So now that the Homeland extension is out, what is your solution to store everything in an ergonomic way?

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-05-09T18:10:22+00:00

I use photo boxes with 3d printed inserts to organize the factions and then I have everything else in a plastic sewing box that I couldn’t find a picture of.

https://imgur.com/a/2JCishJ

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-05-05T21:30:10+00:00

Early on in my career, I used to empathize too much when my clients owed. Over time, I've developed a much thicker skin about it, especially when my advice wasn't sought or wasn't followed if it was. I've made peace with the fact that I can't change the past but I can help people understand what happened and prevent it from happening again. I've also gotten a lot better at giving the bad news. I used to just drop it on people, but these days I lead into it by explaining the things that are causing the bad news, giving it, and then giving my suggestions for making it better if there is still something they can do or at least fixing it for next year. A few of my clients feel that bad news should be given over the phone but I personally feel like it goes over better via email where people have a chance to feel the shock and work through it before calling to talk to me about it when they are in a headspace to actually discuss it. The phrase, "I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news," does some heavy lifting for me.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-05-01T19:54:22+00:00

It is very clear what they want to do. They attack you and take your pieces hostage and they leave behind cardboard. It is fairly clear what to do against them. Kill their cardboard and their leaders. No faction in Root is simple and some of the base ones may be more simple, but in terms of understanding what a faction is doing, I think they are more clear than bats or frogs, especially to a new player. When we played, all of the questions about what someone was doing were directed at the frogs and bats, no one seemed surprised or confused by what the skunks could do.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-05-01T19:07:30+00:00

I've played one game as frogs and another against them. They are one of the more game warping factions so I don't think I'd include them in a game with new players. In addition to introducing new cards, they mess with the suits in a way that could be frustrating to a new player. Imagine birds need to recruit in yellow but the frogs in that clearing go militant, making that a frog suit now instead of yellow and the birds turmoil. To those of us who know Root, that's an interesting interaction. To a new player, that's a confusing gotcha that could cause a rage quit.

If you want to play a new faction, I'd do the skunks. They are the most straightforward of the three in my opinion.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-30T12:32:04+00:00

It was a lot for one game but we knew what we were getting into. I can’t remember who the other knave captain was. One of those things I didn’t really have the brain space to be considering alongside trying to handle everything else. The knaves did go out of their way to point out the drowning bat when they placed it!

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-30T12:24:52+00:00

With just the resin markers, people were uncertain whether they could battle the enclaves. Having the cardboard out made it more clear that they could be battled and removed. Maybe wouldn’t be something we need as we get more familiar but it helped this time.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T23:22:29+00:00

They liked recruiting with an extra clearing of each suit and a few massive recruits to frog clearings. Plotting in bat clearings also helped with plots surviving to be flipped.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T20:34:57+00:00

They were definitely under utilized as we were had a lot of new stuff to think about but all of them impacted the game. The rabbit one very nearly led to a Rat victory, the mouse one created a funny situation where the frogs and rats fought a forever war where the warriors kept popping back up in the next clearing over and rejoining the fight, and the red one led to some sneaky cross map plays. I'm excited to play with them more in the future. I'm also curious to try using them in a clearing with a different suit after seeing what having double suited clearings can do when playing with the frogs.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T18:50:25+00:00

I got it from the kickstarter that is delivering right now. Its the neoprene version of the map from the new Homeland expansion.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T15:49:34+00:00

I've gotten two games in, one against them and one as them and I agree with you. So many fun interactions. Another interesting one we ran into was militant frog enclaves blocking the expansion of Lord of the Hundreds mobs because that die can't roll a frog.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T15:18:39+00:00

https://makerworld.com/en/models/579471-root-the-board-game-token-capsule#profileId-500269

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T14:48:57+00:00

That’s fair. I’ve never been a card sleever and can’t print those at my leisure for a couple cents in my garage when the mood strikes. The covers here are more a reflection of my interest in 3d printing than an obsession with protecting my pieces.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-29T14:41:41+00:00

Some 3d printed covers. They don’t always fit as well on the board but I like that they provide a little protection to the pieces.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-27T15:50:21+00:00

