Objective of the Game

Welcome to the treacherous sands of Arrakis! In Dune, you'll step into the shoes of one of six iconic factions, each with their own unique economic, military, strategic, or treacherous advantages. Your ultimate goal? To seize control of the desert planet. The first player to occupy at least 3 strongholds with at least one of their forces during the Mentat Pause Phase will claim victory! You can win alone or in a cunning alliance with another faction. Prepare for a game of daring, strategy, mobility, and, of course, treachery!

Preparation (Setup)

Let's get ready to conquer Dune! Here’s how to set up your game:

1. Spice Bank: Place all spice tokens in the Spice Bank. This is your galactic currency!
2. Decks: Shuffle the Spice Deck and Treachery Deck separately and place them face down next to the game board. Leave space for discard piles next to each.
3. Choose Your Faction: Players can choose factions in a couple of ways:
   • Randomly deal one faction card from the Prediction Deck to each player.
   • Each player draws a card from the Bene Gesserit turn prediction cards and selects a faction in the order of their drawn card, with the highest card choosing first. You can swap factions if you wish!

   Pro-tip for 2-3 players: For a three-player game, Atreides, Harkonnen, and Fremen are recommended. For two players, try Atreides vs. Harkonnen, or each player controls two factions. Remember, in 2-player games, you need 4 strongholds to win!

4. Player Components: Each player takes their Player Shield and player sheet.
5. Positions: Place your Player Marker on the player circle closest to your shield and seat.
6. Traitors: Remove Traitor Cards for factions not in play. Shuffle the remaining cards and deal 4 to each player. Secretly choose 1 card to keep as your traitor (if you drew an opponent's leader) or to protect one of your own leaders. Place it face down behind your shield and return the others to the bottom of the deck.
7. Spice: Take the amount of spice indicated on your player sheet from the Spice Bank and place it behind your shield.
8. Forces: Place your forces on the board as indicated by your player sheet. Any remaining forces go into your reserve next to your shield.
9. Treachery Cards: Deal 1 card from the Treachery Deck to each player.
10. Turn Marker: Place the turn marker at 1 on the Turn Track.
11. Battle Wheels: Assemble the 2 Battle Wheels if you haven't already.

Remember: Faction advantages always take precedence over general rules!

The Turn of Play

Dune is played over a maximum of 10 turns, each consisting of nine crucial phases:

1. Storm Phase

   The Storm Marker moves around the map. The player whose Player Marker the storm approaches becomes the First Player for this turn. Any forces in a sand territory (except the Imperial Basin) that the storm passes over or stops on are killed and sent to the Tleilaxu Tanks. Any spice in those sectors is removed to the Spice Bank. Forces cannot enter, leave, or pass through a sector in storm, nor can they battle if any forces are in the storm.

   • First Storm: For the very first storm, two players closest to the Storm Start Sector secretly dial 0-20 on the Battle Wheels. The sum moves the storm counter-clockwise.
   • Subsequent Storms: The last two players to use the Battle Wheels dial 1-3. The sum moves the storm counter-clockwise.

2. Spice Blow and Nexus Phase

   Flip the top card of the Spice Deck:

   • Territory Card: This is a Spice Blow! Place the indicated amount of spice from the Spice Bank onto the territory with the Spice Blow icon. (If the icon is in a storm, no spice is placed.)
   • Shai-Hulud Card: A giant sandworm! All spice and forces in the territory shown on the previously revealed Territory Card (if any) are removed to the Spice Bank and Tleilaxu Tanks. Then, a Nexus occurs, allowing players to form and break Alliances. Another card is then turned over until a Territory Card appears.

   First Turn Exception: During the first turn's Spice Blow Phase, all sandworm cards are ignored, set aside, and reshuffled back into the deck after the phase.

3. CHOAM Charity Phase

   If you have 0 or 1 spice, you can declare "CHOAM Charity" to bring your total up to 2 spice.

