I just got my own copy of Root after about two years of playing 4-6 player games with my friends so that I can play one on one with my partner as well. Two player is a totally different yet still very fun way of playing for us, and you’ve definitely convinced me on getting these as my first expansions that I own!
@@shmuppet2583 I am jealous…I would love to play the chaos of a 6 player game! I hope you like the hirelings…I found them to be a blast and also something that makes the game feel completely differentl.
Definitely interested in 2-player root content since it's the main way we play this game here. High quality video. Articulate and organized. Keep them coming.
Thanks Horse appreciate that. Like I said I am really interested in all the different combinations. Have you experimented much there. Any matchups you enjoy?
@@Neon_Gorilla can't see I can comment on that. I'm mew to root and I only have the base game at the moment. waiting for expansions to be delivered. So we've been mostly playing Marquise VS Eyrie. Tried other factions once but I don't think they work well in 2p.
It's amazing to found this video. I also think that hirelings it's better than bots. Bots are nice, kind of tough to beat but hirelings chaos is better for the two player problem. My wife and I haven't played with this two factions, but I think that worth to try! I'm wishing to see more of this Marauder's / hireling chaos! :D
You must be a good player if the matchup ends up with the map divided in half. Whenever I play against my son and he chooses the Lord of the Hundreds, he just wipes the floor with my Keepers.
The keepers operated mostly in one half. Lord had no incentive to push past 6 learning to maximize thier points. It was never a perfect half and half like visual representation. It’s was simply to illustrate that in order to maximize each of their faction specific scoring opportunities they only need half of the board.
@@Neon_Gorilla Your son is nicer than mine. The only incentive he needs is to do non optimal moves is to see the despair in my eyes while I lose all hope :D
That is fair. Now if I were playing with my wife I would be scared. Just started playing dead reckoning with her and all she wants to do is build her cards up for battle and sink me which now has me thinking I should reintroduce her to root.
In my opinion, playing with hirelings was really cool, but I didn't feel like it fixed the two-player game. Sometimes, I would get a four on the control die and control the bear for four turns, which would almost guarantee a win. For me, the key to Root is the policing aspect, and in a two-player game, that's missing. The hirelings are a good solution, but I would change them (though I'm not sure how) to make them less dependent on luck. I think any two-player game should minimize luck. Look at Hive, 7 Wonders Duel, or Chess.
I didn't have this problem the only issue is the point leader getting control first but once multiple are passing back and forth it seemed to even out. With that said rolling dice will create different experiences.
Root still is not a 2 player game BUT hirelings AND advanced setup really make it feel much better. If I would play 2P unless teaching someone (and even then) probably would prever anything else.
i don't get to watch all your videos when they come out, but MAN if your edits aren't on point! you create such a vibe and aesthetic that is sweet man! Root is such a great game but i do get that two player experience, my buddy and i who introduced it to me and we just play as the eyrie and marquise! anyways keep on making them man !
I absolutely adore root. I have everything and at the stage where I'm slowly getting fan content printed. I've never tried two players, the guys I play with always makes it three players. There can be some really good compositions for two players. Moles are a pretty solid Militant faction, and also the last one. Some people said that Crows and Woodland Alliance is a fun one. I don't play the hirelings as much, but they are always fun when we play. With 3-4 players, negotiating who to pass the hirelings to becomes a fun table talk. Landmarks are phenomenal. The Lost City landmark changes the entire game. I know there is Root video guide on how that bends the entire game.
I was wondering about the hireling pass dynamic. I thought it was curious that you could choose. I wonder how often it is used to bury someone with two players working together. Do you ever play online?
@@Neon_Gorilla I do not. Never was to fond of the style, opposed to the lovely meeples. Yeah the passing hirelings makes another layer of game play. People would avoid giving it to the leader, so it balances. Until someone else takes the lead, then the previous leader gets hirelings. It's funny. Or two partners make an alliance and just pass a hireling back and forth, until they realize one is so powerful, they can't give the hireling.
I have the same conondrum since I usually only play with my partner. I don't have this expansion and this is may be to late to talk here, but what fixed it for me was to get the Clockwork expansion #1. Just yesterday we played with WA and Eyrie as bots and the WA completely expanded on the map because my partner was too busy trying the get the Eyrie bot out of her buildings to keep in check and I was too late as Vagabond to start pusish them, they ended up winning the game by a huge margin. We had a blast though, created a very good environment and gave us a good taste of what an actual 4 player game is.
