerous enough that you can just march in and start building.
Your strategy will change depending on opponents.
For the basegame opponents >martial law, choke the WA resources thin and push them into the bird's territory >draw a line in the sand to separate your and the bird territory. Be ready to turmoil them by force if they have momentum >hit the vagabond, he is not your friend.
Above all else you need to engage in tabletalk. Political persuasion is the name of the game and you start the game with the biggest target in your back due to having your army everywhere and usually having an early points lead.
Get your early sawmill economy going and then build recruiters to solidify your hold. You only have so many actions to work with so try to be efficient and don't stray too far from your plan unless an opponent action demands your response.
Thanks for the tips, my general strategy is to focus on recruiters first and overwork if I have bird cards to prepare for expansion, It's a bit slow but when I try something else I get thinned out by battles and can't recover or fall back on my main forest. My biggest problem is the Mole faction, they feel like superpowered Cats and I'm completely at their mercy.
Moles are dangerous because they can effectively airdrop troops wherever you sonr want them (except for the keep). a smart mole player won't leave buildings vulnerable for you to disrupt their hand and invoke price of failure
From the moles perspective you have to think about what actions will annoy them. Moles like to have troops in different suited clearings so they can sway and use their revealed cards. I recommend communicating with the table about your intent to cull stray moles so they cannot count for the suits, you only have so many actions so splitting the work is to your advantage.
Also don't leave anything lightly defended, as a large amount of moles can and will take over and cut off your wood supply lines. In that sense you can treat them similar to the vagabond in that your frontline alone isn't enough to keep your backline safe.
Moles are dangerous because they can effectively airdrop troops wherever you sonr want them (except for the keep). a smart mole player won't leave buildings vulnerable for you to disrupt their hand and invoke price of failure
From the moles perspective you have to think about what actions will annoy them. Moles like to have troops in different suited clearings so they can sway and use their revealed cards. I recommend communicating with the table about your intent to cull stray moles so they cannot count for the suits, you only have so many actions so splitting the work is to your advantage.
Also don't leave anything lightly defended, as a large amount of moles can and will take over and cut off your wood supply lines. In that sense you can treat them similar to the vagabond in that your frontline alone isn't enough to keep your backline safe.
Biggest problem in Root digital is that Root is a diplomacy game where people refuse to do diplomacy, you'll rarely see people chatting about the board state unless you're on some discord or whatever, add to that crossplay with consoles that are literally UNABLE to chat at all. Better to just play on Tabletop Simulator.
The automated rule administration and the custom challenges are enough to justify it as a separate product that can onboard people who may have been on the fence.
Obviously you'll get more mileage out of players who engage in tabletalk but misplays happen even in TTS and over the board due to new players not grasping how important it is.
Asynchronous play is a nice feature that TTS doesn't really support, but again you'll still want tabletalk.
That's a fair point, although I never understood why people consider Root a hard game to learn, everything in the rulebook is perfectly stated, no ambiguity, your faction board has a literal list of steps you must/can do, etc. Knowing how the other factions work so you can properly table talk is 1 thing, but people not understanding how battling works, or what ruling means is so alien to me; I guess they might not be as accustomed to board games as I am, but surely after a game or 2 with the rulebook by your side you should have every rule ingrained in your brain.
I love asynchronous play in games but I don't think Root is a game that needs it, especially considering it's a 3+ player game, you could be waiting forever because of it (and also async made the Cats weaker in digital because you can't use Field Hospitals until it's your turn)
Rules regarding rule is probably the single biggest mistake i see people frick up in root. From attempting to build, to movement capabilities, to thinking the vagabond or tokens count, and forgetting the gardens trump other pieces.
Individually isn't a difficult rule but its one of those things to keep track of that slips people's mind despite being one of the core rules thats shared between all factions.
But still, digital rule enforcement and administration are the biggest draw for digital board games, especially for ones that are fiddly to setup, update, and teardown like gloomhaven. I could play 3+ full games of spirit island in the time itd take to do the same game setup on my actual table.
Cobblers and Tactics Warren are pretty good cards if you can manage to craft them, since they give free actions which are in very limited supply for the cats. Actually crafting them can be difficult though, sawmills and recruiters are usually a bigger priority in the early game.
You can hit him, but most people are more interested in not being antagonistic of him since he scores infamy after going hostile, not realizing that feeding him items is what makes his action economy so amazing.
No because they're implementing official rules. As widely accepted as it is, that's still technically a house rule.
Should leder decide to actually implement it, they'd do it.