4. Bidding Phase

   Time to get some valuable Treachery Cards! First, all players must declare how many Treachery Cards they hold (hand limit is 4). If you have 4, you must pass. Cards are dealt face down, one for each player who can bid. The First Player (or the next player to their right who can bid) starts the auction for the first card, bidding 1 or more spice or passing. Bidding proceeds clockwise until a top bid is made. The winner pays their bid to the Spice Bank and takes the card. Bidding continues for all available cards or until no one bids on a card.

5. Revival Phase

   Bring your fallen forces and leaders back into the fray!

   • Force Revival: All players can revive up to 3 forces from the Tleilaxu Tanks. Some are free (check your player sheet), and additional forces cost 2 spice each, paid to the Spice Bank. Revived forces go to your reserve.
   • Leader Revival: If all 5 of your leaders are in the Tleilaxu Tanks, you can revive 1 leader per turn by paying their fighting strength in spice to the Spice Bank. Revived leaders can be played normally.

6. Shipment and Movement Phase

   Starting with the First Player and moving counter-clockwise, each player takes their turn to:

   • Ship Forces: You can make one shipment of any number of forces from your off-planet reserves to any one territory on the map. Pay 1 spice per force for strongholds, 2 spice for other territories. No shipping into a sector in storm or a stronghold occupied by two other players.
   • Move Forces: Move any number of your forces as a group from one territory to one other adjacent territory. If you have forces in Arrakeen or Carthag, you have ornithopters and can move through up to three adjacent territories. Forces cannot move into, out of, or through a sector in storm. The Polar Sink is a safe haven and never in storm.

7. Battle Phase

   Wherever two or more players' forces occupy the same territory, battles erupt! Battles continue until only one player's forces or no forces remain, with two exceptions: no battling in a territory if forces are separated by a storm sector, and no battling in the Polar Sink (it's a free haven).

   • Aggressor: The First Player is the aggressor and chooses the order of their battles. Then the player to their right becomes the aggressor, and so on.
   • Battle Plan: Each player secretly formulates a Battle Plan using their Battle Wheel.
     • Dial the number of forces you commit (0 to your total forces in the territory). Both players lose this many forces.
     • Select one Leader Disc or play a Cheap Hero Card.
     • Optionally, play a Weapon Treachery Card, Defense Treachery Card, or both.
     • Add spice to your Battle Wheel to support your forces (1 spice per force for full strength, otherwise half strength).
   • Resolution: Reveal Battle Plans simultaneously. The winner is the player with the higher total of dialed forces plus their leader's fighting strength. If a traitor is revealed, the winner doesn't expend spice. Otherwise, spice used in the Battle Plan goes to the Spice Bank. The loser discards their Treachery Cards, and the winner may keep theirs.

8. Spice Harvest Phase

   Forces in territories containing spice can now collect it. Yum!

9. Mentat Pause Phase

   Time to breathe! Players declare a winner (or winners) if the victory condition is met. Otherwise, assess your positions and move the Turn Counter to the next position on the Turn Track to start the next turn.

End of Game and Scoring

The game ends in one of two ways:

• Victory Condition: The first player (or alliance) to occupy at least 3 strongholds (4 for 2-player games or alliances) with at least one of their forces during the Mentat Pause Phase wins the game immediately.
• Special Victory Conditions: Some factions, like the Fremen or Spacing Guild, have unique victory conditions that can be met at the end of the game if no one has won normally by the last turn.

Tips for Winning

Arrakis is a harsh mistress, but these tips will help you thrive:

• Spice is Power: Always be thinking about how to amass spice. It's not just for buying cards; it's for shipping forces, reviving leaders, and even powering your battles! Don't let your opponents hoard it.
• Control Strongholds & Mobility: Strongholds are your path to victory. Always stay within striking distance of several, and consider keeping some forces mobile, perhaps in the Polar Sink, which connects to many territories and is safe from storms and sandworms. Being the last player in the Movement Phase can allow for surprise stronghold takeovers, but make sure you can defend them!
• Master the Battle: Battles are the true test of strength. Pay close attention to what Treachery Cards your opponents play and discard. Knowing who has what weapons and defenses, and remembering which leaders are traitors, can turn the tide of a battle and the entire game. Sometimes, sacrificing a single force with a "worthless" card can trick an opponent into overcommitting!