Why Dune Imperium Is the Greatest Board Game

Over the last few years I’ve gotten heavily into board games and run a weekly board game night with friends and family. We usually play strategy (Euro) games and our group has all decided that Dune Imperium is our favorite. After dozens of playthroughs, we find ourselves never tiring of it and are always eager to play it again and again. I love Dune Imperium so much that I occasionally play it online with random people through Tabletop Simulator and watch match commentaries on YouTube. In this essay, I’ll explore what exactly it is about Dune Imperium that makes it such an incredible board game. 

Interacting systems

Dune Imperium has 3 central overlapping systems: deck building, worker placement and player vs player combat. Players begin with a starter deck of cards that each have certain board access, agent effects, reveal effects and combat strength. Players can only place their workers, called agents, on board spaces when they play a card with the corresponding symbol from their hand. If the card being used with an agent has an agent effect, the player will gain a bonus. After completing these worker placement, or ‘agent’ turns, players strengthen their deck by acquiring new cards once per round in their ‘reveal’ turn. These new ‘imperium’ cards provide access to valuable locations on the board and grant new agent or reveal effects. Purchasing new cards changes the viability of certain board spaces, as a card with a powerful effect may only be playable on a particular type of space, such as a city space or the Emperor track. The agent turns can either improve or harm your ability to acquire new cards; if I play an Arrakis Liaison as an agent turn, I can not reveal it for the 2 persuasion used to purchase new cards. However, I can play a Dagger to gain a persuasion from Tech Negotiation, or I can draw additional cards from Research Station.

The worker placement and deck-building systems are also deeply connected with combat. Sending agents to certain board spaces allows troops to be recruited and/or deployed into the combat zone. New imperium cards can bolster combat strength, such as gaining or deploying troops or adding bonus swords. At the end of each round, players engage in combat and fight for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place rewards. Combat rewards are not just victory points in isolation but are also resources, faction influences or Shipping Track bonuses that shape how you play in the following turns. Some combat bonuses even affect the deck-building aspect of the game by allowing you to trash one of your weaker starting cards. All the systems of Dune Imperium interact elegantly, and no part feels separate. Throughout a match, players lean more heavily into the foundational elements of the game by purchasing the Swordmaster, High Council or Dreadnoughts, which grant bonuses to worker placement, deck building and combat, respectively. Dune Imperium benefits from the combination of these 3 systems; it has the strategy of worker placement, the satisfaction of deck building and the tactics and excitement of player vs player combat.

Combat

Dune Imperium has the best implementation of combat that I have played in a board game. Above all, participating in combat is always voluntary. You only participate in combat by deploying troops from your garrison to the battlefield. This prevents the frustrating surprise of suddenly getting attacked by other players in a way you didn’t foresee, such as in Scythe. When you are new to Dune Imperium, you can just focus on yourself and your own game. This is enormously beneficial for inexperienced players and board gamers who don’t like the kind of game where they have to worry about their opponents and potential attacks. However, keeping track of your opponents’ resources and reading their intentions grants experienced players an edge in combat and other parts of the game.

Dune Imperium’s combat is much less frustrating than some other games. In Rising Sun, small combat swings can be extremely punishing as the victor receives the combat reward on top of retaining all their troops. In contrast, the loser gets nothing and has their entire forces eliminated. However, in Dune Imperium, all troops, including those of the victor, are lost after a battle is resolved. Combat is typically won by whoever commits the most troops to the fight, which means they invested and lost the most resources. Additionally, rewards for 2nd and 3rd place mitigate the frustration of having the combat victory stolen away from you. These runner-up rewards also encourage players to deploy small amounts of troops, which always makes combat interesting and contested by multiple players. It also creates tension since it’s unclear if a player is looking to secure 2nd place or if they will reinforce their troops and fully commit to the fight. 

