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If I have one negative to bring to this Dune Imperium review, it is the components – not the quality, that is fine, but the design of them. Your troops are cubes, your agents are uninspiring and the board could look a tad better. There is a deluxe component upgrade, which I have bought, but you should not have to do that. Don’t get me wrong, the game functions and is a lot of fun, there is nothing wrong with the components, but they could be a little bit snazzier.
The deluxe upgrade looks fantastic (shown below) replacing everything with miniatures and giving players a new box to keep it all in, but when you have forked out for an already quite expensive game, you should not have to hand over another bag of coin for ‘better’ components. That being said, I cannot wait for mine to turn up; they are arriving in March apparently. So, overall, the components are serviceable but nothing to write home about. The cards are nice though, using art from the upcoming Dune film, due this year. You may even recognize some of the people on the cards. My son said, “Isn’t that Drax, dad, from Guardians of the Galaxy?” Yes, son, yes it is. Sleeving game cards is a surprisingly divisive practice in the board gaming hobby. There are some people that sleeve their cards religiously, and others that absolutely hate the feel of holding those plastic sleeves in your hands.Protect your game with 75 gorgeous full-art sleeves for use with Dune: Imperium or other card games. The Spice Must Flow featuring the fearsome sandworms of Dune. Direwolf have also promised an app-based AP to confound your plans – there aren’t any details of how this will work as yet, but they are wanting to make it as intelligent and involved as possible. A Last View from the Shield Wall Do not despair, my Fremen warriors, because despite this delay, there is something to be excited about on the near horizon, and though it may not be the Kwizatz Haderach, it is something very good indeed: Dune Imperium from Direwolf Games. Variety Is The Melange of Life Protect your game with 75 gorgeous full-art sleeves for use with Dune: Imperium or other card games. Arrakis sleeves featuring the iconic desert planet.
It’s very helpful to be able to pull out some of the trays from the game and put them on the table for use during play. In my last game, we simply drew cards directly from the card tray, and resources from the token tray. The top level is a single tray that contains all of the new miniatures and the metal First Player coin. It’s also where you’ll store the components for each of the players. The clear plastic lid for this tray is molded to securely hold not just the game board, but also the 2 new, smaller boards from the Rise of Ix expansion. The four different styles of Agent miniatures. Image by Paul Benson. Maybe it’s down to my explanation, but it does sound complicated on the surface. However, even my son loves the game. Once you know the basics, everything fits together like a well-constructed sci-fi jigsaw. All the symbols are easy to recognise, the board is laid out well and the cards all make sense. It is an easy-to-play game, full of options and rewards for you to manage. I love the game arc too. It starts out slow to earn victory points but, as the battle rewards ramp up towards the end, it really ends in a nice crescendo of players trying to wring out every victory point they can. Dune Imperium: Final Thoughts Underneath the leader tray is another, larger tray which I used to hold all of the resource tokens from the game. When you play, you can simply place the tray on the table to act as the bank. The final tray. Image by Paul Benson.The last component from the top tray, this bas-relief metal coin replace a cardboard token as the First Player marker. The bottom level of trays. Image by Paul Benson.
If played successfully, the interdependencies of Bene Gesserit cards such as Missionaria Protectiva and Reverend Mother Mohiam can make them incredibly powerful. However they don’t always appear regularly in games. Consequently, they are only worth the investment if you are able to acquire lots of Bene Gesserit cards to increase the likelihood of drawing multiples in one hand. Tip 9 (Moderate) – Utilising Fremen Bond Yes, I know this is not required to enjoy Dune Imperium and its price point may be very high, but I really enjoy what it brings to my copy of Dune Imperium. The box is a beautiful storage solution for both the game and the first expansion and doubles up as a resource tray. You can optimise your hand by sending an agent to Selective Breeding or with Fedaykin Death Commando, Gene Manipulation, Guild Administrator, Seitch Reverend Mother Tip 7 (Easy) – Acquiring Your High Council Seat The battle is determined by the conflict card, drawn at the beginning of the round. These range from basic skirmishes and raids to full out battles for locations on Dune. The spoils can be very beneficial, giving a player control of locations on the map, but the consequences can be costly as all troops are lost in the battle. In December 2020, Dire Wolf Digital released Paul Dennen’s Dune: Imperium, which I reviewed on GeekDad. I awarded it with a GeekDad Approved badge, and it went on to be my favorite game of 2021. I wasn’t alone in my enjoyment of the game; it went on to win several awards, including our own GeekDad Game of the Year.Everything in this deluxe upgrade screams quality. From the detailed miniatures to the branded card sleeves. The storage solution and box are much improved over the base game and boy does it give the game a much better look on the table. Removing the top tray, you’ll find several smaller trays below. The clear tray lids form a picture of a sandworm. The card tray. Image by Paul Benson. I split the game up into 3 main phases; the opening (first two rounds), mid-game (all subsequent rounds up to the Conflict III rounds), and the endgame (the Conflict III rounds). This is largely due to the acceleration of victory points after the first few rounds, once you start to consistently draw the new cards you have bought, and the 2VP rewards in most of the Conflict III cards. The Opening
Costing 6 spice, this is the most expensive action space on the board but it is almost always worth it as it immediately allows you to place five troops into the combat, establishing you as a major contender for that round, and you can also add two from your garrison. The space also gives you two water, which will come in very useful in gathering more spice to take the action again as soon as possible. Alongside this, the Carryall is a very powerful card, as it can provide you with up to six spice, allowing you to do the action again as soon as it is free. The Kwizatz Haderach is also a very useful card to have in this situation, as it enables you to gain access to the Heighliner even if another player has taken the action. Tip 12 (Medium) – Use Of Intrigue Cards In Conflict You also get a tray of miniatures that replace your troops with, unique for each player, to do your combat-based bidding. You are also treated with very detailed miniatures for your three agents, the mental and a miniature for each faction. These miniatures, unlike the smaller troop ones, are begging to be painted and I have added them to the never-ending list of board game stuff I need to paint. Despite all the hold ups, cancellations and delays that have been the underlying theme of 2020, Denis Villeneuve’s Dune has been a beacon, something to… oh wait, that’s been delayed too. Well, that really is a mind-killer. With the trailer dropping for the second instalment of the new Dune films I thought this would be a good opportunity for me to revisit one of the best games of the past couple of years to see if it has stood up to the sands of time.Dispatch cunning agents to further your plans. Send loyal troops into battle on Arrakis. Employ the Mentat to outsmart your rivals. Claim the Alliances of the most powerful factions in the Imperium. With 65 beautifully sculpted miniatures figures and a hefty coin to bestow upon the first player, your game will be fit for an Emperor. Four detailed miniatures replace the cardboard Faction Alliance tokens. Three combat-ready Sardaukar represent the Emperor, a Guild Heighliner represents the Spacing Guild, and a Bene Gesserit and a Fremen represent their respective factions. Each of the models has sculpted onto their bases the symbol for their factions. The First Player coin. Image by Paul Benson. The box itself(as pictured above) is much deeper than the box for Dune: Imperium. This is because it can store both the old components and new ones from the base game, as well as all of the components from the Rise of Ix expansion. When you open the box, you’ll find two layers of component trays. The top component tray. Image by Paul Benson.
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