Imagine you can control the forces of a noble family, guild, or religious order on a barren planet which is the only source for the most valuable substance in the known universe.
Imagine you can rewrite the script for one of the most famous science fiction books of all time. Welcome to the acclaimed 40-year-old board game which allows you to recreate the incredible world of Frank Herbert’s DUNE.
In DUNE you will become the leader of one of six great factions. Each wishes to control the most valuable resource in the universe – melange, the mysterious spice only found at great cost on the planet DUNE. As Duke Leto Atreides says “All fades before melange. A handful of spice will buy a home on Tupile. It cannot be manufactured, it must be mined on Arrakis. It is unique and it has true geriatric properties.” And without melange space travel would be impossible. Only by ingesting the addictive drug can the Guild Steersman continue to experience visions of the future, enabling them to plot a safe path through hyperspace.
Who will control DUNE? Become one of the characters and their forces from the book and . . . You decide!
—description from the publisher
adamw
Here's the thing. It is a classic and I would never criticize what it has accomplished. But for my gaming group, it doesn't work due to some perhaps confusing aspects that are critical (?) to appreciate in order to play well. For me, I would play it again - even several more times - to better understand and know it. But for my gaming friends, I don't think I'll get enough chances. Admittedly, my first (and only play) was really sour.
Astroking112
This game constantly impresses me, especially considering that it was originally designed in 1979. It is such a tense, brutal, and paranoia-inducing experience where you might make friends with people just to stab them in the back or destroy opponents with a subtle sentence. You have to constantly evaluate how you're planning on winning, what you plan to do if your ally stabs you in the back, and how you plan to betray your ally, and pick the course that has the best chances of success. Making too many enemies will draw the ire of the table, though, so calculated moves become key. It's not a perfect game: in particular, the rules are absolutely terribly written and there are misleading typos on several cards (and a highly confusing FAQ that revises some rules that players might end up choosing to individually include or exclude), and the game has a tendency to drag on once players learn the strategies of blocking strongholds. We've played several games with the only 5 Strongholds in the base game, and it works great for 4 players, but with 5-6 you really run the risk of some unfun Spacing Guild strategies. I highly recommend introducing something else into the game to keep it from reaching that point, such as the WBC Stronghold Shield Wall rule or the Tleilaxu & Ixians expansion's Tech Tokens. That all said, I doubt that I will ever turn down an event for this game if we have the players in the right cutthroat mindset, and it's one of two games that have produced unforgettable peaks of boardgaming at our table. If your group is okay with wrangling some rules, then I'd highly recommend giving this experience a try.
1000rpm
Rating based on one play. Really enjoyed it. Was a bit slow, but we were all new. Game ended on turn 5 due to inexperience, but also 3 very close battles being won by one team.