Players can supplement their deployed troops by spending intrigue cards and revealing certain cards from their hand. I think Dune Imperium’s combat is well-balanced as the bonus provided by cards is relatively minor. This means combat has a low-skill floor but a high-skill ceiling. An inexperienced player can just dump in 10+ troops in a single round and practically be guaranteed the win, but experienced players can expertly use cards to change the tide of more tightly contested battles. Additionally, players are rewarded by keeping track of their decks and those of their opponents. Advanced players can decide when and how to commit to the battle by remembering which cards have been purchased and by analyzing discard piles. The combat in Dune Imperium encapsulates the elegance of its design, it may seem simple at first and is beginner friendly, but it also provides substantial depth to experienced players.

Close and dramatic matches

Matches in Dune Imperium tend to feel close, even when there is an experience gap. It can be quite disheartening in some other board games when the runaway winner doubles or triples the loser’s score, but this rarely happens in Dune Imperium because there are many anti-snowball mechanics. As a result, even beginners can reach 7 victory points when the victor ends the game with 10 or 11 victory points, so they’ll feel as if they had a fighting chance. It is also difficult to predict who is going to win, since victory points are rapidly acquired in the last couple of rounds. Most games of Dune Imperium are exciting and dramatic until the end, as players will feel like they have a chance of winning until all the hidden information of other players is revealed. Additionally, the player who triggers the end game on 10 victory points doesn’t always win, as other players may jump ahead during or at the end of the round.

The anti-snowball mechanics of Dune Imperium are subtle; they don’t feel overtly punishing or contrived. For example, it’s easy to get victory points from faction friendships but difficult to acquire and maintain the points from their alliances. Attaining victory points often requires spending resources such as water to draw cards from Research Station or to deploy new troops from Hardy Warriors. These bonuses then don’t carry over into the following rounds. Players also gain victory points from buying ‘The Spice Must Flow’, but these cards are worthless in future rounds and clog up your deck. Lastly, players can specifically target whoever is seen to be winning by attempting to steal their faction alliances or defeating them in combat.

Progression and Escalation

Despite these anti-snowball mechanics, Dune Imperium still has a strong sense of progression and escalation throughout a match. It starts off slow but ramps up with each subsequent round. Throughout the game, players acquire a stronger deck, participate in bigger combats with greater combat rewards, spend resources to go on more powerful board spaces, gain more actions each turn and play intrigue cards for additional benefits. Players usually gain several victory points in the final round as they build up to secure multiple victory points in a single action. For example, I can play Selective Breeding to gain an influence with the Bene Gesserit and gain their friendship victory point while also drawing 2 additional cards to gain another victory point from The Spice Must Flow. Dune Imperium prevents players from snowballing ahead, but it also delivers a satisfying growth curve and an exciting and climactic final round.

Perfect mix of skill and luck

Most board games can be placed on a spectrum of skill vs luck. Too much luck and a game can be frustrating and lacking strategy, but too much skill means that the most experienced player wins every time, and newer players will lose interest. Board games are more social than video games, so this skill/luck dichotomy is crucial.

Dune Imperium has a lot of luck, such as what cards you draw to your hand, what conflict cards appear, what Imperium cards are available and what intrigues you draw. Much of the luck is revealed at the start of the round when your cards are drawn into your hand and combat rewards are revealed. This luck isn’t frustrating because you can plan around it, such as going to the Mentat or Arakeen to draw more cards. The cards in the Imperium Row are also visible at all times and the luck of card purchases is mitigated by always providing Arrakis Liaisons, The Spice Must Must Flow and Reclaimed Forces as options. 

Players also have to contend with their strategy being sabotaged, intentionally or unintentionally, by the actions of other players. This includes committing to combat, taking board spaces or contesting alliances. The limited worker placement slots and card access means that anticipating spots being blocked and adjusting your plan accordingly is central to the challenge of the game. Dune Imperium isn’t just about executing the perfect strategy but about the pivots that players are forced to make when they don’t draw the right cards or have their board spaces blocked by other players. These factors add tension to the game every time you draw a card or when watching in dread as your opponent considers their action which would block you on a crucial space. Dune Imperium has enough luck and chaos to force players to be flexible and keep the best players from always winning, but the luck is generally delivered in a fair and not frustrating way. 

Replayability

Dune Imperium has enormous replay value, and not just because of luck or random chaos. The vast replayability is due to a combination of factors, such as a large deck of Imperium cards which can heavily shape players’ strategy. For example, players may pursue a Bene Gesserit deck utilizing powerful card synergies, or they may focus on acquiring cards that aid them in combat. Additionally, there are many playable leaders, randomized combat rewards, intrigue cards, and the tech tiles which grant permanent bonuses. Even the 5 cards players draw into their hand at the start of each round can change the trajectory of a match.

Dune Imperium is different each time you play because there are multiple paths to victory. Victory points come from a mix of combat rewards, faction friendships and alliances, intrigue, imperium and The Spice Must Flow cards. These things are not a single strategy as you can’t put all your eggs in one basket, but must acquire points through various means. You have to be flexible in shifting your strategy based on what other players are doing and which cards are revealed. These different pathways mean that even if another player blocks an action, there’s always something else to do.

Perfect balance of hidden/public information

Another important spectrum in board games is the hidden vs public information. Hidden information helps generate tension, but too much can be chaotic and frustrating as you can’t predict your opponents’ actions. This is another dichotomy that Dune Imperium expertly balances. You can’t see the cards in the hand of other players, so you can’t assume which board spaces they will have access to or which reveal bonuses they will gain. You have to try to secure the most vital board spaces first and then consider options for your following actions depending on what are likely to be left available. However, you are far from blind because resources are easily countable, and the most powerful board spaces have costs. For example, if an opponent has 6 spice, you can predict that they’ll go Highliner and deploy several troops to the combat. The most powerful actions that players can take are not sudden surprises. You also can see how many troops players have in their garrison, so you can get a good assessment of the combat potential of each player. 

Players also hold hidden intrigue cards that provide a wide range of bonuses such as granting resources, combat strength, special actions or ways of acquiring victory points. These intrigue cards add flexibility to players’ actions and are very exciting when revealed at the right time to seize a particular advantage. Intrigue cards are generally difficult to acquire and usually grant only minor or situational bonuses, yet they can turn the tide of a close game. Though, I personally think some of these intrigue cards are too powerful and can be frustrating, such as Corner the Market which grants up to 2 end-game VP’s for free by doing actions that already directly generate VP’s. 

Nevertheless, mastery of Dune Imperium requires predicting the actions of other players, which requires making intuitions about the hidden information based on your opponents’ actions, the current board state and utilizing the open information such as resources and players’ discard piles. Navigating hidden information is an excellent way for a board game to have a high skill ceiling because it doesn’t frontload the complexity onto new players with potential actions and extensive rules.

Simplicity of scoring

Something subtle I really appreciate about Dune Imperium is the simplicity of its scoring. The game end is triggered when the first player reaches 10 victory points, which means that each victory point acquired is a substantial 10% step towards victory. Each point feels like a gratifying milestone, unlike most Euro games I have played in which players might acquire 70 or 120 victory points. The smaller victory point count means that ties are very common, and players must be aware of how resources resolve ties and try to prepare for the end-game accordingly. Dune Imperium has a sudden end, with no complicated calculations, no pen and paper and no complex mathematics adding up points. No recounts and double checking are needed. There is an elegance and simplicity to Dune Imperium’s scoring, giving it a swift and dramatic ending.

Perfect length

In my opinion, Dune Imperium has the perfect length for a board game. It’s short compared to many Euro games but still long enough that everyone is satisfied by the end. I’ve found that a game of Dune Imperium takes 2-3 hours for a casual in-person game. This 2-3 hour social length makes it viable for a weekday night after work, whereas Dune Classic or Terraforming Mars are definitely not. Some people might have to work the morning after and don’t want to stay up late. Playing in a non-social context like on Tabletop Simulator with experienced players only takes about an hour and a half, which is not too long for committing to a game with random strangers on the internet. For those who prefer a longer length, Dune Imperium is flexible as it can be played in the Epic mode to modify the game and raise the required victory points. The game length is also pretty consistent, sometimes other board games can be anti-climactic when the game suddenly ends and everyone proclaims “Ah I was just one turn away from XYZ!” Dune Imperium is ideal in that it is usually clear which round will be the last but not who will be the winner. 

