Dune Board Games: cooperative game
Dune: House Secrets: how the story game works
Dune: House Secrets is a 2021 cooperative story game from Portal Games for 1 to 4 players, played over four chapters. It’s a good fit for groups who’d rather read a mystery together and make choices than compete for points.
- 2021
- 1-4 players
- 90-180 minutes
- Ages 14+
- cooperative game
- Portal Games
Designers: Jakub Poczęty, Przemysław Rymer, Ignacy Trzewiczek, Weronika Spyra
No winners, no losers, and no peeking at the cards. Here’s how a chapter works.
There are no winners, so the usual idea of a round doesn’t fit. Instead, you play chapters made up of encounters, each using some of your limited time. The bullets below explain how to choose, read and resolve an encounter, and what happens when time runs out. For a competitive game on the same planet, try Dune: War for Arrakis.
Don't read an encounter until the game makes it available.
Quick guide: how a Dune: House Secrets chapter plays
There aren’t any rounds. Each chapter is a series of encounters, and the time track limits how many you can tackle.
Write down each encounter number you resolve. Resolved cards stay available later.
- Step 1:
Read the chapter introduction for your situation, goals, starting time and first encounters.
- Step 2:
Pick an encounter to pursue, then draw the card with that number from the encounter deck without looking at any others.
- Step 3:
Move the time marker down one space for each encounter you resolve.
- Step 4:
Read the encounter aloud and follow its instructions. You might take an asset or resource, or draw a consequence token.
- Step 5:
Some encounters require a resource to reach, such as 1 spice or 1 weapon.
- Step 6:
Place the card near the board and note its number. Resolved cards stay available for later chapters.
- 7Step 7:
When the time marker reaches the Status Report space, resolve that final encounter, then complete the status report on the companion website.
- 8Step 8:
Spend the experience points you gained to unlock skills before the next chapter.
Since the story drives the game, the rules mostly cover what you can read and when. The next section goes through setup, encounters, time, resources, experience and the status report between chapters. For a competitive take on the same era, see Dune: Betrayal.
How to play Dune: House Secrets, step by step
Setup
Set the game board in the middle of the table and place the consequence marker on the leftmost space of its track. Put the time marker where the chapter introduction directs.
Set up a resource pool. When you continue the story, rebuild the pool from your progress sheet, then put your previously gained encounters and assets in the play area.
Each player takes Character boards and chooses one Character for the whole story. Each Character provides 1 resource at the start of the prologue.
Flip the unchosen Characters to their Advocate side and add the resources shown to the pool. Each Advocate provides 2.
Place the encounter and asset decks near the board, with their cover cards on top. Mix the five consequence tokens facedown in the consequence pool.
Have pen and paper handy for notes, along with the map of Dune.
Log in to the companion website, choose a chapter, watch its introduction video, then read the chapter introduction card.
Turn by turn
Encounters
You play by resolving encounters, each with its own number. Draw the card for the number you pursue, move the time marker one space, read the card aloud, and follow its instructions. Don’t read an encounter until it’s available.
Time
The time track shows how long you have before reporting back to rebel headquarters. Each resolved encounter moves the marker one space toward 0, so the track shows how many encounters you can reveal in a chapter. The chapter introduction sets the starting space.
Resources
Resources include spice, water, weapons, subterfuge, and wild tokens. A wild token can stand in for any other resource. Spend resources to access some encounters and pay for certain effects. You start with a few and gain few more. Each Character can trade any two resources for their specialty resource.
Flip
The flip icon lets you read the back of an encounter card. It usually costs nothing, though some cards require a resource or consequence token. Decide before pursuing another encounter. Once you flip a card, both sides remain accessible in later chapters.
Consequence tokens
When instructed to draw a token, take one at random from the pool. Two of the five show a safe side, so nothing happens. The other three show a consequence side: the Harkonnens have noticed you. Move the consequence marker back one space, then reshuffle all five tokens.
Assets and the website
Assets are lettered cards that provide important items. History and Filmbook icons point to the companion website. Enter the number printed on the card there to read an entry.
Experience and skills
At the end of a chapter, the consequence marker determines how many experience points the team gains. Spend them on skill stickers for Character and Advocate boards. Level I skills unlock after the prologue, level II after chapter 1, and level III after chapter 2. Lose any points you leave unspent.
End of the game and scoring
A chapter ends once the time marker reaches the status report space and you resolve that last encounter. Choose Status Report on the website, then select one suggestion for each action. Your choices shape later chapters. There’s no winning or losing. Chapter 3 uses the board’s back, where a victory point track records the positive effects of your actions.
Key rules
Four chapters
The story includes a prologue (P) and chapters I, II, and III. The prologue is a short tutorial; chapters I to III make up the main story.
Notes matter
Write down the number of each encounter you resolve. Resolved cards stay available in every later chapter, and the rulebook likens your notes to water on Arrakis.
