Whether you skipped the tutorial, have problems beating the AI, or simply want to get better at the game, this Dune Imperium Beginner Guide will explain the rules and nuances to Dune: Imperium.
Worker Placement Deck Builder
Fundamentally, Dune Imperium as a game is using two game mechanics.
If you are already familiar with the terms Worker Placement and Deck Builder, you can skip this part. But this is here so that it can provide you with a framework or reference, in the event that you have played or come across other games with this mechanic.
Worker Placement
This is simply a term for games where you have a finite number of workers (in this case, two at the start of the game) and place them on locations on the board–which also happens to lock out that option from other players.
Examples of Worker Placement games on Steam includes Lords of Waterdeep and Stone Age.
In the image above, I’ve encircled the part of the User Interface (UI) that indicates how many workers (or Agents as they are used here) you have.
Deck Builder
Deck Builders are games where you start out with a sub-optimal deck of cards, draw some of them, and attempt to create a “better” deck by acquiring better cards and/or removing bad cards.
Examples of these games on Steam include Slay the Spire and Monster Train.
In Worker Placement games, there is typically no restriction on where you can send your workers. That is not the case in Dune: Imperium, which is where the Deck Builder aspects comes in.
In the image above, we see your initial starting hand. I’ve encircled the parts of the card which indicates the spaces the card allows your Agents to travel to. If you want to send an Agent to a specific space, you simply need to match icons (e.g. a space with a Yellow Triangle needs a card that has a Yellow Triangle).
In the image above, we have what is called the Imperium Row and Reserve. This is where you acquire new cards.
The part I’ve encircled is the Reserve. These two cards, The Spice Must Flow and and Arriakis Liaison, are always available to purchase.
However, the column below it, the Imperium Row, are cards that are limited in supply and disappear when other players acquire them.
Victory Points and Winning
The goal of the game is to acquire the most Victory Points (VP).
In the image above, I’ve encircled where in the UI that indicates how many VP you have.
If a player acquires 10 VP, the game will end in that round (regardless of whether that same player still has 10 VP or not). This means that while the game has 10 rounds, it’s possible to end earlier than that (e.g. the game ends on Round 7).
These are the ways to acquire VP:
- In a 4-player game, each player starts with 1 VP.
- Acquiring The Spice Must Flow card rewards you with 1 VP.
- Reaching rank 2 in a faction space rewards you with 1 VP.
- Attaining a Faction Alliance (usually be reaching rank 4 or higher in a faction space) rewards you with 1 VP. However, this can
- be stolen by surpassing your current rank, unless you are the first player to reach rank 6.
- Some Conflict rewards are VP.
- Some Intrigue cards reward VP if certain conditions are met.
In most instances, this typically means that the player who reaches 10 VP wins the game–although it’s possible for them to lose if another player acquires more VP at the end of the round.
In case of a tie, the game uses the following resources as a tie breaker:
- Spice
- Solari
- Water
- Garrisoned Troops
10 VP might sound like a lot to new players but please bear in mind that if you reach rank 2 in each of the factions, that’s already nearly half of the VP you need to win the game.
Leaders
At the start of the game, you can pick which Leader you get to play with. By default, you get to pick from one of two choices, but there are other game modes which either has you drafting a leader or simply picking one.
Leaders provide you with two benefits.
The first is a special ability that is available to you throughout the game. In the image above, this is the Prescience ability of Paul Atreides.
The second is a unique effect when you play that Leader’s Signet Ring card. In the image above, I’ve encircled the Signet Ring ability. In this case, it’s called Discipline, which lets the player draw a card.
When picking Leaders, these are the two factors you need to decide. Do you want a Leader with a useful first ability but a lackluster Signet Ring ability? Or maybe you have a leader that is the opposite, where their Signet Ring ability is powerful but their initial special ability is relatively weak or too conditional.
Some players might have their own tier list of which Leaders are best but please bear in mind these are contextual and subjective.
An example is that someone might evaluate Glossu Rabban as extremely good, but another person might evaluate them as too conditional or inconsistent (i.e. they are powerful when the game is very Conflict-centric but underwhelming in other situations). Or that their one-time bonus is relatively weak in comparison to what other Leaders provide, but for some players, the early-game lead is good enough.
First Player Marker
At the start of the game, one player gets the First Player Marker. This means that they get to act first.
On succeeding rounds, this gets passed in descending order (e.g. the 4th player passes it to the 1st player, the 1st player passes it to the 2nd player, etc.).
In the image above, I’ve encircled what the First Player Marker looks like. Be sure to monitor this, as determining who acts first in the succeeding round can mean the difference of whether you get blocked from a space or whether you get to block others. (Similarly, it also determines who gets to purchase first from the Imperium Row.)
Resources
There are a lot of resources in the game and the key to executing a good strategy is knowing the value of each resource and when (or when not to) acquire them.
Spice, Solari, and Water
In the image above, you can see the symbols for Spice, Solari, and Water respectively.
Spice is perhaps one of the most versatile resources in the game. It can be exchanged for almost everything else in the game, from Troops, Solari, Water, Intrigue Cards, and Cards.
Solari is important in the early to mid-game, and drops off towards the end-game unless you are able to acquire cards that let you use it.
The most important use for Solari is acquiring the High Council and Swordmaster upgrades. Once you’ve acquired those two upgrades, the only other spaces where you can spend Solari are on the Rally Troops and Mentat spaces, which can be limiting.
Water is perhaps the least flexible resource because it plays an important role. Two out of the three spaces that provide Spice requires Water.
Three Cards for two Water or two Troops for one Water also has its uses.