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Hang on, before you enter today’s door, take off your shoes at do– Ach, it’s everywhere. Take off your socks as well. Damn, it’s in all my trouser pockets and– How did it get in my ears? I hate this stuff. Let’s just hose ourselves down on the frontstep before we go in.
It’s sand-covered digital board game Dune: Imperium!
Graham: Sometimes the best board gaming experiences are simultaneously someone’s worst, as one person’s stroke of luck or perfectly executed plan necessitates someone else having a wasteful time. I’ve been on both sides of this scenario and I don’t enjoy either: I want to compete and win, sure, but I want everyone else to have fun, too.
Enter Dune: Imperium, which seems to support swings of fortune and orchestrated comebacks more than any other board game I’ve played, leaving every player with thrilling decisions to make all the way to the final turn.
Officially licensed from the films I haven’t seen based on the books I haven’t read, at the top level Dune Imperium is about collecting more victory points than your three opponents. These points can be gained in numerous ways, such as by advancing along the influence tracks of four different NPC factions, or by winning military conflicts against other players. Your decisions in each round are enabled by the resources and cards you have available, and in each case involve playing a card to send an agent to a board space.
Bigger picture, your decisions are led by whether you’re going to grab the easy victory point available now, this round, or instead invest in your deck and resource-gathering in a way that will pay off during later rounds. This is what leads to every finale being tense. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled three or four victory points ahead by the mid-game, only to lose by two or three victory points when my opponent’s engine kicks in during the final rounds.
I have never been frustrated when this has happened. Instead it feels nailbitingly tense and eminently fair.
The Rise Of Ix expansion, also released this year, has only improved the game, adding new layers to every decision. There are now so many different ways to win a game that you can ignore entire systems, if you wish. No card shop, only tech progression? Go for it. Forsake water gathering in favour of spice and money? Perfectly valid.
It’s a miracle, given all these many systems, that I’ve never felt overwhelmed. I’m not an adept player when it comes to board games or multiplayer strategy, but Imperium limits my choices based on what cards are in my hand each turn in such a way that I feel I can hold onto a long-term plan, but loosely enough to still adapt when circumstances dictate.
All of which has made Dune Imperium a regular companion for the past six months. Every Sunday, my friend Tom and I catch up on a call, then fight over spice world for 90 minutes. Win or lose – and I lose more than I win – I am back the next Sunday, eager for more. As my friends and I age, move away, and our lives become busier, I’m only more grateful for such an easygoing source of competition and fun.
That’s probably what Dune is about, yeah? The real spice is the friends we made along the way.
Ollie: Graham’s repeated mentions of Dune: Imperium finally prompted me to try it for myself about halfway through the year, and yes, it’s marvellous. One of those rare games where the losses are as compelling as the wins, maybe even more so. I haven’t yet bought the Rise Of Ix expansion, because even the base game feels like it gives me enough options that I can disregard entire swathes of the playing field. I’m a tad scared of the effect Rise Of Ix will have on my life next year. I’ll just be sitting up in bed, half-delirious, my face lit the colour of sand by my phone or Steam Deck as I stubbornly refuse to repay my sleep debt.
I probably shouldn’t play this game with friends. Not the ones I want to keep.
Head back to the advent calendar to open another door!