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UrbanRootsPlay

UrbanRoots

Punch blocks, dig for ores, grow trees and build a world with your friends.

UrbanRoots is a free 2D multiplayer pixel-art sandbox. Play it in your browser on desktop or phone, or get the app for Windows, macOS, Linux or Android.

Play freeGet the apps

FreeDesktop & phoneOpen alpha

Gameplay: a player in a hard hat harvests trees next to friends in a pixel-art world at dusk.

What's new

The latest update, and what changed in the game since.

Update 9: Wild Lands. Five worlds side by side, each in its own land and sky: Mira by the food trees in a green Meadow, Kairo by a Snow Brick wall and Aurora Ice in a snowy Frostland, Kira by Adobe Brick and Mirage Glass in the sandy Dunes, Leo by graffiti walls and Neon Skyline in an Overgrown City at neon night, and Zoe by Root Brick, ferns and Glow Roots in a Mossy Hollow, beside Aurora Ice, Neon Skyline and a Heartfruit.

Update 9: Wild Lands

  • New worlds come in five lands, each with its own sky
  • Snow, sand, old streets and moss: blocks found only there
  • 16 new blocks to splice from them, Uncommon to Epic
  • Food trees: the Rootberry, the Sap Apple and the Heartfruit

Latest changes

  • Breaking the blocks from your harvests drops Lox far more often: Common blocks 1 time in 4 (was 1 in 50), Uncommon about 1 in 3 (was 1 in 20), Rare 30% for 1-3 Lox, Epic 50% for 3-8 and Legendary 75% for 10-30. The extra rare finds from mining that came out on 18 Oct are back to how they were
  • Fern, Dusty and Bea each have 15 chapters now, up from 5: ten more each from level 23 to 50, with the new crops, the Wild Lands and the vaults' monsters and bosses, Legend Shards and keys among the rewards, and four new titles: Harvest Sage, Stoneheart, Grand Architect and Hero of the Valley
  • The Crystal Block is just its crystals now, with no square behind them, and the Bronze and Moon Sickles look like sickles in your hand: a curved blade with a bright edge on a wooden handle
  • On phones, an item's "More on the wiki" asks before it leaves the game, and coming back to the game no longer leaves it frozen: it reconnects within a few seconds, and taps made meanwhile don't go through later
  • The Wooden Pickaxe now gives +10% seeds when you break blocks, down from +25%. A Rare farm still grows with it, just more slowly
  • Anyone can pick up anything lying on the ground, at once, in any world, locked or not: the Lox from a harvest or a mined block, the blocks and seeds, and rare finds too. The lock's "Only builders pick up drops" setting is gone
Every update and change

What you can do

Every world is shared: build, dig, farm and trade side by side with the other players in it.

Make a world

Type a name to create a world, or visit someone else's. Run, jump and explore, chat with whoever is around, and turn it into whatever you like.

Players in a world called Rootsville: one wears a crown next to a gold World Lock, another stands among fruit trees and flower beds.

Trade safely

Swap blocks, seeds, hats and Lox with other players. Both of you accept, then both confirm, and the server checks every trade.

The trade window: both players have accepted an offer of blocks, seeds and 500 Lox and are about to confirm.

Level up daily

Levels 1 to 100 with rewards along the way, plus 56 achievements (the hardest give a title to show under your name), daily quests, a login streak and a leaderboard to climb.

The achievements panel: 16 of 21 unlocked, each with Lox and XP rewards.

  • Break and build

    Punch blocks to break them, collect the drops and build whatever you like.

  • Dig deep

    Copper, Crystal and Lox Ore hide in the Hard Rock far below the surface.

  • Rare finds

    Gems, fossils, relics and hats from Uncommon to Legendary. When someone finds a Legendary, the whole server hears about it.

  • Fruit trees growing on flower beds, next to a player in a wizard hat.

    Farm and splice

    Plant seeds, grow trees, and combine two seeds to discover new blocks.

  • Gear up

    Better pickaxes bring more seeds, more Lox and better finds. Dress up with hats, outfits, capes and wings, and bring a pet along.

  • Protect your builds

    Place a World Lock and choose who else may build there.

Update 9

Wild Lands

Every new world is made in one of five lands, each with its own ground, its own sky and blocks you can only dig up there. Splice them into new blocks, and grow food to heal.

  • Five lands

    The Meadow, snowy Frostland, the Dunes, the Overgrown City and Mossy Hollow. Worlds made before stay Meadows.

  • Found only there

    Slippery Packed Ice, Red Rock, Old Concrete pillars and Thorn Roots that prick. Each land's stone hides Gold Seeds too.

  • 16 new blocks

    Splice the lands' seeds from Snow Brick and Graffiti Wall up to Aurora Ice and Neon Skyline. Trade for the lands you don't have.

