HomeFeaturesDune: Imperium
The RPS Advent Calendar 2024, December 5thWe built this treehouse on a bed of sand
We built this treehouse on a bed of sand
Image credit:RPS
Image credit:RPS
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 gameDune: 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.
I have never been frustrated when this has happened. Instead it feels nailbitingly tense and eminently fair.
Image credit:Dire Wolf
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.
I probably shouldn’t play this game with friends. Not the ones I want to keep.
Headback to the advent calendarto open another door!
