DUNE : IMPERIUM
1 - 4 players
DUNE : IMPERIUM is a deck-building
worker placement game
that finds inspiration in elements
and characters from the Dune legacy.
You are a Leader of
one of the Great Houses of the Landsraad.
Defeat your rivals in Combat,
wield political Influence,
and form alliances with
the four major Factions.
Your successes will be measured
in Victory Points.
If you can scan the QR code above,
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<Components>
Game Components
- Game board
- 8 leaders
- 24 reserve cards
(8 Arrakis Liaison
10 The Spice Must Flow
6 Foldspace)
- 67 Imperium deck cards
- 18 conflict cards
(4 Conflict I
10 Conflict II
4 Conflict III)
- 40 intrigue cards
- 15 water tokens
- Solari tokens
(4 large - worth 5
20 small - worth 1)
- Spice tokens
(3 large - worth 5
20 small - worth 1)
- Mentat
- first player marker
- 4 alliance tokens
- 4 Baron Harkonnen tokens
(used with the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen Leader)
Player Components
- 10-card starting deck
(starting deck cards can be
identified by this symbol)
- 16 cubes
- 2 discs
(1 Score marker
1 Councilor token)
- 3 control markers
- 3 agents
- combat marker
Used only in
Solo or Two-Player Game
- 31 house hegal cards
<Set up>
Place the game board
in your play area, and then
place the following components
: Place the Mentat on its side
in the Mentat space.
Place the four Alliance tokens
on the marked areas of
the Faction’s Influence tracks
(Emperor, Spacing Guild,
Bene Gesserit, and Fremen).
Create a Conflict Deck
: Separate the Conflict cards by
their backs: Conflict I, Conflict II,
and Conflict III.
Shuffle the four Conflict III cards
and place all of them face down
in the marked area of the game board.
Shuffle the 10 Conflict II cards,
then deal five face down
on top of the Conflict III cards.
Shuffle the four Conflict I cards,
then deal one face down
on top of the Conflict II cards.
You should now have
a 10-card Conflict Deck
on the game board,
with one Conflict I card on top,
five Conflict II cards below it,
then the four Conflict III cards
on the bottom.
Return the unused Conflict cards
to the game box without looking at them.
Prepare these cards along
the edge of the game board
: Shuffle the Intrigue Deck
and place it face down.
Shuffle the Imperium Deck
and place it face down.
From it, deal five cards face up
to form an Imperium Row.
Next to the Imperium Row,
place the Reserve cards in three stacks
: one for Arrakis Liaison,
one for The Spice Must Flow,
and one for Foldspace.
Each player takes a Leader
and places it in front of them.
(You may choose or select at random.)
Leaders have from one to three icons
after their names.
Leaders with more icons are
more strategically complex.
For your first game,
it is recommended that
each player chooses a Leader
with just one icon.
Each player takes
a 10-card starting deck, shuffles it,
and places it face down
in their supply to the left of their Leader.
Each player takes 1 water
and places it in their supply.
Create a bank next to
the game board containing
the Solari, spice, and remaining water tokens.
These are not meant to be limited
if you run out and need more,
make any convenient substitution.
Each player chooses a color
and takes all of its components.
Place two of your Agents on your Leader.
Place your third Agent (your Swordmaster)
next to the game board.
Place one of your two discs
on the Score track.
In a 4-player game,
place it on the 1 space.
Otherwise, place it on the 0 space.
Place your Combat marker
(with the side shown at the right face up)
on the 0 space of the Combat track.
Place four cubes, one each,
on the bottom spaces
of the Influence tracks of the four Factions.
The other 12 cubes represent your troops.
Place three in one of
the four circular garrisons
on the game board
(each player taking the one closest to them).
Place your remaining components
in your supply, in clear view of all players.
Determine a first player randomly.
They take the First Player marker.
<Game Overview>
Objective
You are a Leader of one of
the Great Houses of the Landsraad.
Defeat your rivals in Combat,
wield political Influence,
and form alliances with
the four major Factions.
