Better Bot Project v5

What is this?
The “Better Bot Project” aims to provide playable
bots for all factions and modes (competitive,
cooperative, solo) in Root. Bots that take quick
and simple turns while simulating the behaviour
and impact of the various factions.
This is the rulebook and reference for the bots.
PS: Thanks to Leder Games for the amazing game!

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Game Modes
Competitive
When playing with other players you can freely add any number of bots to replace unused
factions. There are no changes to the gameplay.

Cooperative Bots as team

Select one or more bots to battle. If any of the bots
reaches 30 points before all players do, the bots win.
When facing off against multiple bots they don’t
consider each other hostile and therefore only attack the
human players.
Solo
You can play both competitive against multiple bots that
will attack each other, as well as face of against a single
bot, or even multiple bots as team (if you dare). Multiple
bots that don’t consider each other as hostile are very
challenging if not impossible to beat.
When bots don’t consider each
other hostile, they will not battle
each other, they won’t count the
other bots’ pieces as “enemy pieces”
when prioritizing clearings, and
when targeting players (e.g. highest
score) will ignore other bots.
There is no immunity though as
each bot will strife to maximize
their score. Effects like “Revolt”
from Automated Alliance might still
end up removing pieces of an ally.

Setup
How to setup
The setup is identical to the standard game of Root in all aspects. Select your faction(s) and
the faction(s) for the bots. Follow the setup instructions and orders on the player boards.
Each bot has a dedicated player board with step by step instructions for individual setup.
The instructions are similar but different to the player factions. Make sure to read them!
The Spy cards from the Solo Mode (Riverfolk expansion) have no effect and are not used.
There are alternative Spy cards that can be used in all game modes as variant.
The Dominance cards have no effect in solo and cooperative mode. In competitive mode
with at least 2 players they can be used, but the bots will not utilize them. They can be left
in the deck and utilized for their suit only for convenience.
There are alternative Dominance cards that can be used in all game modes as variant.

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Variants
Difficulty settings
There are four levels of difficulty: Easy, Default, Challenging, Nightmare.
The default difficulty is a good starting point for your first game and you can then adjust
the difficulty as needed. If you haven’t played many games of Root yet, you might want to
switch to easy difficulty after the first game. Each bot has 3 Difficulty cards (Easy,
Challenging, Nightmare) and only one card can be used at a time.
In addition to this each bot has 4 Trait cards. Traits increase the difficulty by modifying
how the bots work making them more complex, but also adding more variation and replay
value. You can use as many Trait cards at the same time as you like, but 1 or 2 at a time
should be sufficient. You can also combine Trait cards with Difficulty cards. For the
ultimate challenge you can face a Nightmare bot with all 4 Traits active.

Ambush Cards (reduced difficulty)

Ignore the “Hates Surprises” ability bots have. You may play
Ambush cards against bots when attacked. This will reduce the
difficulty as the bots will still not use Ambush cards.

Spy Cards (reduced difficulty)

Shuffle the Spy Cards into the deck at the beginning of the
game. Spy cards can be discarded from your hand to prevent a
bot from crafting an item on a card with a matching suit. They
can also be played on your turn against a bot. The next time
this bot has to reveal or draw a card, this card is used instead. If
you use the Spy card this way, you draw an additional card at
the end of your turn.

Dominance Cards (increased difficulty)

Remove the standard Dominance Cards in the deck and shuffle
the new ones in.
Whenever a Dominance Card enters the discard pile place it
next to the board instead. Players cannot interact with the
Dominance Cards. If a bot ever fulfils the victory condition of
any of the Dominance Cards the bot immediately wins the game
and all players lose the game.
The cards can be used in competitive mode with multiple players.

