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boardgames
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In order to promote discussion on Lemmy, I’m doing micro-reviews for my favorite boardgames by genre. Please join in, provide your reviews, flame me for my terrible taste or to suggest a category for tomorrow!
Today’s game is Targi
TL;DR
Score: 8/10
Positives:
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Fun puzzle to solve
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Rewards adaptability
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Easy to learn but has a lot of depth
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Cheap
Negatives:
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Somewhat repetitive
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Artwork feels dated
The Review
In Targi, you are a leader of the Tuareg tribe, the semi-nomadic people who inhabit the Sahara desert. You compete against a leader of another Tuareg tribe to have the most prosperous tribe. The theme on this game is paper thin. You're essentially trying to collect resources in order to fill objective cards and add them to your portfolio, which isn't particularly original. So why does this game stand out from the rest?
Image credit to @Arneji on bgg, source here
Cards are displayed in a 5x5 grid. The "outer" square of the grid are action spots while the "inner" 3x3 grid are resources/objectives. During your turn you will place one of your 3 workers in one of the available action spots. Then your opponent places their worker but they cannot place their worker in the same column or row than your wokers. After both players have placed their 3 workers, you place tribe markers (the cilinders) on the cards where your workers intersect. At the end of the round you get all the resources/objectives where you have cilinders and perform all the actions where you have workers!
I feel like deciding where to place your workers is an extremely interesting decision to make. It's a tense game because the moment you place your first worker your opponent probably is denied of every card in that column/row. However, if they understand exactly which card you want, they place a worker on that row/column to prevent you from intersecting it! They won't get that card but now neither will you. It's a cat & mouse game that rewards your ability to quickly ajust your strategy to the oportunities that present themselves at any time.
The game is very fast, easy to teach and enjoyable to play. It's a classic game from 2012 and its gameplay continues to feel innovative, different and unique. It's definitely something I think everyone should at least try once.
Context Information
I don't have anything on ScorePal :(
Suggested player count: 2 players, since that's the only choice you have :P
Honorable Mentions
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Hanamikogi - This is a "I split, you choose" 2 player game with some area majority in the mix. I honestly think this game is fantastic but I have had very low success in introducing it to other people. The game is very quirky, very different than everything I've tried. You force players to make hard and unintuitive decisions and I think that turns off some people. "Why would I split these cards, I want them all. How can I have them all?". Split wisely! I guess the art work and box doesn't help people get excited about it either.
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MicroMacro: Crime City - There is some debate about wether this is even game or just an activity but I don't really care about that. This game is absolutely brilliant. It's basically a "Where's Waldo" but with all timelines printed into a single map. Each mission points you to a crime and you have to trace back the map to understand what actually took place there. Where did the victim come from, what were they doing, who looked at them funny? I would put this game as the best 2 player game but it have felt weird for the best 2 player game to be a game where you can play with an infinite number of players. Wouldn't recommend more than 2 players tho! Get it!
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I have four Uwe Rosenberg games. Three of those follow a similar format: game title on top, then a line, then some dude, another line, publisher logo. But Feast For Odin had to go and be all creative and unique.
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In order to promote discussion on Lemmy, I’m doing micro-reviews for my favorite boardgames by genre. Please join in, provide your reviews, flame me for my terrible taste or to suggest a category for tomorrow!
Today's game is Spirit Island
TL;DR
Score: 9/10
Positives:
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Gorgeous artwork
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Theme fits great in the game
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Very thinky
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Tons of difficulty adjustments and scenarios
Negatives:
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The upkeep of this game is very high
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Prone to Analysis Paralysis
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Quarterbacking/Alpha gaming is nearly impossible but it's still really important to discuss how to approach each turn; Not everyone enjoys that
The Review
In Spirit Island you play as a magical spirit of the island. Your task is to protect the land and its native tribes from the colonizing invaders. The objective of the game is to wipe the colonizers or inflict so much fear they give up. If the colonizers spread too much or you run out of time, you lose the game.
Image credit to Richard on bgg, source here
This game is really special. The artwork is absolutely amazing and fits the theme really really well. The Spirits feel REALLY different from eachother, they totally change the way you play the game. Some Spirits are more focused on defending the land from colonist attacks, others are really good at killing enemy units and others play more of a supporting role.
At the start of game you are very weak. You have very limited range, and your starting cards are probably not very powerful. It quickly starts to feel like it's an impossible task and you're going to lose. Part of the island is going to be permanently corrupted and it's going to feel bad.
It's nearly impossible to be an alpha gamer in this game because your decisions are already too complex, you would be totally overwhelmed if you tried to control everyone else's. That said, while all actions can be performed simultaneously, it's very important to communicate your intentions with your team mates. Say you can wipe 1 of 2 possible areas. It's important to communicate that ability with your team mates because maybe someone else is more restricted than you and can only deal with 1 of those areas. Not everyone enjoys this interaction but I truly believe it's key to success.
As the game goes on you will be spreading your influence across the island and acquiring new and more powerful cards. You will start to feel like a god and the game starts to feel easy. It's quite an interesting arc, really. The game comes with a ton of difficulty adjustments but the arc always seems to be the same: you start miserable and thinking the game is impossible but you clutch it out and win when game is nearly over.
I really love the hard decisions in this game. You want to save the entire island, you want to kill every colonizer, you want it all to be perfect. That's not going to happen, the game is designed for that not to happen. You're going to have to make sacrifices and try your best to deal with the threats while gaining some much needed power. I love that aspect of the game. The Spirits are really unique with clever little names. My favorite spirit is "Ocean's Hungry Grasp" and it's so fun because your gameplay neatly simulates the ocean waves. It's amazing.
The one thing that knocks a point out of this game is the "invader phase" upkeek. Spreading colonizers and disease is a REALLY boring step and very prone to errors. It doesn't seem too much in the first couple of turns but it really starts to become a dreadful task that you perform every single round. For this reason, I really don't recommend the first expansion. You need to add even more stuff to add to the board and has yet another upkeep step. There's a Steam adaptation of the game which probably solves this problem but I tend not to enjoy digital adaptations of boardgames.
Context Information
Number of Plays: 15
Suggested player count: 2-3 players, 4 is fine if everyone knows how to play and no one suffers from AP
Average playtime: 2.5 hours
Win-rate: 93.3%
Honorable Mentions
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Aeon's End: The New Age - Really fun deckbuilding game with the unique novelty that you DO NOT shuffle your deck. Once you play all your deck you simply flip it, no shuffle. Great game. There are a ton of Aeon's End games, I played The new Age and The Outcasts. I recommend The new Age, felt like a better game.
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The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine - Trick tacking games are played a lot in Portugal. Every family owns a deck of cards and everyone can play "Sueca". This game feels like cooperative "Sueca" and we had a blast playing it. I also played a bit of the second one but I find the simple design of the first one a lot better.
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The Shipwreck Arcana - Forgot to mention this one! This is a very clever cooperative deduction game. Small box, small prize, amazing game. It's a solid 9/10 for me as well.
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BTW: The black deck box is full of Unstable Unicorns and it's expansions.
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