Good visual design

Dune Imperium benefits from excellent visual design, which simplifies the game for new players. Different resources are clearly represented with different shapes and colors. For example, water is a blue droplet, spice is an orange hexagon and Solari is a gray circle. Spice and Solari also have nice stacks of 5, making it quick and easy to count your opponents’ resources. The board spaces are also well designed: desert spaces are represented as yellow triangles, city spaces are purple circles and Landsraad spaces are green pentagons. It’s easy to look at the cards in your hand and match them to the board spaces. Likewise, it’s easy to remember the draw card and trash card symbols because they are intuitive. These may be subtle design features but are examples of the crisp design that help make the game intuitive to play. The only counter-example is the unload feature, this mechanic introduced in Rise of Ix never ceases to confuse new players, as it did for me when I first played it. The graphic design of Unload abilities could definitely be more intuitive.

Cool theme

Dune Imperium excellently incorporates the Dune world and theme into its gameplay. Though the Dune saga may not immediately evoke ideas of a worker placement/deck-building game, fans of Dune will appreciate how the board spaces and cards provide abilities and bonuses that reflect their role in the universe. For example, the Fremen provide water with Stillsuits, while the Spacing Guild grant mobility via Foldspace. The leader abilities make sense too, Leto Atreides gets faction influence due to his charismatic nature and popularity, while Paul can use his prescience to look at the top card of his deck. There’s also more subtle elements of the Dune theme in the gameplay. Resources are scarce and hard to come by, especially water. Even aspects like acquiring, drawing and trashing cards are scarce compared to other deck-building games. This means that every resource and every card matters. There’s only 2-3 turns per round and usually 6-8 rounds per game, so every turn matters. You can’t afford to have bad throwaway turns like you would in Dominion. Personally, I’m a huge fan of Dune and I really enjoyed reading some of the Dune prequel books to learn more about the leaders such as Prince Rhombur or Ilban Richese. 

Excellent expansions

The Rise of Ix and Immortality expansions are excellent and provide everything you would want from a board game expansion. They address some of the weaknesses of the base game while adding more depth and variety to players who have already played a lot of the base game. Sadly, good expansions are not always the case with board games, so it’s worth noting that Rise of Ix and Immortality are excellent additions.

Criticisms

Despite my absolute love of Dune Imperium, I do have some criticisms. Above all, the early game can be quite predictable and repetitive due to the overwhelming value of the Shipping Track and the Swordmaster. Every game sees the rush for Smuggling, Foldspace and Interstellar shipping to get Swordmaster as soon as possible. The Immortality expansion made shipping even stronger as now it also provides the research bonus with Experimentation cards. I was excited for Dreadnoughts in Rise of Ix to provide an alternative to Swordmaster rushing, but unfortunately, rushing dreadnoughts seems rarely viable. Solari also feels poorly balanced since it is essential and difficult to obtain early game, but then becomes borderline useless late-game once Swordmaster and High Council are acquired. It’s nice that Immortality attempted to address this by providing a late-game use for Solari on the research track, but this space is situational and not very common.

