Root

To set up the Marquise de Cat faction, first place 25 red warrior tokens and 8 wood tokens on the main game board according to the setup instructions for the chosen scenario. Next, take the Marquise de Cat player board and place 6 Sawmill tokens, 6 Workshop tokens, and 6 Recruiter tokens onto their designated spaces in the 'Buildings' section. Place the Keep token in one corner of the map, and then deploy 11 red warrior tokens onto the board, ensuring they are placed symmetrically or nearly symmetrically around the Keep, avoiding the Keep's clearing itself. Finally, place three starting building tokens (one Sawmill, one Workshop, and one Recruiter) from the 'Buildings' section onto clearings adjacent to the Keep, as indicated by the rulebook.

The Marquise de Cat's primary objective is to establish and expand a powerful industrial and military empire throughout the forest. She scores victory points by constructing various buildings: Sawmills, Workshops, and Recruiters. The more buildings of a specific type she has on the game board, the more victory points she earns each time she builds another of that same type. Her ultimate goal is to reach 30 victory points or achieve a dominance victory by controlling specific clearings, solidifying her control over the woodland.

A turn for the Marquise de Cat is divided into three phases: Birdsong, Daylight, and Evening. During Birdsong, she places one wood token on each Sawmill she controls. In the Daylight phase, she can perform up to three actions, which can be combined or performed in any order. These actions include Crafting (using Workshops to create items from cards), Battling (attacking enemy forces in clearings she occupies), Marching (moving her warriors across the board), Recruiting (placing new warriors on Recruiters), and Building (constructing new structures in clearings she rules). The Overworked action allows her to discard a bird card to place one wood at a Sawmill in a matching clearing. Finally, during the Evening phase, she draws one card, plus one additional card for each 'Draw Bonus' icon revealed on her player board, and then discards cards until she has a maximum of five in her hand.

The Marquise de Cat scores victory points primarily through building. Each time she constructs a Sawmill, Workshop, or Recruiter, she immediately gains victory points. The number of points awarded for building a specific type of structure increases with the number of existing buildings of that same type already present on the game board. For example, building the first Sawmill might yield 1 point, while building the fourth Sawmill could yield 4 points. This incentivizes her to specialize and expand her infrastructure efficiently.

The game concludes when any player, including the Marquise de Cat, reaches 30 victory points at the end of their turn. Alternatively, a player can achieve a dominance victory by fulfilling the conditions of a Dominance card, which typically involves controlling specific clearings. If the Marquise de Cat reaches 30 points, she wins immediately. If another faction reaches 30 points, the Marquise de Cat's turn continues until its end, and if she also reaches 30 points or more, the player with the highest score wins. If a Dominance victory is declared, the player who meets its conditions wins.