Your successes will be measured
in Victory Points.
Whenever you gain or lose
a Victory Point, move your Score marker
up or down one space on the Score track.
At the end of a round,
if any player has reached
10 or more Victory Points
(or if the Conflict Deck is empty),
the game ends, and whoever
has the most Victory Points wins.
Leaders
Each Leader has
two different unique abilities
: The first, on the left, is used during
play as described on the Leader.
The second, on the right and
marked by the Signet Ring icon,
is activated when you play
your Signet Ring card on
one of your Agent turns.
Deck Building
You start the game with
a 10-card deck containing
the same cards as the other players.
Adding to and changing
that deck is the key element
of play in a deck-building game.
During each round,
you may acquire new cards
to add to your deck.
Because cards do many different things,
each player’s deck and strategy
will diverge as the game unfolds.
Whenever you acquire
a new Imperium or Reserve card,
it is first placed in your discard pile.
And any time you’re unable
to draw a card because your deck is empty,
you reshuffle your discard pile
to form a new deck,
then continue to draw as needed.
There are also ways to “trash” cards,
removing them from your deck
altogether for the rest of the game.
By strategically removing
weaker cards from your deck,
you increase the chances of drawing
your stronger cards more often.
Agents
You start the game with two Agents
(and can gain a third during play).
You send Agents to spaces
on the game board,
sometimes gathering resources,
sometimes paying resources
to advance your strategy.
(This is explained fully in Phase 2
: Player Turns, while board spaces
are described in detail in
the separate Board Space Guide sheet.)
In DUNE: IMPERIUM, Agents
and cards are tightly linked.
you can’t send an Agent to
a board space without
first playing a card that allows it.
The Mentat Agent
The Mentat is a special freelance Agent
that you can temporarily
add to your roster of
Agents for one round.
Factions
In DUNE: IMPERIUM, the four Factions
represent powerful forces
on Dune and elsewhere in the Imperium.
Increasing your Influence and
earning an Alliance with
one or more of them is one of the key routes
to victory in the game.
Your Faction cubes begin
at the bottom of each
Faction’s Influence track.
Throughout the game,
your Influence with a Faction
will increase or decrease,
depending on the cards you play
and the actions you take.
When you send an Agent
to a Faction’s board space,
gain one Influence with that
Faction by advancing your cube
one space on its Influence track.
Other game effects can also move
your cube up (and occasionally down) the track.
When you reach 2 Influence
with a Faction, you gain a Victory Point.
If you drop back below 2 Influence,
you lose that Victory Point.
When you reach 4 Influence,
you earn the bonus shown on
that space of the track.
If you drop back below 4 Influence,
you do not give back the bonus.
(It’s possible—though unusual—to earn
the same bonus more than once,
if you move back then advance again.)
The first player to reach 4 Influence
with a Faction also earns an Alliance
with that Faction.
They take the Alliance token
from the track,
put it in their supply and gain
the Victory Point shown on
the Alliance token.
If they are ever passed by
an opponent rising to
a higher space on the track,
they must give the Alliance token
to that opponent; they lose
that Victory Point and the opponent gains it.)
Intrigue Cards
Intrigue cards represent subterfuge,
backroom dealings, and surprise twists
— they can provide resources
like water or spice, increase your Influence
with a Faction, or even score Victory Points.
Each Intrigue card indicates
when it can be played,
what effect it has,
and whether there are costs
or conditions to playing it.
You receive Intrigue cards primarily
from three board spaces
: Carthag, Conspire, and Secrets.
(But look for other opportunities on cards,
wherever you see the Intrigue card icon.)
They are kept face down,
separate from your deck.
You may look at them at any time.
Reveal them to your opponents
only when you play them.
Once an Intrigue card is
played and resolved,
place it face up in a discard pile
next to the Intrigue Deck.
There are three types of Intrigue cards
: Plot, Combat, and Endgame.
- You may play a Plot Intrigue card
any time during one of
your Agent or Reveal turns.
- You may play a Combat Intrigue card
only during Combat.
