Description
Arrakis is a desert planet, but it hides the most precious substance in the universe – spice. Through betrayal, Baron Harkonnen has crushed House Atreides and now rules the planet with an iron fist. But Paul and Jessica survived, and together with the Fremen, the people of the desert, they are preparing an uprising. In Dune: War for Arrakis you take one side of this war, and the game lets you play out the story of Dune your own way every time.
How to play Dune: War for Arrakis
The game is asymmetric: each side plays differently and has its own goal. The Harkonnen player controls the cities, sends harvesters out for spice and must destroy the hidden Fremen sietches – victory requires 10 Dominance points. The Atreides player fights with guerrilla attacks, has the desert as an ally and must fulfil a secret objective on three tracks of Prescience points.
Each round both players roll their action dice and take turns performing actions: moving armies, attacking, playing cards and using leaders. Then the Atreides player sends sandworm tokens into the desert, threatening the Harkonnen units, while the Harkonnen player uses the spice collected to keep up relations with the Imperium. Battles are decided by combat dice, and settlements help the defender.
Why you will love it
- Each side plays differently: the Harkonnens rely on the might of their army, the Atreides on hidden sietches and the desert on their side.
- The action dice offer different options every round, so every turn is a puzzle of how to use them best.
- Sandworms and storms are a constant threat to the Harkonnens – their precious harvesters are never safe in the desert.
- Because the Atreides keep their objective secret, the Harkonnen player never knows exactly what they need to prevent.
Who is Dune: War for Arrakis for
The game is for 2 to 4 players aged 14 and up, and a game takes about 120 minutes. It is of medium complexity and shines brightest with two; with three or four players you play in two teams. It suits experienced gamers and Dune fans who enjoy asymmetric conflicts and long games. It is not for those who dislike direct confrontation or dice in combat. The cards contain quite a lot of English text.
What is in the box
- 129 miniatures: Harkonnen and Atreides leaders and units, harvesters, ornithopters, carryalls and sandworms
- 9 plastic stands
- 24 dice (action and combat)
- two-part Arrakis game board, faction boards and The Spice Must Flow board
- 125 cards (planning, leader, prescience and objective cards)
- 86 settlement, worm sign, ecological testing station and unit deployment tokens
- rules
