Dune Board Games: strategy board game
The Original Dune Board Game (1979): How a Turn Works
The 1979 dune board game is a negotiation and conquest classic for 2 to 6 players. Gale Force Nine reissued it in 2019. It suits groups who prefer alliances, secret plans, and betrayal to orderly turn-taking.
- 1979
- 2-6 players
- 60-180 minutes
- Ages 14+
- strategy board game
- Avalon Hill (Gale Force Nine reissue 2019)
Designers: Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, Peter Olotka
Six factions, one planet, and nobody’s telling the truth. Let’s look at a turn.
A Dune turn has nine phases, which sounds like a lot, but each takes a minute or two. Most of the drama happens during bidding, shipment, and battle. The list below covers each phase in order; the next section explains how the six factions bend the rules. The same designers later made Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen.
New to the series? Uprising is standalone, so the base game isn’t needed.
A quick look at one turn of Dune
The game runs for up to 10 turns, each with nine phases in this order.
Check the film connection line on each card. Dune games draw from the book, the 1984 film or the new films.
- Step 1:
Storm: Two players dial a number from 1 to 3. The storm moves counterclockwise by their total, killing forces on sand and removing spice from the sectors it crosses.
- Step 2:
Spice blow and Nexus: Turn over a spice card. Spice appears in the named territory, unless a worm card devours what’s there. A Nexus lets players form or break alliances.
- Step 3:
CHOAM Charity: A player with 0 or 1 spice can claim enough to reach 2.
- Step 4:
Bidding: Players bid spice on treachery cards for weapons and defenses. No one can hold more than 4 cards.
- Step 5:
Revival: Bring back up to 3 forces from the Tleilaxu Tanks. Some are free; the rest cost 2 spice each. Leaders cost spice equal to their fighting strength.
- Step 6:
Shipment and movement: Ship forces to Arrakis for spice, then move them. Storm sectors block movement.
- 7Step 7:
Battle: If two players share a territory, each secretly builds a battle plan. Then both reveal it.
- 8Step 8:
Spice harvest: Collect spice from territories where you have forces.
- 9Step 9:
Mentat pause: Check for a winner, then advance the turn marker.
Each faction bends the basic rules in its own way, so the details matter more here than in most games. The next section covers setup, battle plans, each faction’s special power, and the three ways to win. For a modern take on the same setting, try Dune: Imperium.
A detailed guide to playing the Dune board game
Setup
Set the turn marker to 1 and put out the spice bank. Shuffle the spice and treachery decks.
Deal each player a faction card, then use the prediction deck to assign factions at random. Players may swap afterward.
Each player takes shields and a player sheet, then places their marker on the circle nearest their shield.
Deal four traitor cards to each player. Each secretly keeps one, choosing an opponent’s leader or protecting one of their own.
Take starting spice from the bank and place starting forces as shown on the player sheet.
Each player draws one treachery card.
Turn by turn
Storm and spice
The storm circles the 18 sectors, destroying forces and spice left on sand. Spice blows add spice to the board, while a worm card devours it. During the first turn's blow, set worm cards aside.
Bidding
Players bid spice for treachery cards, which offer weapons, defenses and other advantages. Everyone can see how many cards each player holds, and nobody may hold more than 4. If all players pass on a card, return the remaining cards to the deck.
Revival and shipment
Revival brings forces and leaders back from the Tleilaxu Tanks. Shipment sends forces from your reserve to Arrakis for a cost. Then each player may move once. Forces can't enter, leave or pass through a sector in storm.
Battle plan
Each player secretly sets a number of forces on a battle wheel. Include a leader or cheap hero if possible, and add treachery cards if you like. If a traitor card matches a leader, that leader's owner loses. A weapon without a matching defense kills the leader.
Resolving a battle
Otherwise, compare the totals: the lower score loses. The loser loses everything committed, while the winner loses only the forces dialed. On a tie, the attacker wins.
Harvest and pause
Harvest spice where you have both forces and spice. During the mentat pause, check stronghold control for a winner, then advance the turn marker.
End of the game and scoring
A faction wins by holding three of the five strongholds at the end of a turn, or four if it's in an alliance. In a two-player game, you need four strongholds. If no one wins by turn 10, the Fremen win if they hold specific strongholds; otherwise, the Spacing Guild wins. The Bene Gesserit can win by correctly predicting the winner and turn at the start.
