Root is a fantastic game. It’s got a lot going for it—Cole Wehrle and Kyle Ferrin created a compelling world with some truly asymmetric and exciting gameplay.

Last month’s review covered the gameplay and the tabletop experience in-depth and now we’re looking at the expansions that build on the base game and elevate what’s possible in the world of Root.

Root: The Clockwork Expansion is a new creation from Leder Games, designed by Benjamin Schmauss for both single-player games and regular competitive play. Benjamin is also the author of the Better Bot Project (BBP) that worked to improve the automated gameplay for those looking to increase the player count or the faction count in a game of Root. So it’s nice to see that Leder Games brought him on to make the project official and to bring the best gameplay to the players.

Because Root is a great game. But the original solo mode was not as effective as what’s available now and the first attempt at automating the Marquise faction was lackluster.

Now, however, players can operate any of the four “bot” factions, using them to create an exciting solo game or to help support a low-player count game.

If you’re looking for something to augment your Root gameplay, this may be the ticket. For the times when you can’t convince four people to sit at the table and engage in woodland war, The Clockwork Expansion might be your savior.

STORY

Let’s meet the players!

The Mechanical Marquise 2.0 has patrols of cats and plans for woodland expansion with a building system ready to take over the forest clearings. It’s the latest model.

The Electric Eyrie must manage The Decree, but other players will need to manage the invasive push of the avian AI as it surges into the trees with its warriors. Mr. Blue Sky is getting ready to roost.

What’s more terrifying than a group of organized guerrilla-warrior mice? How about an automated one? The Alliance is back and the menacing band of furries is looking to turn sympathy into outrage. Watch out for the rebellion.

Vagat-what? Vagabot. The adventuring raccoon has a penchant for items and a flair for danger as he roams across the board. It will be up to the other players to decide if they want to curry favor with the lone wolf or if they want to hunt him down as he quests through the woods.

Four different factions. Four different ways to play. It wouldn’t be Root if that wasn’t the case.

GAMEPLAY

As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already reviewed Root, so I don’t feel the need to go into a lot of detail about the game (i.e., phases like Birdsong, Daylight, and Evening or victory-point tracking between the factions).

What’s important in The Clockwork Expansion is the addition of the bots. For solo play and for additional “bot” players during competitive play, these guys are the cement that will glue the game together and make for a fuller experience.

If you’ve encountered other automated gameplay mechanics in other games, like Scythe, then this may not be much of a hurdle for you, but other players might be a little surprised at the work involved with managing bots in a tabletop game. It’s a decent amount of additional rules to keep in mind. For gaming groups that frequently have three or four-player sessions, you may not even find this expansion pertinent, but it really does make the game more accessible for solo and low-player count games.

Each faction has its own game board and deck of cards, and there are clearing target numbers that will go down on the main game board to help with the AI factions. A rulebook designed and written in the same fashion as the base game covers all of the more minute details, but most of the gameplay will be dictated by the faction boards.

Whereas the original factions in Root have a distinct order for what moves should be made but no demand that a move must be made, The Clockwork Expansion has players performing actions in an ordered, set fashion. If this condition is met, then this action takes place. Once that action is complete, carry on to the next. And so on.

Once you get into a rhythm, it’s pretty simple to control these factions in a game. Yes, it would be preferable to have human players to interact with and to remove that extra gameplay mechanic, but it’s definitely better than not playing or playing with fewer factions.

I will say that all factions are not created equal in The Clockwork Expansion. Some are trickier than others to get used to and some will just always be a little bit more work. Looking at you, Vagabot. But for the most part, these rules work. And they work well for players that have been trying to go through the original solo mode in Root or for those that have been playing two- and even three-player games.

And one of my favorite elements was the inclusion of difficulty settings. You can set a particular faction to any one of four difficulties—Easy, Default, Challenging, and Nightmare—and it affects the tenacity with which that faction will be advancing its goals in the woods. For veteran players, it’s an awesome tool that can further enhance the gameplay. And for players struggling to learn a faction or to compete with other factions, the Easy difficulty makes Root a more approachable game.

Benjamin Schmauss was working on the Better Bot Project solo, but the partnership with Leder Games has produced an official set of game components and Root rules that allow for a much broad playing potential.

I would not have considered Root as a game for one to two players prior to this. It just didn’t sound exciting and I would not have enjoyed the process of going it solo. So The Clockwork Expansion addresses an issue that many fans of the game have experienced. They want to play. But the game just wasn’t balanced well for that. It makes it possible—and even fun—to play this game alone or with just one other friend.

I think that three- and four-player games, with humans and not bots, are still the best, but this is a tabletop addition that makes it a viable alternative when you can’t scrape together that dependable party of gamers.

VISUALS

This isn’t a print-and-play add on. It’s a production that equals the quality of the base game and it’s been brought to retail by Leder Games as a legitimate way to make Root all the better.

The box contains four faction boards, decks of cards, and one set of clearing target numbers that are used on all four available Root maps.

I would have preferred a box with a thinner profile, given how few components are in the box, but savvy gamers should be able to consolidate the game pieces if they’re wanting to get rid of the extra box.

And, of course, I can’t complain about the artwork from Kyle Ferrin. It’s delightful, as usual.

All in all, a small box, with big potential if you’re the kind of player who has been looking for something to make Root a game that can come off the shelf no matter the player count.

REPLAYABILITY

The Clockwork Expansion was designed with replay in mind. A game that felt best at four players, good with three players, and awkward with anything less is now able to take over the table with any number of players, human or bot.

Its value is relative to the player considering it. Have the perfect group for Root? Maybe you don’t need this. Wish you could play it more often? This might do the trick.

WHAT IT COULD HAVE DONE BETTER

I imagine rules errata will be released in time to address any awkward gameplay or buggy mechanics. And some of the bots run smoother than others.

But this is a massive improvement in the unofficial bot rules that have existed since Root released two years ago.

It’s not perfect. It’s not something that everything will be interested in. But it’s definitely something that improves the game overall, especially for disappointed solo gamers and the couples who can’t get a game going with more than two players.

VERDICT

Root is great, but it has limitations. Asymmetric factions and complex gameplay can make low-player counts and solo gameplay a mixed bag.

The Clockwork Expansion tries to fix that problem, and it largely does. These are the best bots in the business for Root and now players can enjoy the popular title from Leder Games on a more frequent basis.

It’s not for everyone, though. The Clockwork Expansion for the gamers who can’t get enough of the riveting wooded world and want more. Sometimes, work and play go together.