Never too late to talk :) You know I need to try clockwork again. I had clockwork 1 a while back and found it too hard to run but that was also when I was learning the game. They actually have added the clockwork factions on the digital app as well.
Thank you Neon Gorilla! What a fantastic video. I love Root, I only own the base game and I am thinking on expanding mainly to play 2 players. So, which one of the expansions you mentioned will be the best to add? Hirelings? Marauder? both? Thank you for the great content!
Great video! I was looking for Root 2-player options and found your video and channel. It would be amazing if you would do more in this direction. E.g. Im wondering wheather the clockwork bots are still a benefit with the hirelings and worth buying for a better 2-player experience.
I abandoned the clockwork bits early on because they felt complicated however now that I know the game better I should tray again. I suspect with the hirelings they may not be as important any longer but can’t speak to it personally
I have maurauders preordered for more than 2 years now. The publisher in Germany who used to publish root went under. New publisher now but they have super small print runs. Sigh!
@@Neon_Gorilla yeah, not quite sure what went wrong there. The original publisher just wasn't good enough at running a business I guess! The new publisher now has to play catch up with all the content :-)
I'm clearly super late to this video, but does the Clockwork Expansion not add a layer of unpredictability and opportunity to make 2 player games more interesting and potentially less one-sided? I bought the game and would be relegated to 2-player games between my wife and me in most cases. Adding a layer of randomness and other considerations would disrupt the more one-sided or predictable nature of a typical Eyrie vs Marquise game. Another game that benefits from having an artificial third player is Architects of the West Kingdom, which my wife and I play regularly. It throws a wrench in your strategy to the point where it makes you have to react and pivot in an otherwise fairly straightforward 2 player game.
Clockwork is fine but running a bot is not my cup of tea. I have found them cumbersome and obtuse. I am the one that has to run it and I would prefer spending the brain power on my strategy.
I used to think cats were boring too, but after playing hundreds of games on the app (before Underworld expansion was released) I realized just how interesting and dynamic they were. They don't have any flashy gimmicks the way other factions do but a good cats player needs to make use of Root's most brilliant mechanic: rule. Cats start by ruling most of the map so they have a good starting network. Every action matters and positioning to maintain rule and block enemy movement is critical. When I'm in a random lobby of players and I see the cats player making very efficient and optimised actions, I can tell it's going to be a good game. They have a higher skill floor than other factions so what you tend to find is the more you play them, the more you enjoy them.
Hi everyone... 🫂 I bought Root base game but unfortunately there are not expansions in our country.I found hardly only Marauder Expansion.And very expensive.So my question is: Dear friends ,is it worth to buy Marauder for especially 2 players? I must know before.Because it is very expensive here.And after buying Marauder I'll not be able to buy anything else for Root.No exiles and Partisans deck and no other expansions.Only base game and Marauder.Will it work without any problem or regret?Or base game is enough and only Marauder will not make any great change..? Please help... 🙏 Thanks in advance 💜💚💛
I would say play the base game Erie vs Marquis until you get board and know if you really like it. If so marauders is the natural choice for only two players. A cheaper option might be to buy the individual hirelings and ad to your base game. The underworld expansion gives you one viable option with the dutchy. The riverfolk expansion only really gives you the mechanical marquis that gave help a two player game. Exiles and partisans is nice but doesn’t necessarily help the two player game. I hope this helps.
Also, I hear you can print the factions and play them without the original meeples. I'm considering this until I'm sure I want to pay for the expansions.
![[Gittin Gud] - Marquise de Cat Advanced Strategy Guide for Root](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/7ocZH1B3WX8/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Gittin Gud] - Marquise de Cat Advanced Strategy Guide for Root](/img/tr.png)
I just got my own copy of Root after about two years of playing 4-6 player games with my friends so that I can play one on one with my partner as well. Two player is a totally different yet still very fun way of playing for us, and you’ve definitely convinced me on getting these as my first expansions that I own!
@@shmuppet2583 I am jealous…I would love to play the chaos of a 6 player game! I hope you like the hirelings…I found them to be a blast and also something that makes the game feel completely differentl.
Definitely interested in 2-player root content since it's the main way we play this game here. High quality video. Articulate and organized. Keep them coming.
Thanks Horse appreciate that. Like I said I am really interested in all the different combinations. Have you experimented much there. Any matchups you enjoy?
@@Neon_Gorilla can't see I can comment on that. I'm mew to root and I only have the base game at the moment. waiting for expansions to be delivered. So we've been mostly playing Marquise VS Eyrie. Tried other factions once but I don't think they work well in 2p.
