diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 0da3f06..b654059 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -14,8 +14,11 @@ yaml: $(addsuffix .yaml,$(platforms))
 
 ifeq ($(shell id -u),0)
 as_root =
-else
+else ifneq (,$(wildcard /usr/bin/fakemachine))
+$(warning "This should normally be run as root, but found 'fakemachine', so using that.")
 as_root = fakemachine -v $(CURDIR) -- env --chdir $(CURDIR)
+else
+$(error "This must be run as root")
 endif
 
 target_platforms: