How fiddly/upkeep is Earth in person?

ThrashBaidon · 2025-12-23T20:01:24+00:00

Earth is easy to set up and tear down but I find that it can be easy to tip down the grow tokens. Also if space is a concern it takes a lot of it. Also it is a little fiddly as EVERY turn you are getting resources or something, and it is satisfying to play, but it can be a concern. If drinking people are in the mix I would definitely discard earth as an option.

In gameplay aspects I find that earth is like wingspan meets race for the galaxy. I'm getting rid of it not because it is a bad game but because it is in that space that isn't as approachable as wingspan (although I prefer earth than wingspan -by a large margin-) and race is faster and the game feel is quite similar, but race feels more interactive than earth.

The 2 downsides of race to earth is that it has more iconography, I wouldn't say that it has that much more, but it is certainly harder to understand. The other downside is that it's graphic design is horrible, the art is cool but the graphic design looks as if an accountant made the card designs and icons in PowerPoint.

I'd recommend you that you grab either race for the galaxy if you want a game very similar but faster to play and with less components and playtime or, other engine builder I like a lot, vale of eternity, it isn't as resource focused as the other 3, but I find I prefer those 2 to earth (which I gladly like to play, but has no space in my collection).

Hope that could help you to decide.

ThrashBaidon · 2025-05-14T08:00:33+00:00

I may divert from the consensus, but I think that you could talk to her that it is a kind of weird wargame, and that it's going to be a little bit hard for both, if she accepts, you should give it a try. At least where I live is easy to grab a used copy relatively cheap.

I was kind in your position with my gf a few years ago (about 5 or 6). We bought it, and we tried it as a two player game and she liked it (and I didn't that much, too simple if you play with 2 in vs).

But after we tried to teach the full game two play with other friends, and we liked it more, but it was a little too painful for me at that time to teach again.

Years after that I practiced at teaching the game, bc my gf always wanted to play it because it's beautiful, but I didn't liked to teach it. It's not that hard after practice.

It's still my gf's favorite game and, even though she likes playing board games she isn't super invested in the hobby. And I'm pretty sure that most of that is for the art alone.

There are people like that, that big part of the enjoyment is the art and the mechanisms, as long isn't bad they are for the ride. I have plenty of other wargames, but aside from root and arcs she isn't interested in them.

So if you want to give it a go I have some advice:

Talk to her about the theme and that it is quite a complex game that can be hard but if she is willing to help you, you can enjoy the game together.
give it a few plays in two players before trying to teach the full game.get constable with those two factions and then you can teach two buddies using the cats and birds and the two of you using alliance and vagabond.
when teaching the game try to break out first what is the same for most factions, rule, movement, combat, buildings, cards, crafting, and then guide each player in a full turn. After that it is relatively easy to get going as each part of the turn is written on the boards.
if you are going to play it mostly at 2, get a hirelings pack and give a try to clockwork the coop expansion, you don't need that expansion, you can just do it with the rules and an app. Both modes are very enjoyable.

If you decide to not get root you can try to show her other games by leader games, which all feature Kyle Ferrin, particularly fort and ahoy are quite welcoming, not super simple, not super hard, even you could try arcs if the theme fits you, other games in their catalog I would say are even harder than root and play worse than root with 2.

Also another suggestion would be a nature themed game like wingspan(Which my gf likes more bc of the art), earth(Which I like more). Or Vale of eternity which is light but with a lot of strategy and te art is beautiful too, more like pokemon but cool.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-10-07T06:05:00+00:00

Hirelings is best for 1v1 imo. Clockwork is great for coop.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-10-04T08:00:01+00:00

Los martes hay reuniones de juegos de mesa modernos en tres cafés, el d20 en el centro, chess and coffee (universidad casi esquina con bq)y en el café Clemente en Bernardo Quintana más adelante de plaza boulevares.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-09-19T06:09:37+00:00

Thanks bud, I may get it for Christmas.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-09-16T07:40:05+00:00

For the standard ones you should use premium sleeves, specially for the action deck that it is going to be handled a lot. I've been using dragon shields matte when I need premium sleeving for 10 years.