Yeah that is the problem.
This is a very well put-together video. Thanks for the insight!
thanks for the kind words!
Just found your channel and your editing, production and talking points are on top! Keep it up and your channel will flourish
really appreciate the kind words, they are what keep me going!
It's amazing to found this video. I also think that hirelings it's better than bots. Bots are nice, kind of tough to beat but hirelings chaos is better for the two player problem. My wife and I haven't played with this two factions, but I think that worth to try! I'm wishing to see more of this Marauder's / hireling chaos! :D
If you play at 2 players mauraders is a must! I just ordered landmarks to see how those can spice things up as well.
@@Neon_Gorilla Those are also a great addition. Super fun and extra actions are always welcome!
You must be a good player if the matchup ends up with the map divided in half. Whenever I play against my son and he chooses the Lord of the Hundreds, he just wipes the floor with my Keepers.
The keepers operated mostly in one half. Lord had no incentive to push past 6 learning to maximize thier points. It was never a perfect half and half like visual representation. It’s was simply to illustrate that in order to maximize each of their faction specific scoring opportunities they only need half of the board.
@@Neon_Gorilla Your son is nicer than mine. The only incentive he needs is to do non optimal moves is to see the despair in my eyes while I lose all hope :D
That is fair. Now if I were playing with my wife I would be scared. Just started playing dead reckoning with her and all she wants to do is build her cards up for battle and sink me which now has me thinking I should reintroduce her to root.
In my opinion, playing with hirelings was really cool, but I didn't feel like it fixed the two-player game. Sometimes, I would get a four on the control die and control the bear for four turns, which would almost guarantee a win. For me, the key to Root is the policing aspect, and in a two-player game, that's missing. The hirelings are a good solution, but I would change them (though I'm not sure how) to make them less dependent on luck. I think any two-player game should minimize luck. Look at Hive, 7 Wonders Duel, or Chess.
I didn't have this problem the only issue is the point leader getting control first but once multiple are passing back and forth it seemed to even out. With that said rolling dice will create different experiences.
7 wonders duel is almost only based on luck...
@@hkprx6911 you clearly have not played the game enough!
Root still is not a 2 player game BUT hirelings AND advanced setup really make it feel much better. If I would play 2P unless teaching someone (and even then) probably would prever anything else.
i don't get to watch all your videos when they come out, but MAN if your edits aren't on point! you create such a vibe and aesthetic that is sweet man! Root is such a great game but i do get that two player experience, my buddy and i who introduced it to me and we just play as the eyrie and marquise! anyways keep on making them man !
really appreciate the kind words!
I absolutely adore root. I have everything and at the stage where I'm slowly getting fan content printed. I've never tried two players, the guys I play with always makes it three players. There can be some really good compositions for two players. Moles are a pretty solid Militant faction, and also the last one. Some people said that Crows and Woodland Alliance is a fun one. I don't play the hirelings as much, but they are always fun when we play. With 3-4 players, negotiating who to pass the hirelings to becomes a fun table talk. Landmarks are phenomenal. The Lost City landmark changes the entire game. I know there is Root video guide on how that bends the entire game.
I was wondering about the hireling pass dynamic. I thought it was curious that you could choose. I wonder how often it is used to bury someone with two players working together. Do you ever play online?
@@Neon_Gorilla I do not. Never was to fond of the style, opposed to the lovely meeples. Yeah the passing hirelings makes another layer of game play. People would avoid giving it to the leader, so it balances. Until someone else takes the lead, then the previous leader gets hirelings. It's funny. Or two partners make an alliance and just pass a hireling back and forth, until they realize one is so powerful, they can't give the hireling.
@@willboy334 ah yeah I suppose they will self correct.
Great stuff!
Thanks!
I have the same conondrum since I usually only play with my partner. I don't have this expansion and this is may be to late to talk here, but what fixed it for me was to get the Clockwork expansion #1. Just yesterday we played with WA and Eyrie as bots and the WA completely expanded on the map because my partner was too busy trying the get the Eyrie bot out of her buildings to keep in check and I was too late as Vagabond to start pusish them, they ended up winning the game by a huge margin.
We had a blast though, created a very good environment and gave us a good taste of what an actual 4 player game is.
Never too late to talk :) You know I need to try clockwork again. I had clockwork 1 a while back and found it too hard to run but that was also when I was learning the game. They actually have added the clockwork factions on the digital app as well.
