Dune

Notes

How to Explain/Teach

• dropping forces to gather spice
• attacking/allying factions
• avoiding the worms and storm
• Winning is controlling 3 of 5 strongholds at end of round
• Treachery cards are like items, mostly during combat
• Traitor cards show all the leaders in the game.. if you’re in battle with another faction that uses a leader you have the card for, you automatically win.
• Game has max of ten rounds

Phases

1. Storm
   • Storm moves and kills anyone in sand locations it passes through/lands on
   • Imperial basin/Arrakeen/Carthag are always protected until shield wall goes down
2. Spice Blow
   • Flip card and place spice in location it says
   • If worm card comes up, it kills those in last location, and a Nexus is triggered where alliances can be formed/broken
   • Point to the Atreides player. “You run this deck.”
3. CHOAM Charity
   • Players with 0-1 spice can go up to 2 spice
4. Bidding
   • Deal out treachery cards for each person with less than 4 in hand
   • Money goes to emperor player
   • Point to the Atreides player. “You need to pay attention.” Point to the Harkonnen player. “You get extra if you buy.” Point to the Emperor player. “Say hello to your money.”
5. Revival
   • Retrieve up to 3 from Tanks (faction dictates what you get free, rest is worth 2 spice/soldier)
6. Shipping/Movement
   • Shipping from your reserves costs 1/troop if being sent to stronghold (2 if sand or rock)
   • Money goes to spacing guild player
   • Can’t ship to ally locations (but you can to enemy ones).. if stronghold has two factions in it, you can’t go there.
   • Moving is going from one location to the adjacent one (full named locations, not the dotted line sectors)
     • If you have one of the two major cities, you can move up to 3 locations.
   • Sectors only matter in terms of storm stuff
   • Point to the Spacing Guild Player. “Now it is time for you to collect your money.” Point to the Fremen player. “But not from you!”
7. Battle
   • First player dictates which battle that fights first
   • Each player has battle dial to commit number of troops fighting, plus a leader
   • Each plays an offense and defense treachery card
   • All forces committed die, leaders stay at location unless killed
   • If traitor happens, regardless of anything, traitor leader/troops die
   • Spice is collected based on value of any leaders killed
8. Spice Collection
   • 2 spice per troop you have in location (3 per troop if you have Carthag or Arrakeen)
9. Mentat Pause
   • Check win/move turn tracker

Bribery

• secret info

• future actions

• spice

• Public deals and bribes are binding

• Private deals are not

• Battle Support: “Pay me 3 spice and I’ll Voice their weapon away.”

• Info Selling (Atreides): “For 2 spice, I’ll tell you if this card is a weapon.”

• Non-Aggression: “Give me 1 spice each turn and I won’t touch your stronghold.”

• Spice Rights: “Let me harvest here uncontested for 2 spice.”

• Troop Help: “Pay me and I’ll move my army to cover your flank.”

• Sabotage Pass: “Throw me some spice and I’ll stay out of your way.”

• Atreides: Sell hidden info every round.

• Bene Gesserit: Sell Voice or “non-interference.”

• Fremen: Offer muscle cheaply (low spice upkeep).

• Guild: “I profit anyway — give me spice and I’ll make it easier for you.”

• Emperor: Buy allies — bankroll their armies.

• Harkonnen: Threaten with traitors — “Pay me to reduce your risk.”

Faction Abilities

• Emperor
  • rich.. gets paid when people buy cards
• Harkonnen
  • traitorous.. lots of traitor cards and treachery
• Atriedes
  • you can see treachery cards being bid on
  • you can see one aspect of battle plan of enemy
  • only you can take notes
• Bene
  • predict winner
  • ship extra to polar
  • you use the voice to tell an enemy in battle to play/not play certain cards or leaders (e.g. play a cheap hero, don’t play a shield)
• Fremen
  • you can deploy as many troops as you want for free, to certain locations
  • you can move two spaces at minimum, not one
  • ride the worm
  • could win the game at the end
• Spacing
  • paid for delivering troops
  • can ship troops around the map
  • could win the game at the end if no one else does

Advanced Combat

• Set Battle Plan (secret)
  • Commit troops (½ strength each).
  • Pay 1 spice per troop → they fight at full strength.
  • Choose 1 leader.
  • Optional: 1 weapon + 1 defense (plus specials).
• Reveal simultaneously.
• Check Traitors. If enemy leader matches your Traitor card → instant win.
• Weapons/Defenses. If unblocked weapon hits → leader dies → instant loss.
• Strength Total. (Troops + Leader + Bonuses). Higher wins.
• Apply Losses. Winner loses only committed troops; loser loses all.

How to make spice

• Killing leaders
• Getting it off the board
• Faction power (emperor, spacing guild)
• Bribes (trading info, future actions)

Factions Quick Reference

• Atreides: Knows hidden info (cards, battles).
• Bene Gesserit: Voice, coexistence, prediction win.
• Fremen: Desert mobility, storm immunity, free revival. Win Turn 10.
• Guild: Cheap shipping, profits when others ship. Win Turn 10.
• Emperor: Spice from auctions, Sardaukar troops.
• Harkonnen: 4 traitors, 8 cards, capture leaders.

First Turn Strategies

• Atreides: Bid lightly, sell info, grab spice.
• BG: Place advisors near spice/strongholds. Hide your target.
• Fremen: Use free desert shipments, don’t overextend.
• Guild: Ship cheaply, profit from others.
• Emperor: Buy cards aggressively, project power.
• Harkonnen: Hoard Treachery cards, play up traitor fear.

First-Turn Strategy by Faction

House Atreides (Intel Masters)

• Focus: Use your knowledge right away. Peek at Treachery cards and sell info.
• Turn 1 Plan: Try to win 1 useful Treachery card (weapon/defense), but don’t overspend.
• Alliances: Offer “intel deals” — let others pay you spice to whisper what’s coming.
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t hoard info for free. Your power is wasted unless you trade it.

Bene Gesserit (Manipulators)

• Focus: Get troops/advisors into stronghold-adjacent spaces. Position quietly.
• Turn 1 Plan: Coexist in spice-rich territories (looks harmless, but sets up options).
• Alliances: Offer Voice help to someone who needs battle support.
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t show your prediction by pushing too hard against/for one faction.

The Fremen (Desert Warriors)

• Focus: Use free desert shipments + mobility to grab spice early.
• Turn 1 Plan: Move toward central spice or secure a desert stronghold.
• Alliances: Propose being the “muscle” in an alliance: you can fight without bleeding spice.
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t blow all your troops in one fight — your revival is good, but you’re not invincible.

Spacing Guild (The Traders)

• Focus: Profit from shipping — even Turn 1, you’ll get spice from others.
• Turn 1 Plan: Ship in cheaply (half price), maybe into an “ignored” spice patch. Build slowly.
• Alliances: Offer economic partnership: “You fight, I fund.”
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t rush to fight. You’re strongest if the game drags — so pace yourself.

The Emperor (The Bank)

• Focus: Leverage your income from bidding to build strong military presence.
• Turn 1 Plan: Buy aggressively in Treachery auction (you’ll get refunded as others bid).
• Alliances: Offer to bankroll someone in exchange for board presence.
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t hoard spice — if you don’t use it to project power, others will outpace you.

House Harkonnen (The Treacherous)

• Focus: Use your giant hand size and traitors to scare people.
• Turn 1 Plan: Try to win multiple Treachery cards at auction — you can hold more than others.
• Alliances: Offer “battle certainty” — your arsenal + possible traitors make you terrifying.
• Trap to Avoid: Don’t reveal your traitors too early. The threat is stronger than the reveal.