Targi is a great 2-player game that people just getting into gaming can enjoy. It takes around an hour but feels a lot shorter. The game play has a similar feel to Splendor as you receive free items each turn that allow you to purchase cards later on. The “board” is really a grid made up of a 5x5 grid of cards. The outer cards show the actions or items you will receive when you place your meeple. These have to be placed in a specific order which is indicated on the cards. They are also used you indicate rounds which is pretty neat. Each round the grey meeple is moved card to card on the outside of the grid. This not only shows how far in the game you are but also what cards can not be accessed this round. Plus, when the grey meeple hits the corners they steal things from players so watch out!
Players take turns each round as the first-player and placing their meeples. You have three meeples that you will place on the outer cards. Where those meeples intersect you will place the same color cylinder to note that you will be collecting that card as well. Cards can have actions, victory points, goods, gold and tribes on them. Some cards require payments to collect them so make sure you check before placing your meeple! Your goal in the game is to receive the most victory points thanks to VP cards and the tribes you place. The tribe cards come with bonuses and different images that you can place in certain orders to gain bonus points at the end of the game. The display (for scoring) consists of 3 rows of 4 tribe cards that are filled from left to right and cannot be moved once placed (with a few exceptions). Using your display you can gain extra points by having all of the same cards in a row or all different cards. This adds an extra level of thought that a new gamer will probably get the second time around.
This is one of my new favorite 2-player strategy games. It has a good pace with limited downtime between the players moves so people aren’t on their phones a lot. The images on the cards are easy to decipher, but incase words are more your thing the outer cards have text explanations on their backs. The theme to this game is really cool. I got to learn about a new culture while playing the game that I probably would have never known about. The game was translated into English, Polish and French for the second edition from German so be careful when purchasing a copy that you get the right one. This game will be on my birthday list for sure this year!
If you’re interested in learning more about the theme of the game check out Board Game Geeks description:
Unlike in other cultures, the desert Tuareg men, known as Targi, cover their faces whereas women of the tribe do not wear veils. They run the household and they have the last word at home in the tents. Different families are divided into tribes, headed by the ‘Imascheren’ (or nobles). As leader of a Tuareg tribe, players trade goods from near (such as dates and salt) and far (like pepper), in order to obtain gold and other benefits, and enlarge their family. In each round their new offerings are made. Cards are a means to an end, in order to obtain the popular tribe cards.