RootJam is back for 2024! Create a fan faction for Root within two weeks and help raise cash for Doctors Without Borders. 

Donate here: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/9484p5gBvS

Guide to Submitting: Itch.io Guide to Submit

This year's theme is.....

You Must Sacrifice!

What does it mean to sacrifice something? In Root, there are plenty of mechanics that require using up your resources that could be useful elsewhere - spending cards is the most common example. But usually, the benefit is immediate and/or easily worth the cost. Sacrificing in Root instead often takes the form of policing, stalling your engine and forcing you to spend actions and resources on slowing down the leader. 

But what other ways could we explore this? Maybe your faction has to permanently remove warriors from the game to build your engine. What about your hand size? Your crafted cards? Your imagination is the limit! Good luck!

Designers will have two weeks to design a new fan faction for Root from scratch. Then, on May 15th at 7:00 PM UTC, submissions will close and voting will begin! Members of the Woodland Warriors discord can vote on factions and leave feedback for creators directly on their submissions. The primary category for voting is creativity, with theming and mechanic/rule clarity as secondary categories.

Voting ends on May 29th, with the winners being announced on May 31st. 1st place will receive a $50 gift card to the Leder Games webstore! We’re also raising money for Doctors Without Borders. In addition to direct donations, you can also help by participating in the jam!

1. For every valid submission, I will put in $10 to the donation pool (up to $250).
2. For every faction that gets 10 or more votes, I will put in $10 to the donation pool (up to another $250, for a total of $500).

In addition, Patrick Leder of Leder Games has agreed to match my donation again this year. That means an upwards of $1000 can be donated just by participating in RootJam! Thanks again to Patrick and all of Leder Games for their support.

100% of all money raised will go to Doctors Without Borders. For more info on the charity, check out www.doctorswithoutborders.org.

Here’s the rules for creation and submission:

1. Your submission will need a player board, with the setup and component list on the back, and any tokens or buildings players may need to play. It should be in a PDF or a file format that's easy to print. A “Law of Root” rule page or TTS mod are not required, although a rule page is recommended if your faction is complex. Make sure to upload your board as a screenshot for your entry!
   
   
2. You’ll have to create a itch.io account to submit and vote! You can register here: https://itch.io/register.
   
   
3. When uploading your faction, make sure to set Pricing to “No Payments”! Submissions with either a paywall or a prompt for optional payment will be disqualified.
   
   
4. You can participate solo, or with a co-designer. Your prize will be split into two gift cards for each person. In addition, feel free to use as many playtesters as you want to help. 
   
   
5. You can choose not to have art, create your own art for your fan faction, or may use art from either Leder Games or royalty free images. You must credit any source for art that isn’t your own.
   
   
6. Submissions must be original and your own! You cannot start on your faction design before the contest starts, nor can you submit a faction created before the contest. Please do not ask me what the theme is prior to May 1st!

If you have any concerns or questions, please contact me at spshaman on Discord. Below are some links to good resources to help you create fan factions:

Vuoripeikko on the Woodland Warriors discord has created this template for fan faction creators, which just updated recently: https://www.dropbox.com/s/n2oi43e5unpmd1d/Root%20Assets.zip?dl=0

St0l3n_ID has also created some assets for fan factions: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1nWp2XZQjZXZSN4HbzDscP3gtPTEvwhIs

I’ve created a very basic guide on how to make easy print and play kits here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D-hqSnAo1JeL0nPjGAXLSvaFpYh12M98SoJC-t8GhJE/edit?usp=sharing

Fonts used on boards are Baskerville 10 Pro and Luminari.