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Gameplay
Clearing priority
Each clearing has a number assigned (see maps on the right). 1 is
the highest priority, 12 is the lowest priority. Generally, the bots
will break ties by highest clearing priority unless mentioned
otherwise.
If you have to take multiple actions that may have different
outcomes based on the order in which they are taken, take them
in order of highest to lowest priority. An example would be
moving from two connected clearings. The bot could move from
clearing A to clearing B and then from clearing B to clearing C,
ending up with most warriors in clearing C. However, if the bot
moves from clearing B to clearing C first, and then from clearing
A to clearing B, there will be less warriors in clearing C.
If you ever have multiple options for which clearing a bots action
selects and you can’t figure out how to decide, you can pick the highest priority (lower
number) to continue the game.

Opponent priority
When a bot targets an opponent, it may refer to setup order. This is the final tie-breaker to
decide between two opponents that both fulfil all other conditions to be the target of an
action. The setup order is printed on the back of all player boards. A is highest priority.
A. Marquise de Cat / Mechanical Marquise 2.0
B. The Eyrie / Electric Eyrie
C. Woodland Alliance / Automated Alliance
D. Vagabond / Robot Raccoon
E. Vagabond #2 / Robot Raccoon #2
F. Lizard Cult / Clockwork Cult
G. Riverfolk Company / Otter Overlords

Token priority
When bots are attacked and have to assign hits, they always assign to warriors first, then to
non-building tokens, then to buildings. For example, of the Automated Alliance has a
warrior, a sympathy token and a base in a clearing and is dealt 2 hits, it will remove the
warrior and the sympathy token. If there are multiple buildings in the same clearing, choose
one at random.

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Playing against the Mechanical Marquise 2.0
Overview Changes to the official bot
Each turn a single order card is drawn that decides The key differences to the official
which clearings the MM2.0 acts in. If a bird card is Mechanical Marquise are:
drawn then each action is slightly modified.
❖ The bot doesn’t start with
Example Turn items for sale but crafts them
during the game.
In Birdsong you reveal the top ❖ Scoring depends on buildings
card of the deck. This is now the placed instead of warriors in a
order card which defines the clearing.
❖ There is no Schedule of Orders
behaviour of the bot. In this
(row of 5 cards).
example it’s the fox card for Root
❖ When pushed back too much
Tea on the right. the Escalate action will kick in
Given that the card shows an available item, gain the and provide double turns
item (Root Tea) and 1 VP (even though the card making it difficult to keep the
MM2.0 down.
shows 2 VP). Do not discard the card.
In Daylight start by battling in all clearings matching the order card, in this case Fox
clearings. If the order or battles would matter for any reason, battle in order of clearing
priority (first 1, then 2, … with 12 last). The defender is the opponent with the most pieces,
if tied the higher score and if tied then it’s setup order printed on the back of the player
boards (B before C)
Then recruit 4 warriors spread out evenly across all clearings matching the order card that
you rule, in this case Fox clearings. If you don’t control 4 Fox clearings, prioritize the
remaining warriors by most enemy pieces and then clearing priority. If you control 3 Fox
clearings, then you recruit 1 warrior in each fox clearing and the last one is placed into the
clearing with the most enemy pieces. If there is a tie for most enemy pieces, then pick the
highest priority clearing for the 4th. If you rule only a single for clearing, then place all 4
warriors into it.
If you rule no Fox clearings or there are not enough warriors in your supply, gain 1 VP for
every 2 warriors that could not be recruited.
Next, build a matching building – in this case a Sawmill – and place it into the clearing with
the highest number of your warriors, and if tied higher clearing priority. Note that this does
not need to be a Fox clearing.
Move any warriors in excess of 3 from Fox clearings. Move the warriors into adjacent
clearings with most enemy pieces, and if tied higher clearing priority.
Finally, check for Escalate. If no Sawmill could be placed (due to no available free slots) and
there are less than 4 Sawmills on the board, you trigger escalate. Reveal a new order card to
replace the Fox Root Tea card and repeat Daylight in in full.
In the Evening you score 1 VP per Sawmill on the board – or based on the new order card
in case of Escalate. Then discard the order card.

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What to watch out for
When a bird card is revealed as an order card, then the actions are slightly different and
more powerful.
❖ Battle is declared in all regions.
❖ Recruit places 2 warriors into each of the 2 clearings with the lowest priority.
❖ Move works the same; but after moving all pieces also battle in all clearings into
which you moved.
In addition to that the following rules are easily missed:
❖ When the bot crafts a card, it ignores the VP value on the card and always scores 1.
❖ Only Escalate if there are less than 4 building of the matching type on the board.
❖ Buildings are placed into any clearing, disregarding the order card.

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Playing against the Automated Alliance
Overview Changes to Woodland Alliance
The Automated Alliance will place either 2-3 Both Outrage and Guerrilla War
sympathy tokens or a base and a sympathy token have been replaced by the following:
each turn. Both Outrage and Guerrilla War have
❖ Automated Ambush
been changed and work slightly different.
In battle as defender with at
least one warrior, deal +1
Example Turn Extra Hit.
In Birdsong you reveal the top ❖ Automated Outrage
When a human player
card of the deck. This is now the
removes sympathy or moves
order card which defines the any warriors into a
behaviour of the bot. In this sympathetic clearing, that
example it’s the fox card for Root player must discard a
Tea on the right. matching card from his
hand. Gain 1 VP if they
Given that the card shows an available item, gain the
can't.
item (Root Tea) and 1 VP (even though the card
shows 2 VP). Do not discard the card.
Then attempt to Revolt. If the Fox base matching the order card is not in play (still on the
faction board), and there is at least one Fox clearing with a sympathy token a revolt takes
place. Revolt in the clearing with the most enemy pieces, breaking ties by highest priority
order (1 first, 12 last). Remove all enemy pieces in the clearing and place the base.
If you can’t revolt for any reason, instead place sympathy once or twice. This is decided by
the sympathy track: If 4 or less sympathy tokens have been placed so far, place 2 sympathy
tokens. If there are 5 or more sympathy already on the board, only place sympathy once.
For details on how to place sympathy see Daylight.
In Daylight place one sympathy. Take the left-most sympathy token from the track and
score the points shown beneath it. The clearing to place the token in is decided as follows: If
there is a clearing adjacent to a clearing with a sympathy token matching the order card,
place in the matching clearing. Multiple options are decided by first prioritizing clearings
without 3 warriors of a single opponent, then highest clearing priority (1 before 12). If there
is no adjacent matching clearing, then place in the highest priority clearing with the highest
priority, again avoiding clearings with 3 or more warriors of a single opponent if possible.
This means on the first turn with he Root Tea order card above, the bot will place 3
sympathy in the clearings 1, 5, and 2. It will start by matching clearing priority (1, 6, 8, 12)
and pick the one with the highest priority (1), then there is no adjacent fox clearing so it
will go by highest priority (5, then 2). If the keep is in clearing one it would change to 6, 2,
and 5.If there is no sympathy left on the track, the bot will score 5 VP each time it has to
place sympathy.
In the Evening check all bases in play to see if they organise. If any base has 3 warrior,
remove the warriors and place sympathy once more. Then recruit a warrior in each base and
discard the order card.

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What to watch out for
When a bird card is revealed as an order card, then the actions are slightly different and
more powerful.
❖ Revolt happens at the end of Daylight instead of in Birdsong
❖ When placing the base, pick the clearing with most enemy pieces for which a base is
still available to be placed.
❖ Place Sympathy places sympathy tokens into the lowest priority clearing adjacent
to a clearing with sympathy. There’s no other condition.
In addition to that the following rules are easily missed:
❖ The Vagabond is not a warrior and does not trigger Automated Outrage
❖ Automated Outrage is not triggered by other bots
❖ Sympathy is always placed! Matching clearings are prioritized, but sympathy can be
placed in any clearing.
❖ Always double check if 1 or 2 sympathy tokens are placed if base can’t be placed
during Revolt

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Playing against the Electric Eyrie
Overview
The decree is sorted by suit and not by action. Each turn a single card is added into the
matching column in the decree, then the decree is resolved. If no roost can be placed, then
the Electric Eyrie goes into Turmoil.

