How to play Dune Imperium if you hate rulebooks

I hate rulebooks! This condensed How to Play Dune Imperium rules help players get the essential instructions without having to trawl rulebooks

Setup

Game Components

Player Components

Game Setup

The result is a 10-card Conflict Deck, which is placed face down in the marked area on the game board.

Place the Game Board: Lay the game board in the center of the play area.

Solari, Spice, and Water Tokens: Create a bank next to the game board containing the Solari, spice, and water tokens. These are not limited; if you run out, use any convenient substitution.

Alliance Tokens: Place the four Alliance tokens on the marked areas of the Faction’s Influence tracks (Emperor, Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, and Fremen).

Mentat: Place the Mentat token on its side in the Mentat space on the game board.

Conflict Deck: Separate the Conflict cards by their backs: Conflict I, Conflict II, and Conflict III. Shuffle each set separately and stack them in the following order:

Place the shuffled Conflict III cards at the bottom.

Place five shuffled Conflict II cards on top of the Conflict III stack.

Place one shuffled Conflict I card on top of the Conflict II stack.

Player Setup

• Choose a Leader: Each player chooses a Leader and places it in front of them. Leaders have varying levels of strategic complexity, indicated by icons. For the first game, it is recommended that players choose Leaders with one icon: Paul Atreides, Glossu “The Beast” Rabban, Earl Memnon Thorvald, or Count Ilban Richese.
• Select Components by Color: Each player chooses a color and takes all components of that color, including:
  • 3 Agents (place two on the Leader card and one next to the game board as the Swordmaster).
  • 1 Combat marker (placed on the 0 space of the Combat track).
  • 2 Discs (place one on the Score track and the other in your supply).
  • 16 Cubes (4 placed on the bottom spaces of the Influence tracks, 12 represent your troops).
  • 1 Councilor token.
  • 1 Score marker.
  • 3 Control markers.
• Starting Deck: Each player receives a 10-card starting deck containing the following cards:
  • Convincing Argument (2)
  • Dagger (2)
  • Diplomacy (1)
  • Dune, the Desert Planet (2)
  • Reconnaissance (1)
  • Seek Allies (1)
  • Signet Ring (1)
• Initial Placement:
  • Place your Combat marker on the 0 space of the Combat track.
  • Place one of your discs on the 0 spaced of the Score track (in a 3-player game) or the 1 space (in a 4-player game).
  • Place three of your troops in one of the four circular garrisons on the game board (each player taking the one closest to them).
  • Keep your remaining components in your supply, in clear view of all players.
  • Each player takes 1 water token and places it in their supply.

Card Setup

• Intrigue Deck: Shuffle the Intrigue Deck and place it face down on the board.
• Imperium Deck: Shuffle the Imperium Deck and place it face down next to the game board. Deal five cards face up to form the Imperium Row.
• Reserve Cards: Place the Reserve cards in three stacks next to the Imperium Row, consisting of:
  • Arrakis Liaison
  • The Spice Must Flow
  • Foldspace

Randomly select the first player who takes First Player Marker.

Additional Setup for Solo or Two-Player Games

• House Hagal Rules: If playing with only one or two players, follow the special rules for the House Hagal automated opponent. This involves using the House Hagal cards and setting up additional rules for how the rival operates during the game.

Optional Setup Enhancements

• Dire Wolf Game Room Companion App: For an enhanced experience, the game offers a companion app available for PC, smartphones, or tablets.

Game Overview and Key Concepts

Players compete as leaders of Great Houses in the Dune universe, aiming to gain political influence, form alliances, and win conflicts. The goal is to earn Victory Points, with the game ending when a player reaches 10 or more points.

Objective

• Players take on the role of Leaders of Great Houses, competing for power and influence in the Imperium.
• Victory is achieved by accumulating Victory Points (VPs) through political influence, military strength, and alliances.
• The game ends when a player reaches 10 VPs or when the Conflict Deck is exhausted. The player with the most VPs wins.

Leaders

• Each Leader has two unique abilities:
  • The first ability is active during play and is listed on the left side of the Leader card.
  • The second ability, activated by the Signet Ring card, is on the right side of the Leader card.

Deck Building

• Players start with a 10-card deck that is the same for all players.
• Deck-building is essential to gameplay; players acquire new cards to modify their decks and adapt strategies.
• Players can also remove weaker cards from their deck to enhance efficiency.

Agents

• Each player begins with two Agents and can acquire a third (Swordmaster) during the game.
• Agents are sent to spaces on the board to take actions, such as gathering resources or advancing strategies.
• Cards and Agents are closely linked; you must play a card that corresponds to a board space to send an Agent there.

Factions

• The four major Factions—Emperor, Spacing Guild, Bene Gesserit, and Fremen—play a critical role.
• Players increase Influence with Factions by sending Agents to Faction-specific spaces or using certain cards.
• Reaching 2 Influence with a Faction grants 1 VP; reaching 4 Influence provides a bonus and the Alliance token (1 VP). If another player surpasses you, they take the Alliance token.

