Armies of cats, birds, otters, moles, and mice scurry from clearing to clearing as war overtakes the woodland. Players play human-like animals, fighting each other for dominance of a shared map. Root is a war game staged in a Redwall–esque woodland. The Multiple Meanings of the Woodland in Root
In jockeying for rule of these games’ beautiful worlds, players become invested in these fantastical landscapes and develop a sense of shared-if hostile-engagement in these worlds. While none of his work is “green” in theme, Root and Oath both use contested landscapes to tell environmentally keen stories. From historical works like Pax Pamir and John Company-both morally gnarly games about the politics of empire-to fantasy designs like Root and Oath, his work tries to highlight and unfold the tensions between ruler and ruled. Wehrle has always been intentional about the role of politics in all of his games. In testing out games to write about, I found two, Root and Oath, both designed by academic-turned-game-designer Cole Wehrle. This entanglement would give players a sense of stakes, emotional bonds with the land that could evolve as the story moved on and players asserted themselves within the environment of the game. Rather, the games should involve the land and water in their unfolding drama. I wanted games whose boards, whose ecological maps, shaped player actions and did not portray nature as outside human history. What I was looking for was a game where the shared landscape of the board mattered beyond decoration. Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right, created by Cole Wehrle.