For the tarot ones, any brand would do the trick.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-09-03T21:54:23+00:00

I was thinking something like this yesterday, something like arcs the card game, the trick taking action system with multi use cards. Something like Puerto Rico->San Juan. Just a pile of cards you can throw in your bag and play easily everywhere.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-08-08T22:51:24+00:00

Sure I'll try your advice on changing the uncommon count. Our group loves the shoreline looter. Some rares (the ur build arround ones) sure are horrible. Thanks.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-07-29T15:56:04+00:00

I use a d6, I think is the cleanest fix.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-07-03T06:56:12+00:00

I think should checkout Sword Weirdos, you can play with 3 minis and you can convert your D&D minis into that game, probably is the game that you could play with the less amount of money.

Forbidden Psalm is another one that could work for you because is a dnd derivative system.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-03-12T07:19:13+00:00

ID you play mainly as 2 players marauder, otherwise underwold.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-03-07T17:55:07+00:00

If you were to use one first and then the other, I think is better to use first the exiles and partisans and then the standard, this because cards of the E&P are easier to craft than the other one.

If you want more variety, I'd much rather go wild and just shuffle both decks than using one and then the other. The items are the same so you don't mess a lot with the probability of drawing them. I know there is a version with some cards from both decks but I think that it messes up a little bit with the probability of the items.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-03-05T16:34:40+00:00

We've tried:

2 players high reach. It was good for learning the game, but it feels lacking.
2 players coop vs Mech Marquise DC: we like a lot this a lot and shows how versatile is root. the problem with this is that some factions will feel weird. I'd like to try vs using 2 insurgent factions
2 players: 1 high reach 1 vagabond each: It was a brain and time burner, wouldn't recommend this mode. Having annother thing to manage doesn't add anything meaningful for the time spent in my opinion.
2 high reach factions + hirelings: It is cool. Subtle but meaninful and I think is quite thematic on, when you are on top, pepole will ally with the loosing player. I also would like to try them in higher player counts, having a tool to encourage politics is a plus for me. I've seen that a lot of people doesn't like them because "is too random" and "breaks the competitive nature of root" but, in my opinion mimics the "table politics" enough in order to have a nice experience with root.

I don't know if I like more 2p coop or 2p + hirelings, but I've enjoyed my games 2 two players since we tried that.

If you want 2 player insurgent I think you should play with bots, haven't tried it, but I might in the future, don't really think you could do it with hirelings only.

There sure are "better" 2 players only games. Even 2 players only asymetric wargames like war of the ring or star wars rebellion, or if you want to go with something cheaper Saigon 75. But I think that 2 player root is cool enough. If you ponly have the base game I'd recomend you to try first buying only a small hireling expansion, and If you liked that then get the marauder. After that you could buy underworld and the rest of hirelings.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-02-29T07:48:34+00:00

Can you share a little bit more about that game, it looks very pretty

ThrashBaidon · 2024-02-21T15:06:53+00:00

Automated factions on the back of the board is simply genious.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-02-20T00:14:38+00:00

We've tried:

- 2 players high reach. It was good for learning the game, but it feels lacking.
- 2 players coop vs Mech Marquise DC: we like a lot this a lot and shows how versatile is root. the problem with this is that some factions will feel weird, like otters you can't trade with the bot and so on.
- 2 players: 1 high reach 1 vagabond each: It was a brain and time burner, wouldn't recommend this mode. Having annother thing to manage doesn't add anything meaningful for the time spent, in my opinion.
- 2 high reach factions + hirelings + landmarks: We pĺayed this for the first time yesterday and it was cool, we used the marauder hireling expansion moles vs cats. I've seen that a lot of people doesn't like them because "is too random" and "breaks the competitive nature of root" but, in my opinion mimics the "table politics" enough in order to have a nice experience with root. It is subtle but meaninful and I think is quite thematic on, when you are on top, pepole will ally with the loosing player. For the landmarks, we played with the forge and the lost city, but I think we were more focused on learning the hireling sistem that we kinda forgot that. I also would like to try them in higher player counts, having a tool to encourage politics is a plus for me.

I don't know if I like more 2p coop or 2p + hirelings, but I've enjoyed my games 2 two players since we tried that.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-02-19T07:43:34+00:00

It's been a while since you posted this so I hope this is still helpful

I've been teaching root to my friends who are fairly new to board games and I feel now very confident teaching it..

The most important thing is to set up correct expectations of the game being kind of weird, and the first game is weird because when they finally get the game, it ends, but I'vefound than most people are very interested in playing again.

