Root by Leder Games
Hacker ApprovedRanked 4 of 15 board games by recommenders
A war game with cute animal factions and subtle play that fans love. The factions are hard to master, and some players are sensitive to the game's conflict.
A war game with cute animal factions and subtle play that fans love. The factions are hard to master, and some players are sensitive to the game's conflict.
15 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 4
- approval share
- 73%
Recommended in 6 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.8 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 6 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
War game theme with subtle play
“Both have war game elements and a lot of subtle shenanigans you can play.”
Comment from 23 Apr 2026 in “Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)” “Cute critters prepare for war”
Comment from 16 Jan 2026 in “Ask HN: How can we solve the loneliness epidemic?”
Other board games people recommend
The four most recommended other board games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1D Chess | 16 | 2 | 89% | 1 | — | — |
| Tiao | 14 | 1 | 93% | 2 | — | — |
| Diplomacy board game | 12 | 1 | 92% | 3 | — | — |
| Root by Leder GamesThis page | 11 | 4 | 73% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Mastermind board game | 10 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 15 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“a REPL like CINT (nee ROOT)”
“harder to master as the factions are so different”
“Personally I love root, but there are definitely people who are a little sensitive to play it with”
“The problem we had with Arcs (and Root)”
“Both have war game elements and a lot of subtle shenanigans you can play.”
“My verification emails never showed up from Stoat or Root.”
“one of the closest alternatives in form and function for communities”
“Seemed as closed as Discord”
“It's come a long way in a short time and already has quite a bit of the features Discord has.”
“both of those have a long way to go to replace Discord”
“Cute critters prepare for war”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.