Dune: Imperium

2020

Immerse yourself in Dune: Imperium, a game that combines deck building and worker placement. Navigate political factions, lead your House to victory, and ensure the Spice flows!

120
minutes

1 - 4
player(s)

14+

Medium Heavy

About the game

Dune: Imperium is a thrilling board game that plunges you into a universe of interstellar politics, resource management, and military conflict. Set in the vivid world of Frank Herbert’s science fiction classic, Dune, the game carefully knits together the intricate narratives of the novel, bringing to life the fearsome desert planet of Arrakis, also known as Dune. The game is a blend of deck-building and worker placement mechanics, promising a captivating gameplay experience.

As a player, you are thrust into the role of a noble leader vying for power amidst the shifting sands of Dune. You get to control one of the four major factions in the Dune universe: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, the Fremen, or the Bene Gesserit. Each faction has unique abilities and strategies, adding a rich layer of depth to the game.

Game components Unboxing the fun!

Dune: Imperium is an immersive strategy board game that incorporates deck-building and worker-placement mechanics. Here’s a comprehensive list of the game components and a detailed explanation of their purpose and interaction:

1. Game Board:

This large rectangle is the main platform for the game. It features different locations where players can send their agents to perform various actions such as gaining resources, buying cards, or advancing their influence in the great houses.

2. House Cards:

There are four House Cards in ‘Dune: Imperium’, each representing one of the four playable factions: House Atreides, House Harkonnen, House Ordos, and the Fremen. At the start of the game, each player chooses a House Card which dictates their starting resources and abilities.

3. Deck of Imperium Cards:

This deck contains 112 cards that players can acquire throughout the game to improve their decks. The Imperium Cards represent various characters, technologies, and events in the Dune universe. They provide players with resources, actions, or special abilities when played.

4. Player Decks:

Each player starts with a deck of 10 cards. These consist of two special cards that correspond to the player’s chosen house and eight identical basic cards. As the game progresses, players add new cards to their deck from the Imperium Deck.

5. Conflict Cards:

A deck of 10 Conflict Cards is used to determine the reward for winning a conflict in each round. One Conflict Card is revealed each round, indicating the current round’s conflict and its rewards.

6. Tokens:

The game includes several types of tokens:

Resource Tokens: These include Spice, Solari, and Water tokens, which players collect and spend to perform actions or buy cards.
Influence Tokens: These tokens represent a player’s influence with the four great houses. Players gain these tokens by visiting certain locations on the board or playing certain cards.
Victory Point Tokens: Players earn these tokens by winning conflicts, playing certain cards, or reaching certain milestones. The player with the most Victory Points at the end of the game wins.

7. Pieces:

Each player has a set of pieces in their chosen color:

Agents: These are the primary pieces that players move around the board. Each player starts with two agents and may unlock a third one during the game.
Troops: These pieces are used to fight in conflicts. Each player starts with two troops in their garrison and may recruit more during the game.

8. Player Boards:

Each player has a board where they keep their resources, troops, and other information organized. It also provides a summary of the turn structure and other game rules.

9. Turn/First Player Marker:

This piece is used to keep track of the current first player. The first player changes each round, rotating clockwise around the table.

10. Round Marker:

This piece is used to track the current game round on the Round Track located on the main board.

Game setup Lay it out, line it up, let’s go

Dune: Imperium is an intriguing board game that combines deck-building and worker placement elements. Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to set up the game.

Step 1: Prepare the Game Board

Start by unfolding the game board in the middle of the playing area. The board features several key locations, including the Landsraad Council, the CHOAM board, alliance spaces, and several planet spaces.

Step 2: Sort the Cards

Sort out the cards into their appropriate decks. This includes the Conflict deck, the Imperium deck, the Intrigue deck, and the four House decks. Shuffle each deck separately and place them in their designated spaces on the board.

Step 3: Set Up the Conflict Deck

For a 4-player game, use all the Conflict cards. For a 2 or 3-player game, remove the cards with the 4-player symbol. Shuffle the Conflict deck and place it face-down on its spot on the game board. Draw the top card and place it face-up on the current round space.

Step 4: Prepare the Market

Draw the top five cards from the Imperium deck and place them face up in the row of spaces at the bottom of the game board. These cards form the starting market.

Step 5: Determine Player Roles and Initial Resources

Each player selects a House and takes the corresponding player board, Agent tokens, and deck of 10 cards. Each player also receives 2 Solari (the game’s currency), 1 water, 1 spice and places their combat marker on the “0” space of the combat track.

Step 6: Setting up Player Order

The player who most recently read a Dune book goes first. If no player qualifies, choose randomly. The first player takes the first player token.

Step 7: Random Elements

Finally, distribute a random assortment of Intrigue cards (face-down) and additional resources to each player. The number of cards and resources each player receives depends on player order. The first player receives no extra cards or resources, the second player receives an Intrigue card, the third player receives an Intrigue card and a Solari, and the fourth player receives an Intrigue card and two Solari.

Now that the setup is complete, players are ready to explore the desert planet of Arrakis!