Example Turn
In Birdsong you reveal the top card of the deck. In this example it’s the
fox card for Root Tea on the right. Add it to your decree into the
matching column, in this case the Fox card column.
Given that the card shows an available item, gain the item (Root Tea)
and 1 VP (even though the card shows 2 VP). Do not discard the card.
In case there are no roosts on the board place a roost and 4 warriors into
the highest priority matching clearing, Fox in this case.
In Daylight resolve the decree left to right for each action. For each column with at least
one card you will take actions. In this example this will be the Fox column containing the
Root Tea card, and the Bird column containing both Viziers.
During recruit for the Fox column, place one warrior into a Fox clearing with a roost. If
there are multiple options break the tie by most enemy pieces, then by least of your warriors
and finally by lowest priority (12 before 1). If there is no roost in a Fox clearing, don’t place
any warriors.
For the Bird column, place two warriors into any clearing with a roost. Ties are broken the
same way.
During move for the Fox column, find the Fox clearing with the most of your warriors
(breaking tie by lowest clearing priority). Move all warriors from the clearing, but leave
behind enough to rule the clearing and a minimum equal to the cards in the matching
column. So, if there are no enemy pieces in the Fox clearing with the most warriors, move
all but 1 warrior (1 card in Fox column). The destination for the move is an adjacent
clearing prioritized as follows: First consider clearings with no roosts, then least enemy
pieces, then lowest clearing priority (12 before 1).
For the bird column find the clearing with the most of your warriors, which could be a
clearing in which you just moved with the move for the Fox column. Given that there’s 2
cards in the column, you would leave a minimum of 2 warriors behind.
During the battle action battle in matching clearings. Prioritize targets as follows:
Clearings with no roosts before other clearings, then any defenceless buildings, and then
lowest clearing priority (12 before 1). The columns with the most cards (could be shared
between multiple columns) deal an Extra Hit in battle. In our example this would be the
battle for the bird column.
After resolving the decree see if a roost can be placed. The bot has to rule a clearing with a
free building slot and without a roost to place one. Place in the highest priority clearing.

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In the evening start by going into Turmoil if no roost was built this turn. If so, discard all
cards in the decree (keeping the Viziers) and lose 1 VP for each bird card in the decree (a
minimum of 2 for both Viziers).
Then score 1 VP for each roost in play.

What to watch out for

The following rules are easily missed:
❖ All actions but Build use lowest clearing priority instead of highest priority for
selecting clearings.
❖ Viziers aren’t discarded during Turmoil, but VP are lost for Viziers.
❖ When moving from the clearing with the most warriors, you may end up moving no
warriors. In this case the move action for the suit has no effect.

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Playing against the Robot Raccoon
Overview Combat Track

Each turn a single order card is drawn that decides Given that all items are wildcards
which actions the Vagabond bot takes. Unlike a without specific functions, the bot
human player, the bot doesn’t track relationships. has a different way of tracking how
Robot Raccoon don’t care. The bot will mercilessly many Hits can be rolled in battle.
focus on the player with the highest score acting as a Items placed into the Combat Track
balancing force. The bot also treats all items as aren’t available to exhaust for
wildcards, thus they can all be exhausted for all actions.
actions.
❖ Starting Value
Example Turn A maximum of 1 Hit in
battle.
In Birdsong you reveal the top ❖ 6th Item
card of the deck. This is now the The 6th total item is placed
order card which defines the into the Combat Track
increases the maximum Hits
behaviour of the bot. In this
in battle to 2.
example it’s the bird card Arms
❖ 9th Item
Trader on the right. The 9th total item is placed
Given that the card shows an available item, attempt into the Combat Track
increases the maximum Hits
to craft it. If the bot has at least 1 item that can be
in battle to 3.
exhausted, gain the item (Sword) and 1 VP (even
❖ 12th Item
though the card shows 2 VP). Do not discard the The 12th total item is placed
card. into the Combat Track
If the bot has 2 or less undamaged items, it slips into grants 1 Extra Hit when
attacking.
the forest with the highest priority (A before B) and
skips Daylight.
In Daylight follow the Path of actions to the right based on the order card. In this case
(bird) it will be: Explore, Quest, Aid, Battle. Skip actions that can’t be completed in full.
To explore calculate the cost to move to the closest ruins (break ties with highest clearing
priority) and exploring them. The cost is 1 per move (0 if no move needed) and 1 to explore.
If there are enough available items to pay for the action, exhaust the items, move to the
clearing and gain the item from the ruins. Note that if playing with a second Vagabond that
no effort is made to take half the items: The bot will happily take all 8 items and e.g. both
hammers straight away if the second Vagabond is too slow.
To quest calculate the cost to move to the closest clearing matching the active quest card
and to complete the quest. The cost is 1 per move (0 if no move needed) and 2 to complete
the quest. If there are enough available items to pay for the action, exhaust the items, move
to the clearing and gain 2 VP. Then discard the active quest card and draw a replacement.
The Aid action comes in two parts. First, exhaust items to trade for all available items from
opponents with pieces in the clearing. Given that the bot gains an item each time it trades, a
single unexhausted item can be used to trade for all available items. Player opponents draw

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a card from the deck for each item traded, while bot opponents gain 1 VP per item. The
Robot Raccoon also gains 1 VP per item traded.
Second, if the player with the lowest VP has a piece in the clearing, that player draws a card
(potentially after already being traded) for items or that bot gains 1 VP. In this case the
Robot Raccoon gains 1 VP as well.
To battle calculate the cost to move to the closest clearing with the player with the highest
score (tie broken by setup order). The cost is 1 per move (0 if no move needed) and 1 to
battle. If there are multiple closest clearings pick the one with the most building tokens, and
if still tied then least warriors, then highest clearing priority. For each piece of your
opponent that you remove as Attacker, gain 1 VP.
Whenever the battle action is taken, repeat it as many times as possible but increase the cost
to battle to 2.
In the Evening rest by refreshing 4 items and if there are no damaged items refresh an
additional 2 items. Then repair (and refresh) 1 item, or all items if the bot is in the forest.
Then discard the order card.

What to watch out for

The following rules are easily missed:
❖ Special abilities on the character cards are only used when the action “Special” is
used!
❖ Each time an item is gained via Craft or Aid, count the total number of items to
ensure the Combat Track is kept up to date.
❖ You gain 1 VP per piece removed in battle as Attacker, but not as Defender.

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Playing against the Clockwork Cult
Overview Outcast Pile

