Dune Imperium

It has everything i want really so easily one of my favorite games of the year and i'm pretty excited, although i do want that upgrade kit asap me too...

I’ve been hearing a bunch of hype over Dune Imperium and, when I finally sat down to play it, had a horrible experience. The gameplay wasn’t fun and the advantage goes to the first couple of players every turn.

Surprisingly, my wife requests to play Dune: Imperium a lot despite having no affinity for space themes or Dune at all. She just really likes the mechanics and the AI 3rd player is one of the better AI players I have ever used in a 2-player game. I also have no issues with the graphics. It isn't a flashy game, but the art is good and the compentnts are nice and everything fits together nicely.

Dune does a better job and makes me feel good because I am playing against the machinations of my ~~opponents~~ friends, whereas Arnak there's blocking but it never feels like "I am doing this to prevent you", it is more or less "oh sorry, I needed this space to do the million things I want to do on my turn". Arnak is great for personal best achievements or whatever, but very much feels like a Solitaire game with some cool mechanics. But Dune Imperium just does a better job at driving player interaction. I also think what makes D:I shine brighter than Arnak is that D:I has a time limit and very tense and tight 10 point limit.

I’m gutted I can’t get the Dune Imperium deluxe upgrade in the UK, because as great as the game is by itself, using wooden cubes as the soldiers in combat is so underwhelming. To me, it’s a game that deserves that little extra touch the minis provide. If minis and lots of plastic aren’t for you, that’s fine, don’t buy those games, but for some of us those deluxified components are what makes certain board games so much more enjoyable. Different strokes for different folks.

Dune 8/10. (There are a bit of objective and subjective criteria in my ratings 😉).