Yes I know that there's still the hubbub about cats not being implemented 1:1 regarding FH and wood consumption. That should be done better to match actual rules instead of catering to async players only.
It is to learn the actual rules, but as other anons have said, it often misses the "table talk" part which is like 40% of the game.
If I'm being honest, automatic rule enforcement doesn't actually help me understand rules better, it makes me ignore learning because I know the game will give me options of legal moves and I'll forget what is illegal and why because of it. I much prefer playing wrong the first few times then replay it with the correct rules.
I am the designated rules lawyer for my group so I'm not stranger to having the book by my side at all sessions. But a digital rule implementation can act as a second opinion that clarifies if something was being done correctly in the first place. Some rulebooks are really dense and don't read in a way thats easy to retain.
The root digital tutorial is actually pretty good (as well as having one per faction), and it being interactive is a lot better for retention than the initial turn demonstration that root has in the physical version where you just DO things without exactly knowing why.
>s a lot better for retention than the initial turn demonstration that root has in the physical version where you just DO things without exactly knowing why
That mini playthrough they suggest you follow is shite for teaching, what I do to teach is simply focus on the 5 main concepts of Root then tell them to follow they player board with my guidance for the first couple of turns, then let them free. The summary cards for each faction are a much better way to introduce people that don't know what to do.
To be fair I was learning the game at the same time and that means I'm not really in any position to be teaching.
Not all rulebooks are designed to be teachers, but as a resource to refer to. It baffles me sometimes since its often easier to teach by winging it instead of following the book in some cases. I was able to go over the entirety of gaia project in 20 minutes for a first time player but reading that rulebook was dense and not particularly clear
It makes learning the rules of the board game easier. Amazing how you get a playmat with entire instructions on how to play a faction but people still get confused and I don't blame them sometimes.
Womp womp. Stop being triggered by facts liberal. I like video games too and don't want to see you morons frick it up with your whiny ass behavior (that YOU all exhibit).
Playing the cats is painful you basically need to become a massive wall that isn't worth people's time to run over but also keep your forces numerous enough that you can just march in and start building.
Your strategy will change depending on opponents.
For the basegame opponents
>martial law, choke the WA resources thin and push them into the bird's territory
>draw a line in the sand to separate your and the bird territory. Be ready to turmoil them by force if they have momentum
>hit the vagabond, he is not your friend.
Above all else you need to engage in tabletalk. Political persuasion is the name of the game and you start the game with the biggest target in your back due to having your army everywhere and usually having an early points lead.
Get your early sawmill economy going and then build recruiters to solidify your hold. You only have so many actions to work with so try to be efficient and don't stray too far from your plan unless an opponent action demands your response.
Thanks for the tips, my general strategy is to focus on recruiters first and overwork if I have bird cards to prepare for expansion, It's a bit slow but when I try something else I get thinned out by battles and can't recover or fall back on my main forest. My biggest problem is the Mole faction, they feel like superpowered Cats and I'm completely at their mercy.
Moles are dangerous because they can effectively airdrop troops wherever you sonr want them (except for the keep). a smart mole player won't leave buildings vulnerable for you to disrupt their hand and invoke price of failure
From the moles perspective you have to think about what actions will annoy them. Moles like to have troops in different suited clearings so they can sway and use their revealed cards. I recommend communicating with the table about your intent to cull stray moles so they cannot count for the suits, you only have so many actions so splitting the work is to your advantage.
Also don't leave anything lightly defended, as a large amount of moles can and will take over and cut off your wood supply lines. In that sense you can treat them similar to the vagabond in that your frontline alone isn't enough to keep your backline safe.
frick why does every board game I own turn into a video game?
playing with cats is a pain because you start out as the enemy of everyone, at least until birds start exponential growing
Biggest problem in Root digital is that Root is a diplomacy game where people refuse to do diplomacy, you'll rarely see people chatting about the board state unless you're on some discord or whatever, add to that crossplay with consoles that are literally UNABLE to chat at all. Better to just play on Tabletop Simulator.
The automated rule administration and the custom challenges are enough to justify it as a separate product that can onboard people who may have been on the fence.
Obviously you'll get more mileage out of players who engage in tabletalk but misplays happen even in TTS and over the board due to new players not grasping how important it is.
Asynchronous play is a nice feature that TTS doesn't really support, but again you'll still want tabletalk.
That's a fair point, although I never understood why people consider Root a hard game to learn, everything in the rulebook is perfectly stated, no ambiguity, your faction board has a literal list of steps you must/can do, etc. Knowing how the other factions work so you can properly table talk is 1 thing, but people not understanding how battling works, or what ruling means is so alien to me; I guess they might not be as accustomed to board games as I am, but surely after a game or 2 with the rulebook by your side you should have every rule ingrained in your brain.
