Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type - Card Game
Play Time: 50-70 minutes
Number of Players: 2
Mechanics - Modular Board, Worker Placement, Set Collection
Difficulty - Pick-up & Play (Can be learned in 20 minutes)
Components - Very Good to Excellent
Release - 2012Artist - <PERSON>
Designer - <PERSON> Title)
Overview and Theme
Targi takes us to the ethnic peoples of Northern Africa that call the Sahara Desert home. Your people live in nomadic tribes and it is the men (Targis) that cover their faces whilst the women (Targia) do not. As leader of one of these nomadic tribes you must trade the goods of the land in order to acquire gold and better your position. Your aim is simple enough, to support the largest tribe.
Targi is the debut title of <PERSON> I won't hold any punches up front here when I say that he has produced an excellent 2-player game and one that is totally deserving of finding a place in the revered 2-Player series of games.
Hop on that camel and come with me...I have a most enjoyable journey to take you on.
The Components
always put together a good production and this is no exception. Not surprisingly, cards dominate the components.
Border Cards - Instead of utilising a board, Targi provides 16 cards that act as Border Lands or regions to frame the central play area. Rather than simply creating a border, these cards are actually part of the play area as well. As such they are double-sided with text on one face to outline the ability and iconography on the other (which does the same thing in a more simplified way).
Like all of the cards in the game, the thickness is serviceable but they only have a glossy finish. 470
All cards in the game use a landscape orientation.
These border cards also feature a little bit of artwork to differentiate each quarter of the border with a different terrain. It is totally unneccessary but a nice touch all the same.
Image Courtesy of Alice87
Tribe Cards - The game comes with 45 of these cards of which their are 9 of each type. These cards represent ways in which a tribe can gain assets and wealth and include things such as camel riders, oases, wells, camps and Targia's (women - and for the record this is not as assets like in a harem because Targia's lead these tribes).
The cards are elegantly organised with a graphic to denote the type on the left, the cost of each card in the top right and the VPs it is worth in the bottom right. If a card has a text-based ability it is located centrally.
It's all very crisp.
Image Courtesy of henk.rolleman
Goods Cards - These are much simpler affairs as they simply feature central graphics to show what goods are earned by taking a given card. Three cards also feature a gold coin and another a VP icon.
Like the Tribe Cards, these utilise a sand dune background that evokes the theme and offers a neutral colour palette to help the foreground colours stand out. I also appreciate the shadow effect of the artwork, as if a burning sun is beating down on the cards.
It's nice stuff.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Meeple - These are nice wooden affairs that come in two players and a grey meeple serves as the Robber.
Squat cylinders serve as the Tribe Markers.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Tokens - The Goods tokens are simple square counters and feature the same graphics that are used on the Goods Cards. The VP tokens are quite an irregular shape to help them stand out and no doubt they are based on some form of trinket used by North African tribes.
Image Courtesy of henk.rolleman
First Player Amulet - A medium sized token is used to represent this marker to denote who goes first in a turn. It's quite noce to look at.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON>
Rules - The rules are very well done. I found no ambiguity whatsoever in my edition ( ) and they feature good examples to boot.
Image Courtesy of <PERSON> the game offers great value for money and looks great into the bargain. The artwork is simple but Vohwinkel(as he always does) manages to evoke the setting and theme of the game in a way that is refreshing. 84