Root

Root

Board Game

14+, 2018, Animals, Fantasy

WISE
94%

WISE Score

Game of Thrones meets the Berenstain Bears—cute forest critters doing war and politics in a game where everyone plays by different rules.

Where to Play

Amazon
Amazon

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Screenwise Verdict

Root is one of the best board games of the last decade, period. It’s brilliant, beautiful, and incredibly deep.

But a word of caution: do not buy this for a kid who just wants a cute game about forest animals. This is a heavy-duty strategy game about insurgency, industrialization, and political collapse. If your family enjoys 'brain-burners' and doesn't mind a little healthy backstabbing at the dining room table, this is a must-own.

Age Fit

The box says 14+, which is fair for the complexity of the rules. A sharp 10 or 12-year-old who already plays games like Catan or Wingspan can definitely handle it, but don't expect a casual player to jump right in.

WISE Breakdown
Wholesome
82

The art looks like a cozy children's book, but the gameplay is pure political maneuvering. It's emotionally healthy in the way a good chess match is—competitive and tense, but grounded in a shared story about a forest struggle.

Imaginative
97

Root is a masterclass in world-building. Every faction feels like a unique culture with its own logic—the industrialist cats, the bureaucratic birds, and the insurgent mice. It forces you to inhabit a completely different perspective every time you play.

Safe
98

It's a board game, so no digital pitfalls here. The 'violence' is just removing wooden pieces from a board. The only real risk is a sore loser because the game encourages ganging up on the leader.

Enriching
94

This is a PhD in systems thinking and asymmetry. Players have to understand not just their own rules, but how three other completely different systems work to win. It's a brilliant lesson in checks and balances.

Parent Info
✓

Why It Might Be Great

  • Total asymmetry means you can play the game four times and have a completely different experience each time.
  • The artwork by Kyle Ferrin is stunning and gives the game a personality that most war games lack.
  • It rewards deep thinking and long-term planning rather than just lucky dice rolls.
  • Teaches complex negotiation and the art of the 'table talk' to prevent someone from running away with the lead.
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What to Watch For

  • The learning curve is a mountain; expect the first game to take three hours while everyone checks the manual.
  • It's a 'mean' game—you win by destroying your friends' buildings and clearing them off the map.
  • The balance can feel off if one player doesn't know how to properly counter another's specific faction rules.

Conversation Starters

  • "Why did the Woodland Alliance think a revolution was the only way to stop the Cats?"
  • "If you were the Vagabond, would you rather help people for points or just go rogue?"
  • "How does the game change when everyone has different goals? Is that more or less fair than a game like Monopoly?"

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