I just finished Max Evry’s A Masterpiece in Disarray, an oral history about David Lynch’s Dune movie and everything that went well and wrong. As such it felt fitting to talk about Paul Dennen’s 2020 game Dune Imperium. While it was released in coordination with the newer Villeneuve movie, the game is likewise an ambitious chimera in keeping with the 1984 film.
Dune Imperium is a competitive game where players take on the roles of characters from the novels and movies sending out agents to curry favor with factions, petition the Landsraad, harvest and sell spice, and mobilize armies on the desert planet with a goal of earning the most points at the end of the game. This is carried out through worker placement where players take turns moving their agents to various spots on the board, activating them and denying access to other players. A twist of the game is that agents can only be sent to spaces unlocked by playing cards that are gained through a deck building mechanic.
Much of the game involves gathering resources and spending them to further your agenda. The three most visible resources are water, spice, and money which typically are gathered and spent to gain each other in turn. Water is needed to go into the desert to harvest spice, spice is needed to sell for money, money can be spent in a number of ways but mostly to manipulate the Landsraad and earn more troops, more agents, and so on. There are two other resources that are more abstract – Influence and Military Strength and they come into play at the end of the round.
There are three kinds of cards that get used in this game – Imperium cards, Intrigue cards and Conflict cards. The Imperium cards are the main cards used for moving agents across the board. Intrigue cards grant surprise bonuses throughout the game to points, resources, combat, etc. Conflict cards are flipped over at the top of the round and determine what the spoils of war will be this round.
Imperium cards are made up of a combination of locations they unlock, bonuses when played, and separate bonuses if saved and cashed in at the end of a round. This leads to constant calculations where players have to decide to use a card during their turn for an immediate use or save it for the end of the round for strategic purposes. One of the main end of round bonuses is gathering Influence which then gets spent to purchase new cards from the cards market. These cards are generally more powerful than the starting default cards and also allow players to hone their strategy by focusing on collecting Fremen cards, cards that improve harvesting spice, military cards, etc.
Much like with 7 Wonders, combat strength builds up over the round but doesn’t come into use until the end of the round. Players have troops either in reserve, in garrisons, or in the battlefield. On top of that, cards (both Intrigue and Imperial) can add combat strength. The stakes of the combat are determined at the top of the round, however, as the Conflict card is flipped and the rewards for coming in first, second, or third (only applicable in a 4 player game) are revealed. These rewards can be resources, points, intrigue cards, and later on, control of various locations on Arrakis. Juggling troops and cards and trying to determine when to go all in is a huge part of the game. Only certain locations allow you to add troops to the battlefield which depends on having the right cards to send agents to activate.
Finally there are the four factions and managing them and competing for their allegiance is a major path to victory. The Fremen provide water and troops. The Bene Gesserit give you Intrigue cards and help you weed out unhelpful cards from your deck. The Spacing Guild helps your agents go anywhere on the board and will trade troops for spice. And the Emperor gives you money and also will trade troops and Intrigue for spice. The more you visit these faction locations the higher their opinion of you grows and at certain levels you gain an Alliance which is a source of points and unlocks other powers.
This game mixes and matches familiar game concepts from across the hobby to create an Ixian ghola of a game that largely works but is a hard sell for casual gamer groups. Because of all the rules and the way they overlap and feed each other it can be very challenging trying to teach any individual part because everything is interconnected. Once you do grasp how everything works the actual game is… Fine? It flows pretty decently until you hit the many road blocks and choke points this game has set up. Want more troops? Better get money. Want money? Better get spice. Want spice? Well you better have water. Want water? Better have a card that lets you visit the Fremen. Don’t have any of that or find that other players have clogged up the locations you need? Then I guess you can’t do the things you want so better hope you draw better cards next round.
This tightness creates tension and cutthroat play which is in keeping with the source material and there are enough hidden cards and secret information so you’re always on your toes. As you race to gobble up resources, your attention is divided and choices have to be made about how best to pursue points and the game is at its best when you are torn between compelling actions and at its worst when you can’t really do anything because the cards and timing don’t add up.
There have been multiple expansions and even an updated edition that apparently address some of these concerns but I don’t feel compelled to spend more on this game although I was sore tempted when I found out the updated edition has a Christopher Walken card. Still, the game is fine but not one I feel folks absolutely need to rush out to get. I’m glad to have it sit next to my 1979 Avalon Hill Dune game on the shelf.