Dune: Imperium and the Story of Prince Rhombur Vernius
Plot a course of influence with important factions as spice, technology, and power determine control in Dune: Imperium.
I was rather intrigued by Dune: Imperium when I first tried it out, particularly with Dune: Imperium – Rise of Ix. Although I played at the highest difficulty level, there were still lots of things to try out! Indeed, there were even a few additional rules I could add to make it even more challenging… But I was getting ahead of myself. To the table!
Game Overview
Game Name: Dune: Imperium
Publication Year: 2020
Designer: Paul Dennen
Artists: Clay Brooks, Raul Ramos, and Nate Storm
Publisher: Dire Wolf
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Cards provide available actions with icons that match the board spaces. Forming faction alliances is key, as is winning important combat opportunities. Tech tiles and other elements provide bonuses as the leaders work to control the planet… And as much spice as possible!
First Play
June 22, 2022
Complexity
3
Latest Play
October 27, 2022
Expansions
1
Setup Time
5 Minutes
Lifetime Plays
10
Play Time
50 Minutes
High Score
12
Game Area
40" x 28"
Low Score
6
Planning Moves
I nearly forgot how much table space I needed! But for as large as this is, I’ve never felt overwhelmed by the spaces.
There are clear areas, like the influence tracks. Only 2 choices exist per faction, and it’s often an easy decision when resources are so scarce right in the beginning.
The solo opponents act randomly with a deck, so this can lead to all sorts of situations. Sometimes, they seem to be working logically. Other times… Absolutely unpredictable!
I had to refresh myself on all of the rules after a few months since my last play, but then I was ready to go!
Princely Plots
My limited exposure to this universe means that I have little knowledge about the leaders, so my random selection of Prince Rhombur Vernius was… Good?
Actually, I was interested to see how I could utilize his abilities to focus on dreadnoughts and technology.
Both of these come with the expansion, thereby adding new strategic layers. I thought the base game was decent enough, yet the expansion made this a great game for me!
So I had a few general ideas in mind, depending on what happened with the solo opponents. Onward to glory!
A Victory Lap
It all started off slowly, as usual, and then victory points suddenly started to add up during the last few rounds.
With this difficulty level limiting me to 2 agents while the solo opponents used 3 agents most of the time, I was in a bind. Ah, but never forget the helpful Mentat!
I planned a grand final turn when I just barely managed to pull ahead for a very close victory. My only slight issue is how it can feel a bit anti-climactic as things just… End.
But my dreadnoughts helped win battles, and a handful of tech tiles earned a final victory point. All worked out!
Cards and Actions
The giant card deck almost always offers up unique combinations with every play, and this was no exception. Foldspace cards were actually my preference!
Finding ways to chain together cards is often a hit or miss. As I mentioned, the deck is enormous and a very small number of cards enter the market. Tricky, tricky.
I also struggle to generate enough to purchase the higher-value cards, at least in the majority of my plays.
Just shows how many more paths there are to try out! And I haven’t utilized a variant to clear the market more often.
When Do Too Many Cards Become… Too Much?
There’s often an interesting balance between variability and options when it comes to cards. I’ve seen some amazing solo games do a lot with about 10-20 total cards, always offering versatility. Yet in this case, so few cards come into the market that it can be tricky to put together the best card combinations. The question: Is that a problem?
Well, in terms of shuffling… Too many cards can be annoying to deal with. Ha! I’ve gone back and forth thinking about this question for this game. The stack of cards is huge, and I would guess I only see around 5% of the total cards per play. Many of these rely on synergies, so it can be very challenging to build a worthwhile deck.
A lot of times, I find myself cycling through the starting cards and trying to use those a lot more than I should. It’s not that they’re bad, yet I don’t get to take neat actions nor chain together cards. With just 2 agents, I’m also very limited in what I can do. At the same time, it’s fun to know that there are so many other cards I haven’t figured out how to use.
This concern might be a moot point, too, since there’s an official variant to clear out the market more often. I do like the limitations, yet that’s something I plan to try out in the future. Might solve this issue for me and give me a chance to put together some better card combinations. In turn… Maybe I’ll actually win reliably with the expansion. Ha ha!
Battle Stations!
I reset with the same leaders, just to test out some other ideas I had in mind. Oh, my. There was an early runaway leader, and stopping his advancement was impossible!
Still, I set up for an exciting final battle. Even with all this, I only managed to tie so that we each earned the same number of victory points. It was over anyway, though.
These combats might seem pretty simple, yet deciding which ones to win or participate in requires thinking.
It’s difficult to win every single combat, so it can come down to the available rewards and number of units.
Duke Leto the Great
Well, that was quite the poor showing! I was on par with Earl Memnon, but Duke Leto absolutely took off.
He acquired several tech tiles, including one that allowed him to recall his dreadnought for a victory point when he won a combat. Yeah… That was definitely useful!
I spluttered along with some fairly weak cards. Spice was also pretty difficult to acquire, so I didn’t pick up many tech tiles along the way. And no dreadnoughts? Awful.
At least I knew where I stumbled, though! Some of this came down to bad luck, yet a lot if it was my own doing.
Session Overview
Play Number: 9 and 10
Expansion: Dune: Imperium – Rise of Ix
Accessory: Dune: Imperium Deluxe Upgrade Pack
Solo Mode: Included in the Base Game
Play Details: Expert Difficulty Level
Outcome: 11-10-9 and 6-12-6 (1 Win and 1 Loss)
We’ll just strike that final play from the record. Ha ha! I still had some interesting cards that I managed to use a couple of times, like Thufir Hawat and intrigue cards. Not my best showing, yet there are a lot of other aspects I still have to explore… Plus another expansion on the horizon!
%
10 Plays
Affordability
Price & Value
9
Functionality
Challenges & Mechanics
10
Originality
Design & Theme
6
Quality
Components & Rules
9
Reusability
Achievement & Enjoyment
9
Variability
Distinctness & Randomness
9
+ Pros (Positives)
- There is a huge amount of variety with the leaders and available cards, which make each play a little different.
- Solo opponents act randomly and often block important spaces, so strategizing around them is challenging.
- The difficulty level can be adjusted in several ways and additional official variants help customize the experience.
- Combat is vital and although the area can get busy, calculcating strength is generally easy and straightforward.
- Summary cards and icon references help provide reminders for the sequence of play, which is clear and quick.
- With the expansion, there are many paths to victory points to try out and experiment with over time.
– Cons (Negatives)
- Only a small fraction of the cards are seen during each play, which makes awesome combinations very difficult.
- There is a reasonably involved setup process that takes up a lot of table space, requiring some stretching.
- Some degree of luck plays a role with the solo opponent cards, where they might act logically or erratically.
- The ending happens immediately and usually feels rather anti-climactic as final scores are calculated.
Victory Conditions
Score the Most Points
- Overall Goal Progress 100%
Goals and Milestones
Win at least 1 game as Earl Memnon Thorvald.
Win at least 1 game as Prince Rhombur Vernius.
Win at least 1 game at the novice difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the veteran difficulty level.
Win at least 1 game at the expert difficulty level.
Continue the Conversation
What do you like the most about Dune: Imperium? Do you prefer the base game, or the addition of the expansion? I can’t say I’m any sort of master in terms of what can be done here, yet the interplay between cards and choices is simply awesome! Always something new to try out, and I’m sure I’ll be back for more in the future!
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