  • Food trees

    The Rootberry and the Sap Apple heal you; the rare Heartfruit heals you fully and keeps burns away for 10 seconds.

New blocks

The Splice Ladder

15 new blocks between the rarities, so every Rare and Epic seed is a climb: grow each step, harvest it, splice the next.

  • Seven Refined blocks

    Polished Stone, Kiln Brick, Tempered Glass, Gold Leaf and more, each spliced from two Uncommon seeds. Every first Rare seed is spliced from one of them now.

  • Eight Precious blocks

    Moonstone, Honey Jar, Gold Filigree and more, each spliced from two Rare seeds and paying up to 26 Lox a harvest. Every Epic seed starts from them.

Update 8

Vaults & Monsters

Old vaults lie sealed under the worlds, and something lives in them. Go down with your friends, cross the traps against the clock, fight the monsters and the bosses deeper down, and open the chest at the bottom. See everything they hold in the world ROOTVAULTS.

  • The Vault Door

    Mining Hard Rock can uncover a rare Vault Door. Place it in a world and anyone there can gather at it, for 10 runs before it crumbles. Each player going in uses a Vault Key.

  • Up to 4 players

    Every group gets a vault built just for them, with 5 or 6 trap rooms and 15 minutes to reach the bottom.

  • Traps and levers

    Narrow pillars and long jumps over Magma Roots that burn three times as hard, and Cactus that throws you. Pull levers, dig through rubble, and no wings allowed. Faint and you're back at the door.

  • The Vault Chest

    One item each, from Common to Mythic, with the odds shown before you go. Three items come only from vaults.

  • Monsters

    Ember Slimes, Root Crawlers and Ash Bats guard the rooms. Click or tap to hit them with your fist, a pickaxe or a weapon, and share what they drop with everyone who helped.

  • Bosses below

    Three deeper vaults, from level 15 to 35, each end with a boss: the Magma Root King, the Frost Wyrm and the Crypt Knight. Read the red glow, dodge, hit back, and survive their rage. Beat one to open its chest, full of things found only in that vault.

  • The Vault Forge

    Turn what monsters drop into weapons, armor and new blocks. Weapons and armor come only from the Forge.

  • The week's vault

    The same rooms for everyone all week, and a Lox bonus for your first clear of it.

Update 7.5

Gardens & Gems

32 new blocks to discover by splicing the seeds you already grow: garden crops, blocks for builders, decorations for your house and eight Rare blocks. See them all in the world GARDENGEMS.

  • Garden crops

    Carrots, potatoes, berries, clover and hedges to grow. Watermelons, pineapples, roses and cotton are harder to make, and pay 2–3 Lox a harvest.

  • Blocks for builders

    Stone walls and ledges, gravel, clay, smoked glass, glass platforms, timber frames and mine scaffolds. They grow in a couple of minutes.

  • Decorations

    Flower pots, a bookshelf, barrels and more for your house. Break one and it comes back half the time; otherwise it may leave its seed or a little Lox.

  • Eight Rare blocks

    Rose Quartz, Jade, Copper and more, from level 8. They grow for hours and pay up to 24 Lox a harvest.

Update 7

Castles & Colors

Ideas from our Discord, built: a castle to raise, twelve colors to build with, seats you can sit on, and blocks that shine.

  • The Castle Keep

    Grow castle stone, battlements, arched windows, a royal carpet and flickering torches. The Castle Keep in the Store adds an Iron Gate, banners, a Throne and a Knight's Helm.

  • Twelve colors

    Bright blocks to build with, all grown from spliced seeds. Which seeds make which color? That's for you to find out.

  • Have a seat

    Stand at a Bench or a Throne and press SIT. Everyone in the world sees you take a seat.

  • Blocks that shine

    Epic blocks catch the light, and Legendary ones glow. Build with them and your world sparkles.

Update 6

Deep Roots

Health, roots that burn deep in new worlds, blocks to splice from them and seeds for the builder basics.

  • Health

    You have health now. A Cactus pricks, and at 0 you faint back to the door with nothing lost. An Emberfruit heals 50, and for 10 seconds the roots can't burn you.

  • Magma Roots

    Glowing roots burn deep in new worlds. You sink into them, so hold jump to climb out before you faint.

  • Blocks from the roots

    Splice six blocks from the roots, from glowing Magma Brick and Ember Glass to two lanterns. Break the roots for a rare seed, and with luck Cinder Boots that halve the burn.

  • Grow your builds

    Lamp Posts, Benches, Signs, Frames and Displays grow from seeds. And no more daily limits: every block and harvest pays in full.

Update 3

Roots & Legends

Stories to follow, long quests to chase, new crops to grow and shops to run.