- You may play an Endgame Intrigue card
only at the end of the game.
<Game Progress>
DUNE: IMPERIUM is played
in a series of rounds.
Each round consists of five phases :
1. Round Start
2. Player Turns
( Agent Turn, Reveal Turn)
3. Combat
4. Makers
5. Recall
1. Round Start
Each round begins by revealing
a new Conflict card from
the top of the Conflict Deck.
Place it face up in the space
next to the Conflict Deck
(on top of any Conflict cards
from previous rounds).
Next, each player draws five cards
from their own deck,
forming their hand for the round.
2. Player Turns
Starting with the player
who has the First Player marker
and continuing clockwise,
players take one turn at a time.
On your turn, you will take either
an Agent turn or a Reveal turn.
These types of turns are detailed
over the next three pages.
Generally, you will take Agent turns
until you run out of Agents to place,
then you will take a Reveal turn.
(Note that Agent turns are optional.
If you choose to,
you can take a Reveal turn
while you still have Agents
instead of taking an Agent turn.)
Once you’ve taken a Reveal turn,
your turns are skipped for
the rest of the phase,
while other players finish taking their turns.
Once all players have taken
a Reveal turn, this phase ends.
You may play any Plot Intrigue cards
you have during this phase,
at any point during one of
your own Agent or Reveal turns.
Player Turn - Agent Turn -
In an Agent turn,
you play one card from
your hand face up in front of you,
using it to send an Agent from
your Leader to an unoccupied space
on the game board.
This board space must have
an icon in its upper left corner
matching one of
the Agent icons on the card.
You must choose only
one Agent icon on your card.
One card can’t send multiple Agents.
You can’t send an Agent to
a board space that already has one.
You must pay any costs
or meet any requirements of
the board space you choose.
In addition, the Agent box of the card
you played may provide an effect
when you play it on an Agent turn.
(You ignore the Reveal box
of the card during Agent turns.)
If a card does not have
any Agent icons on it,
you may not play it during an Agent turn.
It may only be revealed during a Reveal turn.
When you play a card and send
an Agent to a board space,
you gain the effects of
the board space as well as the effects
contained in the Agent box of the card.
If the board space belongs to
one of the Factions,
you also move your cube one space up
on its Influence track.
You may carry out
all these effects in any order.
Some card effects are written out,
but many are iconized.
Refer to the separate Board Space Guide sheet
for an explanation of all board spaces,
and the back cover of the rulebook
for a guide to all game icons
and additional game terms.
Arrows on cards and on the board
indicate that there is a cost
(left of the arrow, or above it)
you must pay to get the effect
(right of the arrow, or below it).
You are never forced to
pay such a cost.
However, if you don’t,
you won’t gain the effect.
- Board Space Costs
To send an Agent to
some board spaces,
you must pay a cost.
If you can’t pay the cost immediately
(before resolving any effects
of the space or the card you played),
you can’t send your Agent there.
- Sietch Tabr Influence
The Sietch Tabr board space
has a unique requirement.
To send an Agent there,
you must have 2 or more Influence
with the Fremen.
- Deploying Troops to the Conflict
At the start of each round,
the current Conflict card is revealed,
offering rewards for
which the players will compete in Combat.
Whenever the cube icon appears
on a card or board space,
you recruit one troop.
Take a troop from your supply
and place it in your garrison
on the game board.
(If you run out of troops in your supply,
you can’t recruit more
until some return there.)
You can’t earn rewards with troops
sitting in your garrison, however.
You may deploy them to a Conflict
when you send an Agent to a Combat space.
Combat spaces are board spaces
hat feature a desert illustration
and crossed swords.
While most of these appear on
the planet Dune itself,
three appear with the Factions
: one with the Spacing Guild (Heighliner)
and two with the Fremen
(Hardy Warriors and Stillsuits).
When you send an Agent to
a Combat space,
you may deploy troops to the Conflict area
—the area of the game board
in the center of the garrisons.
