Objective of the Game

Welcome to the treacherous sands of Arrakis! In Dune: Imperium, you lead one of the Great Houses in a ruthless struggle for control of the universe's most valuable resource: spice melange. Your mission is to outmaneuver rivals through political intrigue, military might, and cunning alliances. Victory hinges on accumulating Victory Points by dominating Factions, winning Conflicts, and securing Alliances. The game ends when any player reaches 10+ Victory Points or the Conflict Deck depletes. The leader with the most Victory Points wins—may the best strategist prevail!

Setup

Prepare your desert empire with these steps:

1. Board & Components: Place the game board. Put the Mentat sideways in its space. Position Alliance tokens on Faction Influence tracks. Create a Conflict Deck by stacking Conflict III (4 cards), then Conflict II (5 cards), then Conflict I (1 card). Shuffle and place unused Conflict cards away.
2. Cards & Tokens: Shuffle the Intrigue Deck and Imperium Deck. Deal 5 Imperium Row cards face-up. Reserve Arrakis Liaison, The Spice Must Flow, and Foldspace stacks nearby.
3. Player Setup:
   • Choose a Leader (start with 1-icon leaders like Paul Atreides for simplicity).
   • Take your colored 10-card starting deck, shuffle it, and place it face-down.
   • Place 2 Agents on your Leader. Keep your Swordmaster (3rd Agent) near the board.
   • Put your Score marker on 1 (4-player) or 0 (fewer players). Set Combat marker to 0.
   • Place 4 Influence cubes on the bottom of each Faction track. Deploy 3 troops in your starting garrison.
   • Take 1 water token. Place all other components in your supply.
4. Bank & First Player: Create a bank with Solari, spice, and water tokens. Randomly choose the First Player and give them the marker.

The Game Turn

Each round has 5 phases. Let’s break down your turn:

Phase 1: Round Start

Reveal the top Conflict card and place it face-up. All players draw 5 cards from their decks.

Phase 2: Player Turns

Starting with the First Player, take turns clockwise. On your turn, choose:

• Agent Turn: Play a card with an Agent icon matching a board space. Send an Agent there, pay costs, and resolve effects (e.g., gain spice, recruit troops). You may deploy troops to the Conflict if it’s a Combat space.
• Reveal Turn: When out of Agents (or choosing to skip), reveal all cards in your hand. Resolve Reveal effects (e.g., gain Persuasion, swords). Use Persuasion to acquire cards from the Imperium Row or Reserve stacks. Calculate your Combat strength (troops = 2 strength each; swords = 1 strength each). Move your Combat marker to track this.

Key Rules:

• Play Plot Intrigue cards anytime during your Agent/Reveal turns.
• After a Reveal turn, skip until all players finish theirs.

Phase 3: Combat

Starting with the First Player, play Combat Intrigue cards or pass. Resolve Combat:

• Highest strength wins the top Conflict reward (e.g., Victory Points, Control markers).
• Second-highest gets the next reward (third in 4-player games).
• Ties split rewards (e.g., two 1st-place ties get the 2nd reward).

Reset Combat markers to 0. Return troops to your supply.

Phase 4: Makers

Add bonus spice to unoccupied Maker spaces (The Great Flat, Hagga Basin, Imperial Basin). Agents already there harvest accumulated spice.

Phase 5: Recall

Return the Mentat to its space. Pass the First Player marker clockwise. Start a new round!

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends when a player reaches 10+ Victory Points or the Conflict Deck empties. Tally Victory Points:

• Gain 1 VP for each Faction with 2+ Influence.
• Keep Alliance tokens (worth 1 VP each) even if Influence drops below 4.
Winning: The player with the most Victory Points wins. Tiebreakers: spice > Solari > water > garrisoned troops.

Tips for Winning

1. Balance Resources Wisely: Water is scarce but vital for spice harvests. Prioritize Fremen cards for water, and use CHOAM/Emperor spaces to trade spice for Solari when needed.
2. Control Key Spaces: Dominate Combat spaces (e.g., Imperial Basin, Carthag) to deploy troops efficiently. Control markers (from Conflict wins) provide passive bonuses—defend them!
3. Trash Weak Cards: Use Bene Gesserit abilities to remove low-impact cards from your deck. A leaner deck draws powerful cards faster, especially for late-game Conflicts.