Objective:

The objective depends on the specific faction you choose. Here's a glimpse into some faction goals:

• The Marquise de Cat: Build dominance and establish clearings.

• The Woodland Alliance: Recruit warriors, build sympathy, and undermine the Marquise.

• The Vagabond: Complete secret quests and score points through various means.

• The Eyrie Dynasties: Dominate clearings and build roosts before collapsing.
  

Number of Players: 2-4 players

Playing Time: Around 60-90 minutes per player

Components:

• Game board depicting a woodland map with clearings and forests

• Player boards specific to each faction with unique abilities and action spaces

• Faction decks containing cards for movement, combat, and special abilities

• Wooden tokens for warriors, buildings, and resources

• Law of Root rulebook (with faction-specific rules included)
  

Setup:

1. Choose Your Faction: Each player selects a faction and takes the corresponding player board, deck of cards, and wooden tokens. Become familiar with your faction's special abilities and victory condition.

2. Place the Game Board: Unfold the game board and place it in the center of the playing area.

3. Setup Clearing Decks: Shuffle the clearing decks (one for each terrain type) and place them face down next to the game board. Reveal the top card of each deck and place it face-up on the corresponding terrain type on the board. These cards determine starting resources available in each clearing.

4. Place Starting Tokens: Each player places their starting tokens (warriors and buildings) on designated locations on the board based on their chosen faction's starting positions.

5. Draw Starting Cards: Each player draws five cards from their faction deck to form their starting hand.
   

Gameplay:

The game is played in rounds, with players taking turns in clockwise order. Here's a basic breakdown of a turn:

1. Craft Cards (Optional): Some factions have the ability to craft cards from resource tokens during their turn.

2. Play Cards: Players can play cards from their hand to perform actions like moving warriors, initiating battles, building structures, or using special abilities unique to their faction.  The Law of Root utilizes a "decree" system where players choose a specific suit (matching a card type) to activate their desired actions.

• Movement: Move your warriors across the board following movement restrictions based on terrain types.

• Combat: Engage in combat with other players by playing battle cards and rolling dice. Combat resolves based on card effects, dice rolls, and your faction's combat abilities.

• Building: Construct structures like roosts or workshops depending on your faction's capabilities. These structures can provide benefits like additional warriors or victory points.

1. Draw Cards: After taking actions, replenish your hand by drawing cards from your deck up to your hand limit.
   

Factions and Asymmetry:

Each faction plays differently with unique abilities, goals, and card decks. Here's a quick mention of some key faction differences:

• The Marquise de Cat: Relies on dominance (controlling clearings) and building structures to score points.

• The Woodland Alliance: Focuses on recruiting warriors, building sympathy with woodland creatures, and disrupting the Marquise's plans.

• The Vagabond:  Completes secret objectives and interacts with other players for personal gain.

• The Eyrie Dynasties:  Play aggressively, aiming to dominate clearings and build roosts before their time runs out.
  

Winning the Game:

The game ends when a player achieves their specific victory condition (e.g., reaching a certain number of victory points, controlling enough clearings). Alternatively, some factions might trigger endgame conditions based on their actions. The player who fulfills the winning requirements is declared the victor.

Additional Notes:

• Learning the Rules: Root can be complex at first. Consider watching tutorial videos or playing with an experienced player to learn the intricacies of each faction and overall gameplay.

• Variable Setup:  The game offers various setups depending on player count and experience level.

• Expansions:  Several expansions introduce new factions, mechanics, and challenges to the base game.