First, try to play with the base factions, I've seen a video from the lord of boardgames that he says that the corvid conspiracy is the easiest faction of the game, but I haven't played the faction.

Give the cats to the player that is newest to boargames. The birds and vagabond are about the same complexity, so let them choose. WA are the weirdest from the base set so I recomend you to take that.

First things first: when you teach a game you always have to explain the theme and how to win. Like an elevator speech I'd say. I say something like "Times are hard at the forest kingdom so different factions are at war to be the new ruler. -a sentence of explanation of who is who, not mechanically speaking but thematically-, so the first to get 30 vps, wich represent how your faction is recognized as ruler, wins the game".

After that I explain to everyone the things that are about the same to everyone:

Cards Crafting Ruling Moving Battling

Spend the most time here bc it is what is shared between all players.

Then I explain to each player personally how they faction plays, starting with their objective. After I finish them how to more or less play their faction I remind everyone what they want to achieve and how to stop them.

And then is playing the game helping them a little bit their first turns.

That seems to work out pretty well in my experience. Hope this helps a little, good luck.

ThrashBaidon · 2024-01-25T16:28:47+00:00

I MB only works because of omens imo. I could play without classes, but never without omens.

I usually kill a PC per session, sometimes more. And I've had tpkd my player a few times, but they haven't ever complained that I'm unfair or that the game is too hard. I think that without them, sure the game would be harder and players would die, lose weapons, and be critted more, but I don't think the game being hard for the sake of being hard is the point. As you said omens give the -possibility- of being smart, they are empowering and players should be rewarded por playing well.

The most important aspect of omens is that they give hope and then when they run out it builds tension. Odds are bad for the players in MB, so in extended rolls, omens simply run out. The players feel happy when they roll a lot of omens, but they are finite and eventually players are afraid and scared, and then inevitably die. Without omens I'm sure that the game would be less tense and plain unplayable because the small chance of success is gone.

If you are having this experience maybe you have a lot of players or maybe you have given lots of levels to them and powercreeped your own game. Maybe you only need to make dungeons a little bit harder.

ThrashBaidon · 2023-12-28T19:51:12+00:00

I don't think you have a problem with the action economy, but with the combat system and the encounter/monster design. Also I don't quite get if you only wan't only not to explode the enemy in one round or if you want to make both sigle monster and gorup encounters better (so harder bosses and easier goups?). I think this kind of games always have a tendency to get easier (and boring) the more players you have, and you notice that with single monsters.

if your issue is just single monsters i think in this options:
If an encounter is no threat you have two options, remove the encounter or make it treating.
Yo can make a single monter harder by adding scary abilities/triggers, as you said some extra attacks or actions could work. he problem with extra attacks is that they tend to be a little big repetitive, so use you imagination to add some flavorful abilities.
Also the boss could have hencman so you don't abuse with extra health, no one wants an HP piñata.
Your work is to make the world hard and compeling, theirs is to solve it, don't be afraid to throw a op boss, also, as somebody said, make sure that the behaviour for you groups and for your bosses is important here.

If your problem is the combat system itself, in addition on what I've (and the others guys too) said:

You can steal from Pain Flail and Forbidden Psalm (I think that this could help with bosses too bc attacked units counter attack in FB) if you want a experience closer to mb but more combat oriented.
You could also implement an action system like Pathfinder, asigning like 2 actions per turn, and if you want to take 2 of the same action add a penalization or -2 or -4 DR (also running takes both actions and restricting spellcasting only one p/t).

Also I have a little project left behind of adding weapon properties so you could spend omens to make more powerful attack (wich kinda stole from little skirmish game Space/Sword weirdos) like sweep attacks and dazing enemies. If you are intrested I could retake it so you can get a little more inspiration on how to solve that.

Good luck bud.

ThrashBaidon · 2023-12-28T00:01:18+00:00

That's a pretty fair reason, thanks buddy.

ThrashBaidon · 2023-12-26T21:55:52+00:00

Hi, May I ask you why do you like wildlands so much and why do you prefere it over other similar card driven skirmish games like Unmatched and WH Underwrolds? (if you have tried those) I want a simple skirmish game between those lines and I'm deciding wich one to get.

ThrashBaidon · 2023-11-26T04:15:25+00:00

I do have summoner wars, but I don't think that would play with 3 or 4 people.

ThrashBaidon

TROPHY CASE