TARGI (2012)

PLAYERS	TIME	DESIGNER	ARTIST	PUBLISHER
2	60 mins	Andreas Steiger	Taira Akitsu Franz Vohwinkel	Kosmos

METHOD

TARGI is a 2-player only game that sees you placing your three meeples on boarder cards of a 25 card grid to gain resourses and rewards. You’ll also be able to gain the cards within the centre of a grid where their postions intersect.

A turn in TARGI can take some planning, but this is a game that isn’t over in ten minutes. Not only are you trying to gain the benifits on the outer cards, you are also trying to gain Goods cards (extra resourses) and Tribe cards (abilities and end game scoring). It might sound simple, but in TARGI you can’t place where your opponent has already. This makes placing your meeples quite tactical as you try not to give away what you’re planning to cause your opponent to block you.

The meeples are placed one at a time from player to player. But once they are all down the first player starts by returning theirs and gaining the cards or benifits with each one. Of course, this is the desert, so while resources might seem easy to collect, you can only hold so much which becomes a puzzle when you’re saving up for multiple Tribe cards.

And what of these Tribe cards? Well, as you collect them you get to place them in a tablaeu in front of you. You have three rows from left to right and the order cannot be changed. Cards come with basic points, but some also have game changing abilities and discounts, or more importantly end of game scoring for even more point.

POINTS OF INTEREST

TARGI is one of the heavier 2-player only games. It lets you get stuck in, turn after turn, building your tablaeu each step of the way. I really like how your Tribe cards can change how you play and give you different oppertunities to your opponent. It especially sweet when you get some that play well off each other.

The tighhtness of the resources, especially gold coins, means every decision is super important. It’s a much heavier game than it’s player count and box size imply.

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

TARGI doesn’t exactly light up the table with colourful art and nice resources. The resources are just square tiles where they could be wooden pieces. The iconography can also be alittle hard to work out, though this is fixed on the outer cards with one side having text explanations for their mechanics.

EXPANSION?

The aptley names TARGI: THE EXPANSION brings a new resource (water) to the desert offering a little more flexability to players. There is also the Targia meeple who starts in the opposite direction from the Robber and moves around the edge cards to offer favours to players who meet her.

The additions to TARGI are neither unwelcome or necessary. This expansion works a little more like something you add to the base game from time to time with quite simple intergration.

FOR 2-PLAYERS?

TARGI is a game designed for 2-players. It puts you head to head to maximize your meeple placement on the centre cards. You can easily hinder your opponent and also fight for first player each round as you race to complete your tableau before the final round.

CONCLUSION TARGI is one of the best 2-player head-to-head games I’ve played. Easy to learn, but lots to get your head around.

Review #0004