The actions of the Clockwork Cult are defined by the The Clockwork Cult has an
Outcast Pile instead of by an order card. Players can Outcast Pile replacing both the
control the future actions of the bot by strategically Lost Souls pile as well as the
playing and discarding cards. concept of the Outcast suit. If
any opponent discards a card it
Example Turn goes into the Outcast Pile up to
the maximum (default: 4). Any
In Birdsong start by performing conspiracies. If
cards beyond the maximum are
there’s at least one Acolyte perform Crusade and
normally discarded. It is
spend 1 Acolyte to battle. Battle in the clearing
important to keep the order of
where the Cult has the most warriors and at there is
cards in the Outcast Pile as the
at least 1 enemy building. If there’s an equal number
oldest card is discarded each
of warriors break the tie by higher clearing priority
turn.
(1 before 12). Target opponent is the opponent with
the most buildings, and if tied by setup order (A
before B).
Afterwards if there’s at least 3 Acolytes perform Sanctify and spend 3 Acolytes. The target
opponent is the opponent with the most victory points that also has at least 1 building in
play. Select the clearing where the opponent has the least warriors, breaking ties in favour
of highest clearing priority (1 before 12). Remove a building of that player and place a
matching garden in the clearing.
Finally, for every two left-over Acolytes, spend 2 Acolytes and take the Convert action
once. The target opponent is the opponent with the most victory points that also has at
least 1 warrior in play. Select the clearing where the opponent has the most warriors,
breaking ties in favour of highest clearing priority (1 before 12). Remove an opponent’s
warrior in the clearing and place one of your warriors in the clearing. Skip Convert actions
if you do not have any warriors in your supply.
In Daylight flip the Outcast pile face-up, then resolve each card in order (oldest to newest).
For each mouse, bunny and fox card recruit a warrior in a matching clearing. The target
clearing should have a free building slot. If there is none, select the clearing with the most
enemy buildings, breaking ties by clearing priority (1 before 12). If the Cult has control of
the clearing after placing the warrior, also add a matching garden to the clearing.
Then return the card face-down to the Outcast Pile.
For each bird card move one of the bot’s warriors from a clearing to the Acolyte box. Select
the clearing with the most of its warriors, breaking ties by clearing priority (1 before 12).
Then discard the bird card.
In the Evening score points equal to the suit with the most gardens in play plus 1. If there’s
no gardens in play then no points are scored.
If there is the maximum number of cards in the Outcast Pile (i.e. 4/4), then discard the
oldest card in the Outcast Pile and if it shows an available item craft it for 1 VP.

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What to watch out for
The following rules are easily missed:
❖ If there’s no gardens in play the bot scores 0 VP.

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Playing against the Otter Overlords
Overview The Market

Most of the gameplay of the Otter Overlords takes The Otter Overlords have a row
places outside their turn. Both human and other bot of 4 cards visible to all players in
players will have to buy their services to gain an front of them. Those cards can be
advantage. bought by other players.

Example Turn The order of cards has to be

maintained and cannot be
In Birdsong start by discarding the left-most card in changed.
the market. Then restock the market adding cards to
the right until there are 4 cards in the market. The right-most card in
the market is the order card for this turn and defines the actions. In
this example it’s the fox card for Root Tea on the right.
Given that the card shows an available item, gain the item (Root Tea)
and 1 VP (even though the card shows 2 VP). Do not discard the card.
In Daylight start by placing a fox trading post (if available) into the
highest priority (1 before 12) fox clearing without a trading post.
Then recruit 1 warrior into each fox clearing that either contains one of the bot’s pieces or
is adjacent to one of the bot’s pieces. So, if there is a warrior in clearing 7, you recruit in
clearing 8. For this purpose, rivers connect clearings as if they were paths.
Do not place a 3rd warrior into clearings that already have 2 warriors!
If you recruited 2 or less warriors this turn also battle in all fox clearings. Target opponent
is decided by most pieces in the clearing, then highest score, and finally setup order (A
before B).
In the Evening count the warriors in your payments box. For every set of warriors equal to
the number of opponents gain 1 VP. For example, if it is a 3 player game with 2 opponents
an there are 5 warriors in the payments box, score 2 VP (2 sets of 2 warriors and 1 left
over). Then return all warriors back to their owners.

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What to watch out for
Most of the Otter Overlords gameplay happens outside their turn:
❖ Each time a player doesn’t buy any of their services on their turn, move the marker
on the export track one step to the right and the Otters immediately score the points
now covered by the marker.
❖ Whenever a trade post is removed also reduce the export track by 1 step; but don’t
score any points.
❖ Whenever services are bought, the cost is paid in warriors to the payments box.
Services can’t be bought if there aren’t enough warriors available.
❖ The cost of service depends on the score of the buyer. 0 to 9 has a cost of 2, 10 to 19
a cost of 3, and 20 or more a cost of 4.
❖ All bots have a card that indicates when they buy services. These cards are also used
when a human plays the Otters. In this case the human player also gets a card that
indicates of how bots pay for services.
❖ Players can only buy services equal to 1 plus the number of trade posts in clearings
in which they have a piece.
❖ Bots can buy any number of services without limitations.

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