Dune: Imperium Setup Guide

Setup Steps

1. Board Setup: Place the game board in the play area. Place the Mentat on its side in the Mentat space. Place the four Alliance tokens on the marked areas of the Faction Influence tracks (Emperor, Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, Fremen).
2. Conflict Deck: Create the Conflict Deck: Shuffle 4 Conflict III cards and place face down. Shuffle 10 Conflict II cards, deal 5 face down on top. Shuffle 4 Conflict I cards, deal 1 face down on top. You should have a 10-card deck (1 Conflict I on top, 5 Conflict II, 4 Conflict III on bottom). Return unused Conflict cards to the box without looking.
3. Card Setup: Shuffle the Intrigue Deck and place face down. Shuffle the Imperium Deck and place face down, then deal 5 cards face up to form the Imperium Row. Place Reserve cards in three stacks: Arrakis Liaison, The Spice Must Flow, and Foldspace.
4. Choose Leaders: Each player takes a Leader (choose or random). Leaders with 1 icon are recommended for first games: Paul Atreides, Glossu 'The Beast' Rabban, Earl Memnon Thorvald, or Count Ilban Richese. For the most authentic experience, two leaders from the same House shouldn't be used in the same game.
5. Starting Decks: Each player takes a 10-card starting deck, shuffles it, and places it face down in their supply to the left of their Leader.
6. Starting Resources: Each player takes 1 water and places it in their supply. Create a bank with Solari, spice, and remaining water tokens.
7. Player Components: Each player chooses a color and takes all components of that color. Place 2 Agents on your Leader. Place your Swordmaster (3rd Agent) next to the board.
8. Markers: Place your Combat marker (strength side up) on the 0 space of the Combat track. Place 4 cubes on the bottom spaces of the four Faction Influence tracks.
9. Troops: Your remaining 12 cubes are troops. Place 3 in your garrison (circular area on the board). Place remaining components in your supply.
10. First Player: Determine a first player randomly. They take the First Player marker.

Player-count adjustments and additional steps available in the interactive app.