Characters and advocates
Your chosen Characters stay with you for the whole story. Advocates are inhabitants of Dune who lend a hand. At the start of the prologue, Advocates provide 2 resources and Characters provide 1.
One-time skills
Every skill has a one-time effect. To use it, check the box on the skill and follow the instructions.
Progress sheet
The rulebook’s last page is a progress sheet. Use it between sessions to record status report entries, accessible encounters, and resources.
Tips for your first game
- Start with the prologue, as the rulebook instructs. It’s a short lesson in how the game works.
- Choose one note-taker to record every encounter number you resolve.
- Use the deliberation space on the time track to pause and talk before time runs out.
- Conserve your resources. You get few on this barren planet.
Resources are scarce on Arrakis, so save them for goals that need them.
House Secrets tells an original adventure on Arrakis, rather than retelling the 2021 film scene by scene. Here’s who made the game, how it was released, and the story world described in the rulebook. See the Dune board games overview for the full list of games.
The game and the Dune story behind it
Use the deliberation space to talk things over before time runs out.
The game
Design and release
Ignacy Trzewiczek, Weronika Spyra, and Jakub Poczęty designed the game for Portal Games, and Przemysław Rymer wrote the story. It builds on Portal’s Detective system. Portal premiered the game at Spiel Essen on October 15, 2021; stores followed the next week.
Editions and reprints
July 2021 pre-orders included a special edition limited to 1,500 copies, with upgrades and bonuses missing from the retail version. The game is a sub-licensed property of Gale Force Nine.
The film or series it covers
The story is original and retells no scene or chapter from Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film, though it uses that film's world. The rulebook includes the Dune 2021 Legendary notice and thanks the filmmakers.
The rulebook starts with House Harkonnen scheming as House Atreides arrives on Arrakis. You play rebel agents caught between them, trying to uncover secrets and join the resistance against the Harkonnens. A sample prologue introduction begins in a cave in the Shield Wall in 10192 AG.
Scenes and story beats in the game
- 1
The sample prologue begins with your hands bound in a cave in the Shield Wall.
- 2
Character boards feature a Fremen informant from a small settlement near Arrakeen and an Atreides spy who once worked in Thufir Hawat's network.
- 3
The board features maps of Dune and Tel Gezer.
- 4
Rulebook quotes are attributed to Princess Irulan, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam and Paul Atreides.
What’s in the Dune: House Secrets box
- 1 encounter deck: 4 cover cards and 68 encounter cards
- 1 asset deck: 1 cover card and 23 asset cards
- 1 prologue introduction (P) and chapter introductions I, II and III
- 27 resource tokens: 6 each of weapon, spice, water and subterfuge, plus 3 wild
- 4 Character and Advocate boards
- 1 game board with maps of Dune and Tel Gezer
- 1 time marker, 1 consequence marker and 5 consequence tokens
- 1 skill sticker sheet and rulebook
- Not in the box: the companion website, which provides introduction videos, history entries and the status report
Editions of Dune: House Secrets
Special pre-order edition 2021
Limited to 1,500 copies, with upgrades and bonuses that the retail version lacks.
Retail edition 2021
Premiered at Spiel Essen on October 15, 2021, with stores following the next week.
Dune: House Secrets FAQs
What is Dune: House Secrets?
A cooperative, story-driven game for 1 to 4 players. Join the resistance against House Harkonnen, then play a prologue and three chapters of encounters, deciding together how the story unfolds.
How do you win Dune: House Secrets?
No. The rulebook says there is no winning or losing. Each chapter ends with a status report whose choices shape the next chapter. In chapter 3, a victory point track records how well your actions went.
Do you need the website to play Dune: House Secrets?
Yes. The companion website hosts chapter introduction videos, history and filmbook entries, and the status report. Log in during setup and whenever a card sends you there.
Where do you start in Dune: House Secrets?
Start with the prologue, marked P. It's much shorter than the main chapters and teaches you the game. Then play Chapters I, II and III in order.
Can you replay a chapter of Dune: House Secrets?
Yes. Return that chapter's encounters to the deck in numerical order, faceup, and reset the chapter on the website. Resetting removes everything you gained in that chapter.
How long does Dune: House Secrets take?
Listings give 90 to 180 minutes for ages 14 and up. Portal describes a short prologue followed by three adventures of roughly two to three hours each, so plan on several sessions.
Is Dune: House Secrets based on the movie?
It's an original adventure set in the world of the 2021 film, not a retelling of its plot. The rulebook bears the Dune 2021 Legendary notice and thanks the filmmakers.
Don't read an encounter until the game makes it available.
Write down each encounter number you resolve. Resolved cards stay available later.
Sources
- Portal Games: Dune: House Secrets rulebook (PDF) portalgames.blob.core.windows.net
- Portal Games: release date announcement for Dune: House Secrets en.portalgames.pl
- Gaming Trend: Dune gets a new board game, including 1,500 special edition pre-order copies gamingtrend.com
- Wikipedia: List of games based on Dune en.wikipedia.org