You may deploy any or all troops
recruited during your current turn
(from both the board space
and the card you played),
plus up to two more troops
from your garrison.
(Any troops you recruit but choose
not to deploy to the Conflict are placed
in your garrison as usual.)
- Control Bonuses
Some Conflict cards
(explained more in Phase 3: Combat)
reward a player with control
over one of three spaces on Dune
: Arrakeen, Carthag, or Imperial Basin
(based on the card’s title).
If you win such a Conflict,
take a Control marker from your supply
and place it on the flag below
the appropriate board space.
While your Control marker is
on one of these spaces,
you receive the bonus shown
whenever any player (yourself included)
sends an Agent there.
The bonus is 1 Solari for
Arrakeen or Carthag,
and 1 spice for Imperial Basin.
When a Conflict card is revealed
for a space that you already control,
you receive a defensive bonus
: you may deploy one troop
from your supply to the Conflict.
- Harvesting Spice
There are three board spaces
on Arrakis with a Maker icon,
where you may harvest spice
: The Great Flat, Hagga Basin,
and Imperial Basin.
When you send an Agent
to one of them,
you gain the base value of
spice shown on the space,
plus any bonus spice that
has accumulated there.
Player Turn - Reveal Turn -
When a player has no more
Agents for Agent turns
(or chooses not to use
any Agents they have remaining),
that player takes a Reveal turn.
This consists of the
following steps in order
: Reveal Cards, Resolve Reveal Effects,
Set Strength, and Clean Up.
- Reveal Cards
Reveal all cards remaining
in your hand, placing them
face up in play in front of you.
Keep them separate from
other cards you played previously
on Agent turns.
- Resolve Reveal Effects
You now gain the effects
in the Reveal boxes
of all the cards you just revealed
(but not those of any cards
you played during Agent turns
earlier in the round).
You may resolve Reveal effects
in any order you like.
In addition, you may use Persuasion
that you’ve gained to acquire
new cards for your deck
before, between, or
after your Reveal effects.
- Set Strength
Total your strength for
the Combat this round.
Each troop you have in
the Conflict is worth 2 strength.
(Troops in your garrison or
supply contribute nothing.)
Each sword you revealed
during your Reveal turn
is worth 1 strength.
You must have at least one troop
in the Conflict to have any strength.
If your last troop is ever removed,
your strength becomes 0,
and can’t be increased by any means,
including swords
on cards you revealed.
When you’ve totaled
your strength, announce it to
your opponents and move
your Combat marker to
the corresponding space on
the Combat track.
If your strength is over 20,
flip the Combat marker to
the +20 side and start again
from the beginning of the track.
- Clean Up
Remove all the cards
from in front of you
(from your Agent and Reveal turns)
and put them in your discard pile.
3. Combat
Combat is resolved during this phase,
but first, players have the chance
to play Combat Intrigue cards.
- Combat Intrigue Cards
Starting with the player
who has the First Player marker
and continuing clockwise,
each player with at least one troop
in the Conflict may play any number
of Combat Intrigue cards,
or may pass.
You are not required to pass
just because you passed earlier
in the Combat phase.
Once all players involved in
Combat pass consecutively,
you then resolve the Combat.
If a card changes the number
of troops a player has in the Conflict
(or otherwise alters their strength),
they adjust their Combat marker
accordingly on the Combat track.
(Remember: if you have no troops
in the Conflict, your strength is 0.)
A few Combat Intrigue cards do something
“when you win a Conflict.”
You do not play these now,
before resolving the Combat.
Instead, wait until you’ve won,
then play them
(before moving on to the next phase).
-Resolve Combat
Rewards from the Conflict card
are given to players
based on their strength,
as shown on the Combat track.
The player with the highest strength wins
the Conflict and gains
the top reward on the Conflict card.
The player with the second highest strength
gains the second reward.
In a 4-player game (only),
the player with the third highest strength
receives the third reward.
A player with 0 strength does
not receive any reward.
Refer to this rulebook’s back cover
for a guide to the icons
used on Conflict cards.
