SPALDING WARGAMING CLUB
It's not hard to see why: the woodland setting, Richard Scarry-style art and wooden animal meeples are all simply adorbs!
The gameplay is innovative too, because Root is completely asymmetric. What I mean is, each of the factions has its own mechanics and victory pathways that are so different you're all practically playing a different game, yet they all interact so artfully that you have to pay close attention to what everyone else is up to.
Battling for control of the forest you have the Marquise de Cat (mar-keez, she's a lady) and her army of feline goons who are building workshops and sawmills everywhere. Yeah, she symbolises laissez-faire capitalism. In the opposite corner, the Eyrie are the crumbling aristocracy of birds who must follow the strict order of their every-complicating Decree every turn or collapse in disorder. Exploiting the tension, the Woodland Alliance generate Sympathy for the oppressed workers and stage dramatic Revolts, fielding small armies of guerilla combatants. Meanwhile, the individualistic Vagabond slips through the ranks, going on Quests and trading with all and sundry.
A fantastic expansion takes the player count up to six, adding in the Riverside Company (more capitalists) and the Lizard Cult (peaceful dragon-worshippers who radicalise if you martyr their true believers). Each faction needs a very different strategy and alters the balance of the game if they're taking part.
Root isn't a perfect game. The factions aren't all equal: it's hard to win as the Marquise and almost impossible as the Lizard Cult whereas the Vagabond and Alliance win all the time unless other players unite against them. It can devolve into 'beat the leader' when someone breaks ahead of the pack, with victory going to the person who emerges from the fracas the strongest. But it's a game unlike any other at the moment and it leaves you talking about it, replaying your choices in your mind and determined to play again because, next time, dammit....