Direwolf | Dune: Imperium: Deluxe Upgrade Pack | Board Game | Ages 14+ | 1-4 Players | 60-120 Minutes Playing Time

Product Information

They have also made the Emperor, the Spacing Guild, the Fremen and the Bene Gesserit elements something that all players can have access to, rather than separate players. Player characters are based around four houses of the Landsraad – so far we know that House Atreides and House Harkonnen will be present, and a third ‘automated’ house, House Hagal, has been mentioned, but whether House Ix or House Tleilaxu appear remains to be seen. Similarly, players will replace their wooden cubes with 12 small plastic Troop miniatures. These are molded in the player colors, with a different sculpt for each color. The new Mentat. Image by Paul Benson. Underneath the leader tray is another, larger tray which I used to hold all of the resource tokens from the game. When you play, you can simply place the tray on the table to act as the bank. The final tray. Image by Paul Benson. To get you started, here is the movement of the Dune Imperium starting cards: 2xNone, 2xYellow, 2xGreen, 1xBlue, 1xYellow/Green/Blue, and 2xFremen/Bene Gesserit/Space Guild/Emperor Tip 3 (Medium) – The Third Agent Costing 6 spice, this is the most expensive action space on the board but it is almost always worth it as it immediately allows you to place five troops into the combat, establishing you as a major contender for that round, and you can also add two from your garrison. The space also gives you two water, which will come in very useful in gathering more spice to take the action again as soon as possible. Alongside this, the Carryall is a very powerful card, as it can provide you with up to six spice, allowing you to do the action again as soon as it is free. The Kwizatz Haderach is also a very useful card to have in this situation, as it enables you to gain access to the Heighliner even if another player has taken the action. Tip 12 (Medium) – Use Of Intrigue Cards In Conflict

Removing the top tray, you’ll find several smaller trays below. The clear tray lids form a picture of a sandworm. The card tray. Image by Paul Benson.I split the game up into 3 main phases; the opening (first two rounds), mid-game (all subsequent rounds up to the Conflict III rounds), and the endgame (the Conflict III rounds). This is largely due to the acceleration of victory points after the first few rounds, once you start to consistently draw the new cards you have bought, and the 2VP rewards in most of the Conflict III cards. The Opening The deluxe upgrade looks fantastic (shown below) replacing everything with miniatures and giving players a new box to keep it all in, but when you have forked out for an already quite expensive game, you should not have to hand over another bag of coin for ‘better’ components. That being said, I cannot wait for mine to turn up; they are arriving in March apparently. So, overall, the components are serviceable but nothing to write home about. The cards are nice though, using art from the upcoming Dune film, due this year. You may even recognize some of the people on the cards. My son said, “Isn’t that Drax, dad, from Guardians of the Galaxy?” Yes, son, yes it is. The top level is a single tray that contains all of the new miniatures and the metal First Player coin. It’s also where you’ll store the components for each of the players. The clear plastic lid for this tray is molded to securely hold not just the game board, but also the 2 new, smaller boards from the Rise of Ix expansion. The four different styles of Agent miniatures. Image by Paul Benson.

You also get a tray of miniatures that replace your troops with, unique for each player, to do your combat-based bidding. You are also treated with very detailed miniatures for your three agents, the mental and a miniature for each faction. These miniatures, unlike the smaller troop ones, are begging to be painted and I have added them to the never-ending list of board game stuff I need to paint. You should also focus on getting at least two spaces ahead or to the top of any factions you have an alliance with, as this VP can be vital in securing victory. Tip 15 (Moderate/Hard) – Acquiring The Right Cards For Your StrategyDirewolf have also promised an app-based AP to confound your plans – there aren’t any details of how this will work as yet, but they are wanting to make it as intelligent and involved as possible. A Last View from the Shield Wall A slim tray holds all of the leader cards from both the base game and the expansion. As you can see, there’s room even if you’ve sleeved those cards. The resource tray. Image by Paul Benson.

Maybe it’s down to my explanation, but it does sound complicated on the surface. However, even my son loves the game. Once you know the basics, everything fits together like a well-constructed sci-fi jigsaw. All the symbols are easy to recognise, the board is laid out well and the cards all make sense. It is an easy-to-play game, full of options and rewards for you to manage. I love the game arc too. It starts out slow to earn victory points but, as the battle rewards ramp up towards the end, it really ends in a nice crescendo of players trying to wring out every victory point they can. Dune Imperium: Final Thoughts Everything in this deluxe upgrade screams quality. From the detailed miniatures to the branded card sleeves. The storage solution and box are much improved over the base game and boy does it give the game a much better look on the table. Protect your game with 75 gorgeous full-art sleeves for use with Dune: Imperium or other card games. The Spice Must Flow featuring the fearsome sandworms of Dune.It’s very helpful to be able to pull out some of the trays from the game and put them on the table for use during play. In my last game, we simply drew cards directly from the card tray, and resources from the token tray. The fastest combination of moves to get the third agent is the placement of an agent on the Hagga Basin (requiring either Signet Ring or Dune: The Desert Planet), then the placement of the second agent on the Sell Melange (requiring either Signet Ring or Dune: The Desert Planet), and finally the placement of your first agent in the following round onto the Swordmaster (requiring either Signet Ring or Dagger) Tip 4 (Easy) – Research Station Utilisation Protect your game with 75 gorgeous full-art sleeves for use with Dune: Imperium or other card games. Arrakis sleeves featuring the iconic desert planet. The battle is determined by the conflict card, drawn at the beginning of the round. These range from basic skirmishes and raids to full out battles for locations on Dune. The spoils can be very beneficial, giving a player control of locations on the map, but the consequences can be costly as all troops are lost in the battle. The last component from the top tray, this bas-relief metal coin replace a cardboard token as the First Player marker. The bottom level of trays. Image by Paul Benson.