Key rules
Atreides
Prescience lets them see the treachery card up for auction while everyone else bids blind. They can also peek at the next spice blow and make an opponent reveal part of a battle plan.
Bene Gesserit
They can coexist with other players' forces and use the Voice to command a card in combat. They secretly predict a player and turn, and win if they're right.
Emperor and Guild
The Padishah Emperor gets paid when other players buy treachery cards. The Spacing Guild gets paid when others ship forces to the board, and pays only half to ship its own forces.
Fremen and Harkonnen
The Fremen start on Arrakis, move two territories and ride worms. The Harkonnens keep all four traitors instead of one, and get a free second treachery card when they buy.
Tips for your first game
- Check the faction powers before choosing, since they affect which phases matter most to you.
- Watch the storm marker. It wipes out forces and spice on sand.
- Count your treachery cards early: nobody can hold more than 4 (Harkonnens 8).
- Alliances can be short-lived. One traitor card can end a battle with a single reveal.
Rise of Ix and Immortality both need the original Dune: Imperium box.
This game began as something else, and a licensing standoff helped turn it into Dune. The next section looks at the designers, the 1984 and 2019 editions, and how closely the game follows the novel. See the Dune board games overview for the other titles on the list.
The game and the Dune novel behind it
Out of print doesn’t mean unplayable. Check the print status on each card.
The game
Design and release
Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge and Peter Olotka designed Dune for Avalon Hill, which published it in 1979. The game began as Tribute, a Roman Empire game, and drew on their earlier Cosmic Encounter. Avalon Hill had the Dune license, but found the first design unusable.
Editions and reprints
A Second edition came out in 1984 with two expansions, Spice Harvest and The Duel. In 2012, Fantasy Flight reprinted the system as Rex: Final Days of an Empire, without the Dune license. Gale Force Nine reissue Dune on 30 October 2019, with only about 3 to 5 percent of the rules changed.
The film or series it covers
Frank Herbert's novel Dune and its wider universe are the source material. The game predates the films, so it isn't a film adaptation.
Six factions fight for Arrakis's strongholds: the Atreides, Bene Gesserit, Emperor, Fremen, Spacing Guild and Harkonnens. The 2019 reissue came out ahead of the 2021 film, but it isn't a film tie-in. Its roots are in the wider literary franchise and the first novel.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
The Bene Gesserit Voice lets you command a card in battle.
- 2
Fremen ride sandworms. Play a worm card, and it devours spice and forces.
- 3
The Harkonnen player's traitors echo the schemes of the novel's villains.
- 4
The first release nearly stalled after the designers used characters from later novels, even though the license covered only the first book.
Inside the Dune box
- An Arrakis board with 18 sectors and territory types
- Battle wheels, player shields, player sheets and a faction deck
- Treachery, spice and traitor cards
- Forces and leader tokens for each faction
- Spice tokens, a turn marker and a storm marker
- A rulebook and quick start guide
Editions and expansions of the Dune board game
Avalon Hill original 1979
The original game by Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge and Peter Olotka.
Second edition 1984
Released alongside the Dune film, with the Spice Harvest and The Duel expansions.
Gale Force Nine reissue 2019
Released on 30 October 2019 with new art and minimal rule changes. Expansions include Ixians and Tleilaxu, CHOAM and Richese, and Ecaz and Moritani.
Dune board game FAQs
How do you play the Dune board game?
The game runs for up to 10 turns, with nine phases: storm, spice blow, CHOAM charity, bidding, revival, shipment and movement, battle, spice harvest and mentat pause. The goal is to control strongholds.
How do you win the Dune board game?
Control three of the five strongholds at the end of a turn, or four as an alliance. The Fremen and Spacing Guild have special wins at turn 10, and the Bene Gesserit can win by predicting the winner.
How many players can play the 1979 Dune board game?
It plays 2 to 6 players, ages 14+, in 60 to 180 minutes or more.
Who designed the original Dune board game?
Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge and Peter Olotka, the team behind Cosmic Encounter.
Is there a newer version of the Dune board game?
Yes. Gale Force Nine reissued it in October 2019 with new art and a small number of rule changes.
Is the Dune board game based on the movie?
No. The 1979 game is based on Frank Herbert's novel and came before the films.
New to the series? Uprising is standalone, so the base game isn’t needed.
Check the film connection line on each card. Dune games draw from the book, the 1984 film or the new films.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Dune (board game) en.wikipedia.org