  • Stories

    Fern, Dusty and Bea each live in a world of their own and have a fifteen-chapter story for you, from your first seeds to the deepest vaults, with rewards you can't get anywhere else.

  • Legendary quests

    Climb the LEGEND tower to the Old Wizard for eight long quests. Each ends with a Legendary item that stays yours, and a title to show under your name.

  • Farming 2.0

    15 new crops, and every ripe tree pays Lox by its rarity. Fertilizer speeds a tree up, and a sickle can bring one more block from each harvest.

  • Shops and world rules

    Stock a Vending Machine and it sells for Lox, even while you're offline. In your world, choose who builds and who may come in.

Update 2B

Games, packs and Mythic items

Every roll is provably fair, so anyone can re-check it. Lox is play money with no real-world value.

  • Wheel and Dice

    Host a Wheel or a Dice Block in your own locked world from level 15. Everyone in the world sees the same fair roll.

  • Table duels

    Duel a friend one on one: the Game Table rolls for you both, and ties roll again. Just for fun: nothing is staked.

  • Packs

    Seed Packs from 400 Lox, Style Packs, Pet Eggs and the Legend Crate, all with published odds. A Legendary is guaranteed within 12 crates.

  • Mythic items

    Five numbered Mythic items come from Legend Crates, like the Rootking Crown and the Aurora Halo: only 100 of each, ever.

Screenshots

Straight from the open alpha. Select one to see it full size.

  • Five players in Rootsville: houses of wood, brick and glass, a gold World Lock, fruit trees, and a miner underground who found some Lox.
    Rootsville, a world built by its players
  • Fern the Farmer's panel in GREENHOLLOW: her first story chapter with its tasks and rewards, today's crop order and her shop with Fertilizer and a Bronze Sickle.
    Fern's story, daily order and shop
  • A farm world: a grown Heart Tree, a Vending Machine selling Pumpkins, a row of ripe crops of every rarity, and the owner calling out "fresh pumpkins, 5 for 40!".
    A farm with a Heart Tree and a shop
  • Inside the LEGEND tower: a player in the Sunroot Crown and Skyroot Wings with the Legend title stands on a checkpoint, below the Old Wizard's crystal room.
    Climbing LEGEND to the Old Wizard

Play anywhere

The website and the apps open the same online game, so one account works on every device.

In your browser

Nothing to install: play on a computer or on a phone. On a phone, turn it sideways.

Play freeurbanroots.io/play

iPhone

Put the game on your Home Screen and it opens full screen, like an app.

  1. Open urbanroots.io/play in Safari.
  2. Tap Share.
  3. Tap Add to Home Screen.
Open the game

The alpha apps aren't signed yet, so your device asks before opening them the first time. With the itch app, UrbanRoots installs and updates itself.

Coming soon

What we're building next. Follow along on Discord.

  • Full launch

    A fresh start

    When the alpha ends, UrbanRoots launches and everyone starts fresh: all accounts, items and Lox are reset.

  • After launch

    A Lox store

    A way to buy Lox and support the game comes after launch. Everything in UrbanRoots stays free to earn by playing.

About the alpha

UrbanRoots is in open alpha: expect bugs, and know that all accounts, items and Lox will be reset before launch.

Lox is the in-game currency: play money with no real-world value. UrbanRoots is for players 13 and older.

Questions

Quick answers before you play. Anything else? Ask on Discord.

  • What is UrbanRoots?

    A free 2D multiplayer sandbox game in pixel art. Break and place blocks, dig for ores and rare finds, grow and splice seeds, build worlds with friends, trade with other players and run your own shop. The game's own characters have stories and quests in four worlds of their own.

  • Is UrbanRoots free?

    Yes. It's free to play in your browser and in the apps, and everything in the game can be earned by playing. After launch, players will be able to buy Lox to support the game, and everything will stay free to earn.

  • Do I need to download anything?

    No. Open urbanroots.io/play on a computer or a phone and start playing. If you'd rather have an app, free downloads for Windows, macOS, Linux and Android are on itch.io. The website and the apps open the same online game, so one account works everywhere.

  • Can I play on my phone?

    Yes, on Android phones and iPhones: open the game in your browser and turn the phone sideways. There's also an Android app, and on iPhone you can add the game to your Home Screen so it opens full screen.

  • Can I play with my friends?

    Yes. Every world is shared: create one, tell your friends its name, and build, dig, farm and trade together. Add each other as friends to see who's online and which world they're in, and join them there. Place a World Lock to choose who else may build there.

  • How old do I have to be to play?

    UrbanRoots is for players 13 and older. Chat and names are filtered, and you can block or report any player.

Join the community

Meet other players, show off your builds and hear about updates first on the UrbanRoots Discord.

Join the DiscordPlay free