Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

You May Also Like...

O
oliverkinne
December 14, 2023
Hot

Mycelia Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 07, 2023

River Wild Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
November 30, 2023
J
Jackwraith
November 29, 2023
Hot
O
oliverkinne
October 09, 2023
O
oliverkinne
October 06, 2023

Outback Crossing Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
October 05, 2023
O
oliverkinne
October 02, 2023

Forests of Pangaia Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
September 29, 2023

Bagh Chal Review

Board Game Reviews
AL
Andi Lennon
September 28, 2023
O
oliverkinne
September 25, 2023

Castle Panic Review

Board Game Reviews
GS
Gary Sax
June 21, 2023
Hot
O
oliverkinne
June 09, 2023
Hot
O
oliverkinne
June 02, 2023
Hot

Ahoy Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
May 26, 2023

Village Rails Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
May 19, 2023

The Spill Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews

Dune Board Game Review

Hot
O Updated February 05, 2020
 
4.5
 
0.0 (0)
21612 0
Dune (Saturday Review)

Game Information

Game Name
Players
2 - 6
There Will Be Games

Our heighliner was positioned safely in Arrakis' orbit. With a steady stream of Spice filling our coffers gradually, we had to be patient and observe from afar the goings-on down on the planet itself. It was clear that House Atreides was pivotal in the unfolding events and our scheme had to remain hidden until the right moment was reached. The cogs were set in motion and doubts had been planted in the Emperor's mind that would lead to their unavoidable conclusion. The Spice needs to flow on Dune by Gale Force Nine.

Yes, this is the re-implementation of the original Dune from 1979, which in turn is based on the books by Frank Herbert. I don't know how much the new release has inherited from its forty-year-old parent, but even though it feels like an older game in some areas, it still works really well and has captured my imagination.

I have been looking for a game like this for a while. Dune ticks a lot of boxes for me: it has a well-known and immersive theme, it features hidden information which leads to bluffing and plenty of table talk, there is constant player interaction as the different factions fight for area control and the all-important Spice, which is tempered by the ability to form alliances, while everyone tries to reach their own, asymmetric goals. It feels so amazing to talk other players into taking certain actions or even forcing their hand by not blocking other players from winning, but leaving it up to them to occupy the relevant regions.

If you're a fan of Dune, and even if you're not, you will find all the factions faithfully represented in the game. You will also recognize the names of a number of important places on the planet of Arrakis, or Dune, as it is more commonly known, all of which allows you to re-enact the story told by the books, if you're familiar with them, or the film, which most people are likely to know. In fact, during the game you rewrite the story as you try to lead your faction to victory.

The scheming that is a strong part of the story of Dune is wonderfully represented by the ability to form alliances at certain times during gameplay, as well as the continuous table talk where you try and direct other players' focus away from your plans and towards interfering with your opponents. The asymmetric abilities are closely based on the factions from the fictitious world of Dune, with the Spacing Guild benefiting from other players deploying their troops on the planet, the Fremen having better insights into the workings of the weather and the Worms on Dune, and so on.

In fact, everything you do in the game immerses you deeper and deeper into the world that Frank Herbert created. You will feel a strong urge to get out your smartphone and play the film music in the background and want to hunker down under the table when the storm circles the planet and threatens to wipe out everything in its path.

However, there are areas that show the game's age. I can understand that the rulebook is long and that it takes a while to learn how to play. It's a necessary evil for a complex game like Dune. It helps if someone else has already played it and you learn only the basics and just start playing, learning new rules as you go. So that's fine.

I also quite like that the art style feels old, just like the world of Dune itself feels very Victorian. It is in keeping with what you would expect, even though it is very brown and monochrome. So that's fine too.

A big problem are the troop tokens that you place on the world map. They are simply too small and fiddly, which is especially problematic because you may end up having three or four factions vie for the same region. You end up with tall towers of cardboard tokens, some of which may even include advanced troops, forcing you to have two stacks of tokens per faction. I appreciate that making the tokens bigger would have required the map to be bigger as well, which would require a larger table to play the game on. Yet, if the tokens were small wooden discs and the map only a little bit bigger, it would have really lifted the game's playing experience for me.

Another problem is the need for an FAQ. It's great that there is one, but it also shows that the rules aren't fully streamlined. There are quite a few situations where it is not clear from the rules alone how some actions work in a specific context or whose ability takes precedence over another. However, the re-implementation does clear up a lot of things in its FAQ that the original game left unclear, so it's definitely a step forward.

Despite all of this though, I absolutely love Dune and can't wait to play it again. I happily overlook the problems with the game, because the enjoyment I get out of it is huge. It's clearly a game that you have to play many times before you start to understand it, and then many more times to begin to master it. It is very fitting for a game that is based on a saga that tells a detailed account of different families' struggles through life over several generations. The game itself is only a small part of this story which by itself provides many hours of enjoyment and replayability.

Editor reviews

1 reviews

Rating 
 
4.5
O
Oliver Kinne
Oliver Kinne (He/Him)
Associate Writer

Oliver Kinne aims to publish two new articles every week on his blog, Tabletop Games Blog, and also release both in podcast form. He reviews board games and writes about tabletop games related topics.

Oliver is also the co-host of the Tabletop Inquisition podcast, which releases a new episode every three to four weeks and tackles different issues facing board games, the people who play them and maybe their industry.

Articles by Oliver Kinne

User reviews

There are no user reviews for this listing.
Already have an account? or Create an account
Log in to comment

rjvonline's Avatar
rjvonline replied the topic: #307158 16 Feb 2020 08:08
Yes the cardboard counters are small and somewhat tricky to handle, but no there cannot be 3 or 4 factions in the same region. At most 2 (not including BG advisers) on opposing sides (allied sides can never be in the same region).
JoelCFC25's Avatar
JoelCFC25 replied the topic: #307159 16 Feb 2020 10:00
This is not correct. Strongholds (the ones you have to control for the primary victory condition) are limited to 2 factions, yes--but all other sand/rock territories could in fact be occupied by several factions. In this case, battles ensue until there is only 1 faction (or 2 allied factions) left, with the role of aggressor rotating among the players, starting with the first player in dot order.
rjvonline's Avatar
rjvonline replied the topic: #307324 20 Feb 2020 22:14
Thanks. I guess our plays unconsciously extended the stronghold rules to other regions. I can’t remember there being ever more than 2 factions in any region. Oh well.
oliverkinne's Avatar
oliverkinne replied the topic: #307332 21 Feb 2020 05:37
Yes, the faction limit confused us too at the beginning. However, like @JoelCFC25 points out, the 2 faction limit only applies to strongholds. Everywhere else can be more than 2, except allies, which does add another interesting level of strategy to the game.
JoelCFC25's Avatar
JoelCFC25 replied the topic: #307338 21 Feb 2020 10:30

rjvonline wrote: I can’t remember there being ever more than 2 factions in any region.

Right, it should be pretty rare...a spice blow is more likely to be negotiated over than fought out, because battle losses are so crippling to recover from and most spice blows aren't that lucrative.
oliverkinne's Avatar
oliverkinne replied the topic: #307578 29 Feb 2020 11:02
Thank you @JoelCFC25. In our plays we never did much negotiating, but it does make sense to do that more, than battle over everything. I'll bear that in mind the next time we play.