How to Play Targi

Objective of the Game

Welcome, fellow desert travelers, to the world of Targi! As leaders of Tuareg tribes, you'll be navigating the bustling trade routes and expanding your influence. Your goal? To collect the most valuable goods, build a thriving tribe, and ultimately, become the most prestigious leader in the desert. The player with the most victory points at the end of the game will claim victory!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get our desert market ready! Here's how to set up Targi for your epic journey:

1. First, place the board in the center of your playing area.
2. Shuffle the Targi cards and place them face down on their designated space on the board.
3. Next, shuffle the Tribe cards and place them face down on their designated space.
4. Each player chooses a color and takes their corresponding Targi figures.
5. Each player also receives a starting amount of coins and goods (date, pepper, salt) as indicated in the rulebook (usually a few of each to get you started).
6. Finally, place the robber figure on its starting space on the board.

The Turn of Play

A round in Targi flows through several phases, where you'll strategically place your Targi figures and gather valuable resources. Here's a breakdown:

1. Placement Phase:
   • Starting with the first player, you'll take turns placing one of your Targi figures on an empty border space of the board.
   • You cannot place a Targi figure on a space already occupied by another Targi figure (yours or your opponent's).
   • You also cannot place a Targi figure on a space directly opposite an opponent's Targi figure.
2. Intersection Phase:
   • Once all Targi figures are placed, check for intersections. If two of your Targi figures are placed on opposite border spaces, they form an intersection.
   • For each intersection you form, you get to place an additional Targi figure on the central space where the lines from your two intersecting figures meet. This is a powerful way to gain extra actions!
3. Harvest Phase:
   • Now it's time to reap the rewards! Starting with the first player again, you'll resolve the actions of your Targi figures.
   • When you resolve a Targi figure, you perform the action indicated on the space where it was placed. This could be collecting goods, coins, or even drawing new cards.
   • If you have Targi figures on intersection spaces, you resolve those actions as well.
4. Robber Movement:
   • After all actions are resolved, the robber figure moves one space clockwise around the board.
   • Any border space occupied by the robber cannot have a Targi figure placed on it in the next round.

The game continues with new rounds until a specific condition is met.

End of Game and Scoring

The game of Targi concludes at the end of the round in which:

• One player has successfully collected their 12th Tribe card, or
• The robber figure completes its 12th full circuit around the board.

Once the game end condition is met, it's time for the final scoring! Players will count their victory points from various sources:

• Each Tribe card you've collected will have victory points indicated on it.
• Certain combinations of goods might also provide bonus victory points.
• Any remaining coins you possess will also contribute to your final score (usually 1 victory point for every few coins).

The player with the highest total victory points is declared the winner and the most influential leader of the Tuareg!

Tips for Winning

To help you on your journey to becoming a desert legend, here are a couple of tactical pointers:

1. Master the Intersections: Don't underestimate the power of those central intersection spaces! Planning your Targi placements to create intersections can give you a significant advantage by granting you extra actions and access to valuable central cards.
2. Balance Goods and Tribe Cards: While collecting Tribe cards is crucial for victory points, don't neglect gathering a good supply of goods. Many Tribe cards require specific goods to be acquired, and having a diverse stock will give you more flexibility and options throughout the game.