Game flow Round and round we go

Dune: Imperium is a strategy board game that mixes deck-building and worker placement mechanics. The game takes place over a series of rounds, each of which consists of several phases. Players take turns performing actions within these phases until the round ends. The game continues in this manner until one player reaches a predetermined number of victory points.

1. Setup Phase:

Prepare the Game Board: Place the game board in the center of the table and setup individual components such as the conflict deck, spaceships, tokens, etc.
Draw Starting Cards: Each player draws five cards from their personal deck to form their starting hand.
Determine First Player: Randomly determine the first player and give them the first player token.

2. Player Turns:

Play a Card: On their turn, a player must play one card from their hand.
Place an Agent: The player then places one of their agents on a free space on the game board. The space determines what action they can take.
Perform an Action: The player then performs the action of the space their agent occupies. Actions can include gaining resources, acquiring new cards, or advancing on one of the influence tracks.
Reveal a Conflict Card: After all players have placed their agents and performed their actions, a conflict card is revealed and a conflict phase begins.

3. Conflict Phase:

Commit Troops: Starting with the first player, each player can commit troops to the conflict. The number of troops they can commit is determined by the cards they have played that round.
Resolve Conflict: Once all players have committed their troops, the conflict is resolved. The player with the most troops wins and gains the reward on the conflict card. In case of a tie, the player who committed their troops first wins.

4. Cleanup Phase:

Refresh the Game Board: All spent cards, troops, and agents are returned to their respective owners. Any unclaimed cards on the game board are discarded and replaced.
Draw New Cards: Each player draws five new cards to form their hand for the next round. If their deck is empty, they shuffle their discard pile to form a new deck.

5. End of the Game:

Check Victory Points: The game ends when a player reaches a predetermined number of victory points, usually 10. That player is declared the winner. If multiple players reach this number on the same turn, the player with the most overall resources wins.

Players'turn One turn to rule them all

In Dune: Imperium, each player’s turn consists of a series of actions that allow them to influence the political, economic, and military dynamics of the game. These actions can have a significant impact on the gameplay and the strategies needed to win.

Reveal Turn Phase

The first phase of a player’s turn is the Reveal Turn phase, during which the player draws a card from their deck and reveals it to the other players. This card determines the player’s available actions for the turn.

Agent Actions: These are strategic actions that allow the player to send their agents to different locations on the board to gain resources, influence factions, or carry out other beneficial activities. The number of agents a player can send out depends on the number of agents indicated on the revealed card.
Reveal Actions: These are instant actions that are triggered as soon as the card is revealed. They can provide a player with immediate benefits, such as additional resources or influence.

Agent Turn Phase

The Agent Turn phase follows the Reveal Turn phase. During this phase, the player can choose to send one of their agents to a location on the board, which can result in a variety of strategic effects:

Economic Actions: These actions can provide the player with resources such as spice, water, or money, which can be used for future actions or to fulfil the requirements of certain cards.
Military Actions: These actions can increase the player’s military power, which can be used to win battles and gain control of key locations on the board.
Influence Actions: These actions can increase the player’s influence with the various factions in the game, which can provide long-term strategic advantages and help the player to win the game.

Reveal Turn Phase

After the Agent Turn phase, the player returns to the Reveal Turn phase and draws another card, repeating the process until they have no more agents left to send out.

End Turn Phase

Once the player has no more agents left to send out, they move on to the End Turn phase. During this phase, the player can take a number of cleanup actions:

Discard: The player can choose to discard any remaining cards in their hand.
Draw: The player draws up to their maximum hand size, preparing for their next turn.

After the End Turn phase, play passes to the next player in clockwise order. The game continues in this manner until a player has reached the required number of victory points to win the game.

End of the game All good games must come to an end

Dune: Imperium is a strategy board game that blends deck-building and worker-placement mechanisms. The game ends when a player reaches or exceeds 10 victory points during a round, or when all the conflict cards have been drawn and a round has been completed.

Victory points are gained in several ways over the course of the game:

Conflict Victory: Players earn victory points by winning conflicts. The number of points earned depends on the conflict card for the current round.
Card Acquisition: Certain cards, when acquired, offer victory points. This usually includes faction alliance cards and some intrigue cards.
End of Game bonuses: Some cards can give players victory points at the end of the game.

At the end of the game, the final scoring takes place. Before final scoring, players must complete these actions:

Complete all the remaining rounds until the game end condition is met.
Resolve any remaining conflicts for the current round.
Players reveal all their end-of-game bonus cards and calculate those victory points.
Count all victory points from the victory track, conflict victories, card acquisitions and end-of-game bonuses.

The player with the most victory points wins the game. In case of a tie, the player with the most spice wins. If there is still a tie, the player who is earlier in the turn order wins.

Scoring Did you outsmart your rivals?

Dune: Imperium is a strategic board game where players earn victory points (VPs) through various means. The player with the most VPs at the end of the game wins. Here’s a detailed breakdown of the scoring system:

1. Conflict Victory: Players earn VPs by winning conflicts. The amount of VPs awarded depends on the round’s conflict card.