Appreciate the Street Fighter montage.
Thanks….just a little experiment
Thank you Neon Gorilla!
What a fantastic video. I love Root, I only own the base game and I am thinking on expanding mainly to play 2 players. So, which one of the expansions you mentioned will be the best to add? Hirelings? Marauder? both?
Thank you for the great content!
Thank you for watching! Both but Mauraders should be priority. Both of this factions are a blast plus it comes with some of the hirelings
Great video! I was looking for Root 2-player options and found your video and channel. It would be amazing if you would do more in this direction.
E.g. Im wondering wheather the clockwork bots are still a benefit with the hirelings and worth buying for a better 2-player experience.
I abandoned the clockwork bits early on because they felt complicated however now that I know the game better I should tray again. I suspect with the hirelings they may not be as important any longer but can’t speak to it personally
@@Neon_Gorilla Good to hear your impression no the less - thanks!
Do you have experiences on which factions are best suited for two player games?
More 2 player root content please!!
I am thinking about a two player perspective for the homeland expansion
How did you find the game play betwee Lorde of the hundred vs Marquee de cat havs you ever done taht matchup?
Sorry for the late response. I think marquise is a little under powered. Make sure to use advanced set up thi helps the Cats.
This is such a good video, i hope this comment helps get this a boost so more people see it!
@@carrots4216 thanks Carrots I really appreciate that!
I have maurauders preordered for more than 2 years now. The publisher in Germany who used to publish root went under. New publisher now but they have super small print runs. Sigh!
Ooooh that is awful and actually surprising! German of all languages seems like one that would have support.
@@Neon_Gorilla yeah, not quite sure what went wrong there. The original publisher just wasn't good enough at running a business I guess! The new publisher now has to play catch up with all the content :-)
Bummer
I'm clearly super late to this video, but does the Clockwork Expansion not add a layer of unpredictability and opportunity to make 2 player games more interesting and potentially less one-sided? I bought the game and would be relegated to 2-player games between my wife and me in most cases. Adding a layer of randomness and other considerations would disrupt the more one-sided or predictable nature of a typical Eyrie vs Marquise game. Another game that benefits from having an artificial third player is Architects of the West Kingdom, which my wife and I play regularly. It throws a wrench in your strategy to the point where it makes you have to react and pivot in an otherwise fairly straightforward 2 player game.
Clockwork is fine but running a bot is not my cup of tea. I have found them cumbersome and obtuse. I am the one that has to run it and I would prefer spending the brain power on my strategy.
Can you play eyrie against the keepers or the lord of hundreds?
Yes, this makes for a great match up
@@Neon_Gorilla Thank you!
Hirlings are the best!
@@talzumon101 agreed
The Cats are a very boring faction. That’s the biggest problem.
Replace them with the lord of the hundred. Problem solved :)
I am curious. What do you find boring about them? Have you tried being more aggressive?
I used to think cats were boring too, but after playing hundreds of games on the app (before Underworld expansion was released) I realized just how interesting and dynamic they were. They don't have any flashy gimmicks the way other factions do but a good cats player needs to make use of Root's most brilliant mechanic: rule. Cats start by ruling most of the map so they have a good starting network. Every action matters and positioning to maintain rule and block enemy movement is critical. When I'm in a random lobby of players and I see the cats player making very efficient and optimised actions, I can tell it's going to be a good game. They have a higher skill floor than other factions so what you tend to find is the more you play them, the more you enjoy them.
Hi everyone... 🫂
I bought Root base game but unfortunately there are not expansions in our country.I found hardly only Marauder Expansion.And very expensive.So my question is:
Dear friends ,is it worth to buy Marauder for especially 2 players?
I must know before.Because it is very expensive here.And after buying Marauder I'll not be able to buy anything else for Root.No exiles and Partisans deck and no other expansions.Only base game and Marauder.Will it work without any problem or regret?Or base game is enough and only Marauder will not make any great change..?
Please help... 🙏
Thanks in advance 💜💚💛
I would say play the base game Erie vs Marquis until you get board and know if you really like it. If so marauders is the natural choice for only two players. A cheaper option might be to buy the individual hirelings and ad to your base game. The underworld expansion gives you one viable option with the dutchy. The riverfolk expansion only really gives you the mechanical marquis that gave help a two player game. Exiles and partisans is nice but doesn’t necessarily help the two player game. I hope this helps.
Also, I hear you can print the factions and play them without the original meeples. I'm considering this until I'm sure I want to pay for the expansions.