Once all rewards have been given,
each player takes their troops
from the Conflict and puts them
in their supply (not their garrison).
Reset all Combat markers to 0
on the Combat track.
Ties When players tie for first place,
no one wins the Conflict.
The tied players each receive
the second reward.
(In a 4-player game,
if two players tie for first place,
the other two players still compete
for the third reward.)
When players tie for second place,
they each receive the third reward.
Players tying for third place receive nothing.
4. Makers
In this phase,
spice can accumulate on
certain board spaces.
Check each of the three board spaces
with a Maker icon
: The Great Flat, Hagga Basin,
and Imperial Basin.
If the space does not have an Agent,
place 1 spice from the bank
on that space
(in the spot designated for bonus spice).
This spice is added to
any bonus spice that may already be
there from previous rounds.
5. Recall
If any player is at 10
or more Victory Points
on the Score track,
or if the Conflict Deck is empty,
the Endgame is triggered.
If no one has won,
prepare the next round :
- Return the Mentat to
its designated space in the Landsraad
(if it’s not already there).
- Players recall their Agents,
returning them to their Leaders.
- Pass the First Player marker
clockwise to the next player,
then begin a new round with Phase 1.
<How to Finish the Game>
First, you may play and resolve
any Endgame Intrigue cards you have.
Then whoever has the most Victory Points
is declared the winner.
If the case of a tie,
tiebreakers are, in order
: amount of spice, Solari, water,
and garrisoned troops.
<House Hegal Cards
- Solo & Two-Player Games>
House Hagal cards are used to
control automated opponents
(hereafter referred to as “Rivals”)
who compete against you
in solo and two-player games.
These opponents send Agents
to occupy board spaces
and contest Conflicts by
recruiting and deploying troops.
Rivals are affected by cards
and board spaces that
affect opponents (or “players”),
if they have the specified resources.
Agents
During Phase 2: Player Turns,
a Rival will take Agent turns
but it will not take Reveal turns.
When a Rival takes an Agent turn,
reveal the top card of
the House Hagal deck.
That card will send an Agent
to the revealed board space,
as long as that space is unoccupied.
If the space is occupied,
ignore the card and continue
revealing cards until you
reveal an unoccupied space.
If the House Hagal deck is ever empty
(or if the Reshuffle card is revealed),
immediately reshuffle
the House Hagal cards
to form a new deck.
When a Rival sends an Agent
to a board space,
ignore all normal costs
and effects of that space.
Instead, it gets only the effects
indicated on its revealed card :
The Rival advances on
the indicated Influence track.
It earns no bonuses
from an Influence track,
but it will take
a Faction Alliance if able.
The Rival uses the Signet Ring
ability on its Leader. (Solo Play only)
The Rival recruits one troop
from its supply for each such icon.
If the revealed card is a Combat space,
deploy them to the Conflict.
Otherwise, put the troops in its garrison.
Any time a Rival sends an Agent
to a Combat space,
it also deploys up to two troops
from its garrison (if available) to the Conflict.
Do this even if the card itself
recruited no troops
(for example: a Harvest Spice card).
Combat
When Phase 3: Combat begins,
each Rival that has at least
one troop in the Conflict
gets a Combat bonus.
In turn order, reveal the top card
of the House Hagal deck.
(If you reveal the Reshuffle card,
follow the instructions to reshuffle
the deck and reveal again.)
Ignore everything on the revealed card
except for the sword iconsat the bottom.
Advance the opponent’s
Combat marker on the Combat track
by the number of swords revealed.
Players may then play Combat Intrigue cards
before resolving Combat.
Two-Player Games
In a two-player game,
a third, Rival player, House Hagal,
competes against you and
your opponent, serving a spoiler role.
It operates by its own set of rules.
It doesn’t collect resources,
build a deck, earn rewards,
or score Victory Points.
It does, however,
use the House Hagal cards
as described earlier,
sending Agents to occupy board spaces
and competing in Conflicts
by recruiting and deploying troops.