First place: The player with the most troops in a conflict earns the top reward on the conflict card, which often includes VPs.
Second place: The player with the second-most troops earns the second-place reward, typically fewer VPs.

2. Influence Tracks: Players can earn VPs by advancing on the influence tracks of the various factions. Each track has specific spaces marked with a VP symbol.

Every time a player’s marker reaches or passes a VP symbol, they immediately gain that many VPs.

3. End-of-Game Scoring: At the end of the game, players add up additional VPs from the following sources:

Spaces on Influence Tracks: Some spaces on the influence tracks provide VPs at the end of the game. The VP value of the player’s current space on each track is added to their total.
High Council Seat: If a player has a council member on the High Council seat, they receive 2 VPs.
Controlled Areas: Each area on the map controlled by a player’s forces provides 1 VP.
Secret Objectives: Players may have secret objective cards that provide VPs if the objectives are met. These are added to the total.

If two or more players have the same number of VPs at the end of the game, the tie-breaking rules are as follows:

Tie-Breaker 1: The player with the most spice remaining is the winner.

If there is still a tie, proceed to the next tie-breaker.

Tie-Breaker 2: The player who is earlier in turn order wins.

Particular Cases and Exceptions Wait… is that legal?

‘Dune: Imperium’ is a strategy board game that takes place in the world of Frank Herbert’s Dune, where players take on the roles of different factions vying for control of the desert planet Arrakis. Understanding the rules of the game can be complex. Here are some rare or special rules, exceptions, and any rule clarifications that might be important:

1. Intrigue Cards: Players can draw intrigue cards by landing on specific spaces on the game board. These cards can give players a significant advantage and can be played at any time, unless the card specifies otherwise. Note that a player can never have more than 10 intrigue cards in their hand.

2. Conflict resolution: Conflict is resolved in the order of the player’s position on the track. The player at the highest position resolves their conflict first. In case of a tie, the player closest to the first player marker on the conflict track wins.

3. The Spice Must Flow: If a player lands on the ‘Spice Must Flow’ space on the Imperium row, they must immediately draw a card. They do not wait until the end of their turn to draw this card.

4. Combat: When participating in combat, players can only play one card from their hand per turn, unless they have a card or ability that allows them to do otherwise.

5. End of Game: The game ends immediately when a player reaches 10 victory points at any time and not only at the end of a round.

Below are some specific rule clarifications:

Deck Building: If a player’s deck is empty and they need to draw a card, they shuffle their discard pile to create a new deck and then draw.
Recruiting Troops: Troops are recruited to a player’s garrison and can be deployed to the conflict during the reveal turn. It’s important to note that players cannot directly recruit troops into the conflict.
Control of Arrakis: The player who wins the conflict gains control of Arrakis for that round and takes the corresponding control marker. If two or more players tie for the highest strength, the player closest to the first player marker on the conflict track wins.
Mentat: If a player hires the mentat, it is used as a temporary worker for that round and returned to the supply at the end of the round. The Mentat does not count towards your worker limit.

Tips and tricks Play smarter, not harder!

In the game of ‘Dune: Imperium’, players take on the roles of noble families vying for control of the desert planet Arrakis. Here are some tips and strategies to help you optimize your gameplay.

Advanced Strategies:

Balance Your Resources: One of the keys to victory in Dune: Imperium is carefully managing your resources. Don’t focus too heavily on one type of resource to the detriment of others.
Plan for the End Game: While it’s important to establish a strong early-game position, don’t become so caught up in immediate concerns that you neglect your long-term strategy.
Adapt Your Strategy: Be flexible and ready to change your strategy based on the cards available in the market and the actions of other players.

Beginner Tips:

Use Your Leaders Wisely: Leaders can be very powerful, but they’re also a limited resource. Make sure to use them at the most opportune times.
Focus on Influence: Influence is crucial for winning the game. Make sure to take actions that will increase your influence whenever possible.
Understand the Game’s Phases: Dune: Imperium is played in rounds, and each round has several phases. Understanding these phases and planning your actions accordingly is key.

Common Mistakes to Avoid:

Ignoring Combat: Combat in Dune: Imperium is not just a way to gain points, but also a way to deny resources and points to your opponents. Neglecting combat can lead to a quick defeat.
Not Diversifying Your Deck: It can be tempting to specialize your deck around a specific strategy, but this can leave you vulnerable if your opponents counter that strategy or if the right cards don’t come up in the market.
Spending Resources Too Quickly: While it’s important to use your resources to gain advantages, be careful not to deplete your resources too quickly, as this can leave you unable to respond to changing conditions on the board.

Ways to Optimize Gameplay:

Pay Attention to Other Players: Keep an eye on your opponents’ actions and adjust your strategy to counter theirs. This can be especially effective in the later stages of the game.
Use Intrigue Cards Strategically: Intrigue cards can have a big impact on the game, especially if used at the right time. Don’t be too quick to play these cards – sometimes it’s better to hold onto them for the perfect moment.
Take Advantage of Opportunities: Always be on the lookout for opportunities to gain an advantage, whether it’s a weakly-defended stronghold, an unclaimed resource, or a powerful card in the market.