Victory for the Vagabond (Root)

I’ve taught probably over a dozen people how to play...

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I hate to be a broken record of every other person who talks about the Vagabond, but it really is the case that getting nothing from hitting the Vagabond is a problem. With the exception of maybe the birds, you're using some large percentage of your actions and you might as well just race the Vagabond instead of taking on such a big cost.

I do think it puts the Vagabond in a unique position of, "someone who might not otherwise enjoy playing Root might enjoy playing the Vagabond."

But I haven't entirely decided if that's a good or a bad thing. As I mentioned, it doesn't really give someone a firm foundation to play future non-Vagabond games of Root.

On the other hand, playing as the Cats or Birds puts you right in the thick of it. If you've got other experienced players at the table, it might be a tall order for that newbie to win, or even feel like he has a decent shot at it. As the Cats, you feel like everyone is attacking you, and you go from feeling like you have all kinds of options to feeling quite constrained.

I guess, playing devil's advocate, you can watch a game unfold from the pseudo sidelines which might increase your comfort level? I tend to agree with you.