Another issue I have with Dune Imperium is that the costs of cards often feel arbitrary. The value that cards provide varies so much, and it often isn’t reflected in their price. As a result, there is too much luck based on which player can pick up an overpowered card when they are revealed, such as In the Shadows or Web of Power. My problem isn’t that some cards are overpowered; having imbalanced cards can create excitement and tension to scramble for the best cards. Strong cards also encourage players to forgo their agent turns to reveal early and pick them up before other players. My problem is that many of the best cards have trivial costs and can be acquired with little or no effort. Meanwhile, other cards, such as Scout, are worthless and serve only to stagnate the row. It can be very frustrating when you buy a mediocre card only to reveal Choam Delegate or Water Peddler for the next player, which they can afford despite only having 1 Persuasion. To make matters worse, many of the best cards have duplicates, making their appearance common. The crazy value of the cheap, overpowered cards also encourages players to use their Family Atomics in the first round to reset the Imperium Row even if they only have a couple of Persuasion just in the hopes of high-rolling a cheap OP card. This can cause the Imperium Row to stagnate in later rounds as often all 4 players will use up their Family Atomics early. It would be better if there were less of the overpowered low-cost cards, such as In the Shadows, and more overpowered high-cost cards such as Lady Jessica and Choam Directorship. Having more overpowered high-cost cards would also have the benefit of encouraging players to rush High Council over Swordmaster.

Missed opportunities

The flag mechanic is an interesting idea, but their impact on the game is underwhelming. Flags only provide minor bonuses and are rarely seen since they’re rewards for specific conflicts that may not appear in the game. The combat rewards which give flags already grant victory points, so the flags are usually just an afterthought. The flag mechanic could have been a much more exciting system if, instead, they were the only combat reward in certain conflict cards but then granted much stronger bonuses. For example, what if only the player with a flag token for Sietch Tabur could visit this board space, instead of it requiring 2 Fremen influence?

Another missed opportunity with Dune Imperium is its inflexibility with different player counts. I often have a larger board gaming group, so unfortunately, we can’t play Dune Imperium as much as we’d like. We once played a homebrew 5-player variant of Dune Imperium in which we introduced additional board spaces by combining the base game board with the Rise of Ix board. This was actually really fun and felt more balanced than we were expecting. I wish there were an expansion or an official rule set to incorporate additional players, even if 4 players is considered the standard and the most balanced ruleset. For example, Viticulture is a worker placement game with flexible player counts due to more or less available board spacing depending on player size. I also think the 2 player version of the game would be better if the board and gameplay were modified rather than using the House Hagal deck of cards that perform random actions to attempt to substitute a 3rd player. This pure randomness and unpredictability of House Hagal can be very frustrating, especially related to combat. I wish Dune Imperium could be played by larger player counts, and had a better implementation of 2 player games.

Conclusion

Dune Imperium mixes worker placement, deck building and player vs player combat for a unique game that’s greater than the sum of its parts. These 3 systems elegantly interact and don’t feel disconnected. Combat is implemented spectacularly and mitigates potential frustration with voluntary participation in combat, rewards for 2nd and 3rd place, and all troops being lost at the end of a round. Games tend to feel close, dramatic and exciting as subtle anti-snowball mechanics make it difficult to take and hold a large point advantage. A match of Dune Imperium delivers a satisfying sense of progression and escalation as it ramps up in intensity during the later rounds. It has the perfect balance of luck and skill, with enough chaos to prevent the most experienced player from consistently winning while delivering luck in a way that allows players to react. Dune Imperium has enormous replayability due to the large amount of variation, content and different paths to victory. It has an excellent balance of hidden vs public to create tension without frustrating surprises. I love Dune Imperium’s scoring as each victory point feels like a gratifying milestone, and it makes planning for tiebreakers interesting and removes any complicated end-game scoring.

Compared to many other Euro games, Dune Imperium is short, making it suitable for casual board game nights or playing quick games online. It also has an excellent visual design that helps make the game more intuitive to learn. It has two excellent expansions that improve some weaknesses in the base game while adding more depth and variation to the game. However, I have some criticisms, such as the predictable meta of shipping and Swordmaster rushing, as well as the enormous power disparity of cards, especially the cheap overpowered ones that require little or no investment. There’s also some missed opportunities, such as the overall insignificance of territory flags and the lack of variants for 5 or 6-player games. However, my criticisms of the game are minor, as they don’t limit my ability to enjoy it. For all these reasons, I think Dune Imperium is the greatest board game, and I look forward to playing it dozens more times.