How to score Root
In the Root board game, points go on the track as you play. Every faction scores its own way, and all of them score 1 for each enemy building or token they remove. The first to 30 wins at once, unless a dominance card has taken them off the track.
- 2 to 4 players
- About 60 to 90 minutes
- First to 30 wins at once
- Or win by dominance
Tabletales is free on iPhone and iPad.
This is the real Scorepad, live: Mara’s winning turn added on the keypad, with the game set to play to 30.
Root
- BGG #34
- 60 to 90 min
An asymmetric woodland war game. Each faction plays by its own rules and earns points its own way, and the first to reach 30 wins on the spot.
Year, players, time and rank from BoardGameGeek.
How to play Root, in brief
No two factions play alike: the cats build, the birds follow orders, the Alliance spreads sympathy, the Vagabond roams alone. First to 30 points wins.
- Choose factionsEach player takes a faction board, listing its actions and scoring, and sets out its pieces. Deal 3 cards each.
- Play 3 phasesEvery turn is Birdsong, Daylight, Evening; your board says what to do in each.
- Move and battleMove warriors only from or into a clearing you rule (most warriors and buildings). In battle, both roll 2 dice: the attacker deals the higher number in hits, the defender the lower, each capped by its warriors.
- Score and winPoints go on the track the moment you earn them; 30 wins at once. With 10 or more, you may play a dominance card and win by its condition instead.
Every faction scores its own way. Everyone races to 30.
Root has no end-of-game tally. Points go on the score track the moment you earn them, and each faction’s board shows its main ways to score: the Vagabond, for one, scores by completing quests and exploring ruins. A few kinds of points work the same for everyone.
What scores, for everyone
| When | Points |
|---|---|
| Removing an enemy building or tokenIn battle or by an effect, whoever it belongs to | 1 each |
| Crafting an itemThe value printed on the card you craft (the Eyrie score less, as their board says) | The card |
| Your faction’s own scoringPrinted on your faction board; it differs for every faction | Your board |
| Reaching 30On anyone’s turn, at any moment | You win |
| Playing a dominance cardNeeds 10 or more; your marker leaves the track and your points stop counting | Off the track |
- Score as it happensMove your marker on the track every time you earn a point. Nothing waits for the end of a turn or a round.
- Count every enemy piece you removeEach building or token you take off the map is 1 point, whichever faction you play.
- Win the moment you reach 30The game ends right there. If several players reach 30 at the same moment, the player whose turn it is wins.
- Or switch to dominanceWith 10 or more points you may play a dominance card in Daylight. From then on you can win only by meeting that card’s condition, never by points.
- The Vagabond can join a coalitionInstead of a dominance win, the Vagabond can team up with the lowest-scoring other player and wins if that player wins.
Mara reaches 30 mid-turn and wins.
Three players: Mara as the Marquise de Cat, You as the Eyrie Dynasties, Jonas as the Woodland Alliance. Jonas played a dominance card at 14 a few turns ago. Mara starts her turn on 27, and her battles remove two of your roosts and one of Jonas’s sympathy tokens. This is the game on the Scorepad above.
| Player | This turn | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Mara | Marquise de Cat: from 27, two roosts and a sympathy token removed27 + 1 + 1 + 1 | 30 |
| You | Eyrie DynastiesNo change | 26 |
| Jonas | Woodland AllianceDominance at 14, so his points no longer count | 14 |
The track keeps the race. Tabletales keeps the game.
Tabletales is a scorepad and scrapbook for game night. For Root, pick Highest wins and set Play to a score to 30. When the game ends, type where everyone finished on the track.
- 30 sits on the padSet the game to play to 30 and “To 30” sits at the top of the Scorepad while you play. Whoever gets there has the best total and the trophy. If two players reach 30 at once, the player whose turn it is wins.
- The last turn on the keypadType each score, or type a winning turn the way it happened (27 + 1 + 1 + 1) and Tabletales adds it up to 30.
- A dominance win is a tapWhen a dominance card or a coalition decides it, points do not. Switch the game to Who won? and tap each winner, the Vagabond included.
- And the night is keptSave it with who played and a photo of the woodland. Root gets its own history: how often you play, who with, and who wins.
- Everyone who was there
- Photos from the table
- Root, with its scores
Common Root scoring mistakes
- Waiting for the end of the roundReaching 30 wins at once, even in the middle of a turn.
- Forgetting the 1 point per pieceEvery faction scores 1 for each enemy building or token it removes, not just the warlike ones.
- Playing dominance below 10You need at least 10 points to play a dominance card, and once it is in play your points stop counting.
- Comparing scores after a dominance winA dominance player wins by meeting the card, not by points, so the totals on the track do not matter.
Root scoring, answered
- How many points do you need to win Root?
- 30. The first player to reach 30 victory points wins at once, unless a dominance card is in play for them.
- How do you score points in Root?
- Each faction has its own ways to score, shown on its board. On top of that, every faction scores 1 point for each enemy building or token it removes, and a crafted item scores the points printed on its card, though the Eyrie Dynasties score less for crafting.
- How does a dominance card work in Root?
- With 10 or more points you can play one in Daylight. Your marker leaves the track, and you can then win only by meeting the card’s condition.
Root score sheet
The board’s track keeps the race, so this sheet is a record of the game: each faction, where its points came from, and how it ended, for up to four players.
Score another game
Each faction’s scoring table and each dominance card’s condition are printed on the components, so check those there. If two players tie for lowest when the Vagabond forms a coalition, the Vagabond picks the partner. Rules checked on 19 October 2026 against UltraBoardGames, Wikipedia and Dice Tower. Root is a trademark of Leder Games. Tabletales is not affiliated with it.
Keep score tonight. Keep the night for good.
Tabletales adds up every hand, then saves the whole night: the games, the scores, the photos and who was there.