During the Game
After each of the
First Player’s Agent turns,
House Hagal acts,
as long as it has an Agent
remaining in its supply.
(Use the method described earlier)
The number of turns that
House Hagal takes each round
will vary because it acts
after the First Player.
For example, if one player
has a Swordmaster and the other does not,
it might take three turns
in one round, then two in the next.
Because House Hagal can’t collect
rewards from a Conflict,
it can never claim control
of a board space.
However, if it wins a Conflict
for a board space currently
controlled by another player,
remove that player’s Control marker.
Solo Play
In a Solo game, you face off
against two Rivals who (again)
don’t use the normal rules of play.
Neither builds a deck,
but they have other powerful advantages
and share your goal :
gain favor with the most powerful
factions of the Imperium
and control the spice trade on Arrakis!
If either reaches 10 or more Victory Points,
they will trigger the end of the game
—and they may defeat you!
Set Up
Select a difficulty level from the chart.
Choose two Leaders,
one for each Rival.
During the game,
these Rivals will use only
the Signet ability on their Leaders,
ignoring the ability on the left.
Your opponents can’t play
Paul Atreides or Helena Richese.
(For your first solo game,
Earl Memnon Thorvald and Glossu
“The Beast” Rabban are recommended.)
For each Rival, choose a color.
Place one of their cubes
on each of the bottom spaces beneath
the Influence tracks of the four Factions.
Put the number of troops in
their garrison for your chosen difficulty,
and the rest in their supply.
Place two of their Agents in their supply,
and insert the Swordmasters (third Agents)
for both Rivals into the Conflict deck,
putting exactly the number of cards
on top of them as indicated
for your difficulty.
Remove from the House Hagal
deck all cards marked “2P”
in the upper right corner
(the Reshuffle card and three Arrakeen cards).
Shuffle the remaining cards
and place the deck near your Rivals.
If your difficulty calls for it,
place a 5 Solari token on the Mentat space.
It means that for this game,
this board space costs
5 Solari instead of 2!
You and your Rivals each start with 1 water,
plus the extra resources indicated for
your chosen difficulty.
The Rival on your left takes
the First Player marker.
Rivals’ Turns
During Phase 2: Player Turns,
your Rivals each take Agent turns
in sequence with you,
as long as they have an Agent
remaining in their supply.
(Use the method described earlier.)
When a Rival uses Harvest Spice
to send an Agent to a board space,
it gains all spice there
(base and bonus).
Place any accumulated resources
in the Rival’s supply.
Combat
Rivals gain first- and second-place
rewards from Conflicts,
even things they otherwise don’t take
from board spaces :
- They gain Victory Points,
and Influence with Factions.
- They gain Solari, Spice, Water,
and Intrigue cards.
Keep these in the Rival’s supply
(to be spent as indicated below).
- They win Control of board spaces,
placing a Control marker
on the flag below it.
On future turns, they get
the Control bonus whenever you
or a Rival sends an Agent there.
They also receive the defensive bonus
of one troop if a Conflict over
that board space is later revealed.
- They gain the Mentat, and use it
as an Agent during the next round.
Additional Rules for Rivals
Swordmasters —
When you reveal the Conflict card
above the Rival Swordmasters,
your Rivals each immediately
receive their third Agents;
they will use them in the current round
and for the rest of the game.
Choices —
Whenever a Rival has a choice
about gaining Influence,
they choose the Faction in which
they have the least.
In the case of a tie
(or when there is a choice not involving Influence),
you decide for the Rival.
Corner the Market —
For the purposes of this Intrigue card,
treat each Rival as though
they have two The Spice Must Flow cards.
(You’ll need three yourself
to get 2 Victory Points.)
Expert Troop Deployment —
When playing at Expert difficulty,
your Rivals are more selective
about deploying troops to a Conflict.
When fighting for a Conflict I or II card,
a Rival won’t deploy troops
if it is already leading by
two or more troops
(saving them in its garrison instead).
For a critical Conflict III card,
a Rival will resume
deploying all the troops
it can at every opportunity.
Social