I love asynchronous play in games but I don't think Root is a game that needs it, especially considering it's a 3+ player game, you could be waiting forever because of it (and also async made the Cats weaker in digital because you can't use Field Hospitals until it's your turn)
Rules regarding rule is probably the single biggest mistake i see people frick up in root. From attempting to build, to movement capabilities, to thinking the vagabond or tokens count, and forgetting the gardens trump other pieces.
Individually isn't a difficult rule but its one of those things to keep track of that slips people's mind despite being one of the core rules thats shared between all factions.
But still, digital rule enforcement and administration are the biggest draw for digital board games, especially for ones that are fiddly to setup, update, and teardown like gloomhaven. I could play 3+ full games of spirit island in the time itd take to do the same game setup on my actual table.
I had forgotten what a terrible mess Gloomhaven is. Not a bad game though, should have been a video game from the very start.
Cobblers and Tactics Warren are pretty good cards if you can manage to craft them, since they give free actions which are in very limited supply for the cats. Actually crafting them can be difficult though, sawmills and recruiters are usually a bigger priority in the early game.
Are you not unable to hit the vagabond unless he hits you first?
You can hit him, but most people are more interested in not being antagonistic of him since he scores infamy after going hostile, not realizing that feeding him items is what makes his action economy so amazing.
Have they implemented Despot Infamy for the Vagabond in Digital? Everybody agrees that it's how the Vagabond should operate.
No because they're implementing official rules. As widely accepted as it is, that's still technically a house rule.
Should leder decide to actually implement it, they'd do it.
Yes I know that there's still the hubbub about cats not being implemented 1:1 regarding FH and wood consumption. That should be done better to match actual rules instead of catering to async players only.
Wonder if this is a good resource to learn the tabletop
It is to learn the actual rules, but as other anons have said, it often misses the "table talk" part which is like 40% of the game.
If I'm being honest, automatic rule enforcement doesn't actually help me understand rules better, it makes me ignore learning because I know the game will give me options of legal moves and I'll forget what is illegal and why because of it. I much prefer playing wrong the first few times then replay it with the correct rules.
I am the designated rules lawyer for my group so I'm not stranger to having the book by my side at all sessions. But a digital rule implementation can act as a second opinion that clarifies if something was being done correctly in the first place. Some rulebooks are really dense and don't read in a way thats easy to retain.
The root digital tutorial is actually pretty good (as well as having one per faction), and it being interactive is a lot better for retention than the initial turn demonstration that root has in the physical version where you just DO things without exactly knowing why.
>s a lot better for retention than the initial turn demonstration that root has in the physical version where you just DO things without exactly knowing why
That mini playthrough they suggest you follow is shite for teaching, what I do to teach is simply focus on the 5 main concepts of Root then tell them to follow they player board with my guidance for the first couple of turns, then let them free. The summary cards for each faction are a much better way to introduce people that don't know what to do.
To be fair I was learning the game at the same time and that means I'm not really in any position to be teaching.
Not all rulebooks are designed to be teachers, but as a resource to refer to. It baffles me sometimes since its often easier to teach by winging it instead of following the book in some cases. I was able to go over the entirety of gaia project in 20 minutes for a first time player but reading that rulebook was dense and not particularly clear
They made a Root video game? Is it any good? Big fan of the board game if it manages to copy it successfully
It makes learning the rules of the board game easier. Amazing how you get a playmat with entire instructions on how to play a faction but people still get confused and I don't blame them sometimes.
It’s the same game only on PC.
Don't play it, buy the actual board game. No friends? Too bad, get the frick out of my hobby.
there's always tabletop simulator and the friendless losers from Ganker
Don't care. Not playing board games physically means you're not playing board games. Again, no friends no play. Get the frick outta my hobby.
Shut the frick up you dumb homosexual. Get the frick out of Ganker and go back to /tg/ if you love your tabletop games so much.
Womp womp. Stop being triggered by facts liberal. I like video games too and don't want to see you morons frick it up with your whiny ass behavior (that YOU all exhibit).
keep seething for us, fa/tg/oy
ask on board game general on /tg/. its a popular game over there
I wasn't there but there has been some root games in the last couple of days on TTS.
New expansion when?
One easy tip is to focus on having 3 Cat warriors in Clearings so that the WA has to spend more resources on placing tokens in your clearings