[*These are where your dead troops go and from where you can revive some in the course of the game.]
I first played the original Dune in 1980 when I ran a board game club in the school I taught at and one of the students brought back a copy from his holiday in the US. I never achieved my own copy, though have toyed with the idea of buying Rex, a transmogrification of Dune into a Twilight Imperium setting.
However, thanks to Gale Force Nine, we can return to those glory days with a few additional optional extras. Inevitably with the passage of time and the advances in production quality, the current game is state of the art standard. Though if you look through the files on BGG you'll see many print and play [pnp] versions that match this professional treatment and show its source of inspiration.
I have to say I hanker for the box art of the original that can be seen below. There is just something more menacing about its gigantic sandworm, against which the current art seems a little too clean and sanitised. Still that's a very minor personal taste.
So, here's a range of visuals starting with the lovely thick counters for the troops and individual heroes.
Storm Phase
Each turn begins with the movement of the Storm marker which destroys all players' troops in sand areas that the Storm marker passes over along with any spice tokens in any territory passed over.
Spice Blow and Nexus Phase
Card draw shows which region will have new spice tokens placed or the destruction of spice tokens, if the card reveals the dreaded monster sandworm, Shai-Hulud. The latter card also heralds the Nexus action, which is the opportunity to break and form Alliances.
If you need this you're in dire straits, as you gain a little spice because you either have none or only one spice marker!
Bidding
This auction phase is to buy treachery cards that range from a variety of weapons including poison and defence protection to rare special cards and a series of worthless cards. This is a real gamble, as the cards are auctioned unseen, so you might buy a totally worthless card or hit one of the rare ones!
Revival
This is when you gain back a small number [up to three] of your troops from the Tleilaxu Tanks and one Hero if all of your Heroes have been eliminated.
Shipment and Movement
Off-map forces may land and limited movement may take place on the planet
Combat
This kind of speaks for itself and brings into use your Battle Wheel and Heroes. Though imitated in various forms in more recent games, such as Scythe, as far as I'm aware this was the first appearance of such a system. It's also the Phase when your Treachery cards can be played, as well as Traitor cards. The latter cards are very powerful, as they immediately win you the battle, nullify any losses you might otherwise have incurred and bring spice token rewards too.
Spice Collection
Again a very straightforward action, as each player collects available spice tokens from territories they occupy
Mentat Phase
As already mentioned very simple. Check for a winner/s and, if no winner, move on to the next turn.
This new updated iteration of such a great game adds in a few Advanced elements both in rules and components, along with Strategy and Faction tips, a Question & Answer section, Optional Alliance rules to cope with different player numbers and for shortening or lengthening the game as well as a brief synopsis of the novel [If you haven't read Dune, I'd strongly avoid this, buy the book and get reading].
Playing as one of up to six factions drawn from the novel leads you to adopt distinctly different styles of play suited to your strengths and weaknesses. Inevitably some are easier to play than others, especially if you are new to the game - none more so than the Bene Gesserit faction, which is the faction most frequently left out when you do not have a full table of six players.
Getting those six players together is the one difficulty and play with a full complement can be a lengthy undertaking, but one that I can wholeheartedly recommend. Four and five players too make for an excellent experience and this new outing for an old favourite comes with a number of simple alliance options to create shorter or longer plays. I love the description for the last choice of option which comes with the caution "a more exotic game" under Possible Side Effect!
If Dune, the novel, and Dune, the game, are unfamiliar to you, I suggest you start right now to find out the value of a stillsuit, the deadly danger of a gom jabber and the awesome power and menace of Shai-Hulud.
Many thanks to GF9 for realising my dream of once more revelling in this game and to Asmodee UK for kindly supplying a review copy.
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