2–4 players120 minby Marco Maggi, Francesco NepitelloCMON
The game is played over a series of rounds. Each round consists of 4 steps: (1) Vehicle Placement, (2) Action Resolution, (3) Desert Hazards, (4) Spice Harvesting. After Spice Harvesting, check victory conditions before starting the next round.
Actions
Step 1: Vehicle Placement — The Harkonnen player places vehicles (Ornithopters, Harvesters, Carryalls) based on the position of the lowest Imperium marker on the Spice Must Flow board.
Step 2: Action Resolution — The main phase of the game. Players roll action dice, allocate them on their dashboards, then alternate taking actions.
Step 3: Desert Hazards — The desert strikes back. Wormsigns are placed and resolved, then Coriolis Storms sweep across the board.
Step 4: Spice Harvesting — Harvesters collect spice, which determines Imperium relations. Spice production affects the Harkonnen player's standing with CHOAM, the Spacing Guild, and the Landsraad.
Action Dice: Leadership — Move 2 different Legions, each with a leader attached.
Action Dice: Men/Tactics — Make a surprise attack with a Legion that has a leader.
Action Dice: Draw Planning Cards — Draw 2 Planning cards, 1 from each of your two decks (House deck and Ally deck).
Action Dice: Wormsign — Place 2 Wormsign tokens on the board.
Action Dice: Sandworm — Activate 2 Sandworms already on the board.
Movement — Moving Legions (groups of units and leaders) across the board.
Combat — Battles occur when a Legion moves into an area containing enemy units.
Key Concepts
Asymmetric Factions — Harkonnen start controlling cities (Arrakeen, Carthag) with more units (44 vs 30), more action dice (8 vs 4), and vehicles. Atreides have more leaders...
Legions — Units and leaders are organized into Legions (groups in the same area). Legions move together and fight together. A leader must be present for Leaders...
Area Types — Mountain: safe from sandworms and storms. Plateau: safe from sandworms. Minor Erg: vulnerable to sandworms. Desert: vulnerable to sandworms and storms...
Sectors and Air Zones — The board is divided into 8 Sectors. Air zones sit on borders between 2 Sectors and are connected to all Areas in both Sectors. Harkonnen vehicles (Or...
Free Areas — An area is free for a player when it contains no enemy Settlements, enemy Units, or Sandworms. Areas with only Ecological Stations or Harvesters are f...
Prescience System (Atreides Victory) — The Atreides player advances on 3 Prescience tracks (Perils of Arrakis, Ornithopters, Desert Natives). 3 Prescience cards are revealed each round. The...
Supremacy Points (Harkonnen Victory) — Harkonnen gains Supremacy Points by destroying Fremen Sietches. The Harkonnen player wins immediately upon reaching 10 or more SP on the Supremacy Tra...
Imperium Relations — Three Imperium markers (CHOAM, Spacing Guild, Landsraad) track Harkonnen relations with the major powers. Position is affected by spice harvesting. Lo...
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