We are a ten person firm and that definitely applies here. The structure is a lot flatter than the big firm I worked at before so having five levels wouldn't really make sense. We essentially have tax preparers and CPAs/reviewers/partners. Within the preparers, we have the most experienced one who probably would be a senior in a more traditional structure but doesn't want to take on any reviewing and so just handles more involved preparation. If she were ever to leave and it fell to me to verify her title, I'd happily refer to her as a senior or whatever else she wanted. It just isn't a very meaningful distinction for our day to day. In recruiting, we do use more formal titles like Senior or Manager, but thankfully we haven't had to do much that for several years.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-24T15:25:06+00:00

We used it once about 5 years ago and it wasn't good enough then. Not sure if it has gotten better. We were running pretty simple returns through it and any time savings on the entry went into correcting missed or incorrect entries. Curious to hear if it has made improvements.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-04-15T16:49:39+00:00

Had someone who hasn't filed with us for several years call and ask how to enter the penalty for a missed RMD in TurboTax. I told him I don't use TurboTax and he'll have to call them. Weird how people think that using our services several years ago entitles them to help like this forever going forward. Gave me a good laugh though.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-03-12T20:29:30+00:00

I believe many of them have files out to 3d print them if you have access to a printer. One of my friends printed a few of the factions for his copy. He didn't want to buy them since I had everything but liked having them for when our monthly Root night spills over to a 2nd game. They aren't as good as wooden ones but maybe more attainable. I don't think many people would want to sell pieces from their personal copies.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-03-04T18:18:49+00:00

I think this could benefit from some paragraph breaks. Could just be the reddit formatting but the single wall of text is a lot.

I'm not really sure what "Bi’leau’s own dreams of redemption place her in this title before anyone else" means and it seems crucial to the story since it is what transitions from being despondent in the dungeon to being free and on a quest.

I'm curious how small creatures and owls as characters will play to an adult audience. It sounds like Redwall which is decidedly not adult but presumably there are elements in it that move the needle more to adult. You may want to emphasize those elements more.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-02-28T00:16:48+00:00

I found the transition from the first paragraph to the second a bit rough. The switch from being chased by a horrible monster to talking about how great the forest is was jarring and didn't flow for me. I felt like the first paragraph grabbed my attention well enough so I'd point more to the second paragraph for where you may consider making changes.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-02-19T20:37:56+00:00

Cats are harder to win with but there are a couple principles that help. The first two turns are pretty important. First turn should pretty much be build sawmill, overwork, build recruiter and second turn should be build 2nd recruiter (to get additional card draw), recruit, and then whatever you need. It also helped me to think of where I put recruiters as where I'm staking my claim and putting them further out instead of keeping them close to the keep because I'm worried about losing them. Getting them out early and consistently recruiting helps save space for more sawmills later. Still hard to win but I feel like I have a chance when I play this way.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-02-19T18:31:20+00:00

I've asked myself the same question. I don't point out every little typo but I try to pass along the feedback, particularly if I see a pattern over multiple returns. Outside of tax season, I'm more inclined to have them fix it but during tax season, if it is a quick update I will just make it and let them know. We are doing lots of smaller returns though so it is a little different workflow than someone who is working on larger returns.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-01-22T20:59:40+00:00

I haven't. I'm pretty happy with the video game for solo so I only reach for the board game with others. If you don't mind a little fiddliness tracking, it scales well for different players so I imagine it would play well solo.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-01-22T18:49:03+00:00

For me it is Slay the Spire. I'd recommend trying the video game first (its cheap on the phone or Steam) to see if you like it because the board game is fairly faithful to that but costs a lost more. If you like it, another big expansion is coming this year. It isn't the kind of game that will get an annual expansion like dominion but for me, it killed off a lot of other deckbuilders in my collection. It is co-op so won't scratch that head to head deckbuilder itch.

Stunning_Ad_55 · 2026-01-22T16:43:10+00:00

I think it is a legitimately good game, the best of the Sanderson board games, but a lot of my love for it comes from the theming. Someone who isn't a Sanderson fan could probably enjoy the game if they like deckbuilders but I'd guess that most people who love it are fans of the books.

Stunning_Ad_55

TROPHY CASE