Intrigue Cards

• Intrigue cards represent covert actions, offering surprises and hidden strategies.
• They can grant resources, Influence, or even VPs.
• Intrigue cards are drawn from specific board spaces and can be played during:
  • Agent turns
  • Combat
  • Endgame

Gameplay – Round Structure

• The game is played over a series of rounds, each consisting of five phases:
  1. Round Start: A new Conflict card is revealed.
  2. Player Turns: Players take turns placing Agents or revealing cards.
  3. Combat: Players resolve conflicts based on troop strength and played cards.
  4. Makers: Bonus spice accumulates on certain board spaces.
  5. Recall: Agents are returned to players for the next round.

Phase 1: Round Start

• Reveal a new Conflict card from the top of the Conflict Deck.
• Place the card face-up next to the Conflict Deck.

Phase 2: Player Turns

• Players take turns, starting with the First Player and proceeding clockwise.
• Players take either an Agent Turn (placing Agents and playing cards) or a Reveal Turn (revealing remaining cards for resources and abilities).
• Continue until all players have taken a Reveal Turn, at which point this phase ends.

Agent Turn

Playing a Card:

• During an Agent turn, you play a card from your hand to send an Agent to an unoccupied space on the game board.
• The board space must match one of the Agent icons on the card.

Restrictions:

• You cannot send an Agent to a space that already has an Agent.
• If the card does not have an Agent icon, it can only be played during a Reveal turn, not an Agent turn.

Board Space Costs:

• Some spaces require a cost to send an Agent, which must be paid immediately.
• Example: The Emperor space “Conspire” requires 4 spice, while the “Wealth” space has no additional cost.

Effects:

• When you send an Agent, you gain the effects of both the board space and the card’s Agent box.
• If the space is part of a Faction, you also increase your Influence on that Faction’s track.

Special Requirements:

• For example, the Sietch Tabr space requires 2 or more Influence with the Fremen to send an Agent there.

Icons and Cards:

• There are seven different Agent icons (e.g., Emperor, Spacing Guild, Fremen, etc.), and some cards have multiple icons to offer flexibility.
• For example, the Sardaukar Legion card has both the Emperor and Landsraad icons, allowing it to send an Agent to spaces belonging to either of these Factions.

Deploying Troops to the Conflict:

• At the start of each round, a Conflict card is revealed, detailing rewards for competing in Combat.
• Whenever the cube icon appears on a card or board space, players recruit one troop to their garrison.
• Troops in the garrison must be deployed to the Conflict to earn rewards. This is done by sending an Agent to a Combat space.
• Combat spaces are marked with crossed swords and can be on Dune or with certain Factions.
• Players may deploy troops recruited during the turn (from the card and space) plus up to two additional troops from their garrison.

Harvesting Spice:

• Three board spaces on Arrakis—Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin—allow spice harvesting.
• When a player sends an Agent to these spaces, they collect the base spice value and any accumulated bonus spice if the space was previously unoccupied.
• Spice is a valuable resource, and harvesting it provides an important advantage during the game.

Control Bonuses

• Some Conflict cards reward control of important spaces on Dune, such as Arrakeen, Carthag, or Imperial Basin.
• Players who win these Conflicts place a Control marker on the space, gaining a bonus whenever any player sends an Agent there (1 Solari for Arrakeen and Carthag, 1 spice for Imperial Basin).
• If a Conflict card is revealed for a space you already control, you can deploy one troop from your supply to defend it.

Reveal Turn

Reveal Cards

• Reveal all remaining cards in your hand by placing them face-up in front of you.
• These cards are separate from those played on previous Agent turns.

Resolve Reveal Effects

• Each card has a Reveal box with effects, which are activated during the Reveal Turn.
• You may resolve these effects in any order you like.

Gain Persuasion

• Persuasion is primarily gained from the Reveal boxes on cards.
• You use Persuasion to acquire new cards for your deck from the Imperium Row or the Reserve.

Acquiring Cards

• During the Reveal Turn, spend Persuasion to acquire cards.
• You can purchase any number of cards, as long as you have enough Persuasion.
• Acquired cards go into your discard pile, not your hand.

Set Strength

• Total your Combat strength for the round.
• Each troop in the Conflict is worth 2 strength, and each sword icon from revealed cards adds 1 strength.
• Announce your total strength and adjust your Combat marker accordingly.

Clean Up

• After resolving Reveal effects, all played cards (from both Agent and Reveal turns) are placed in your discard pile.

Phase 3: Combat

Combat Intrigue Cards

• Starting with the First Player, each player with troops in the Conflict can play Combat Intrigue cards.
• Players can continue to play cards or pass in turn order.
• If all players pass consecutively, proceed to resolve the Combat.

Resolve Combat

• The player with the highest strength wins the Conflict and claims the top reward from the Conflict card.
• The player with the second-highest strength gains the second reward.
• In a 4-player game, the third-highest player earns the third reward.
• Players with 0 strength do not receive any rewards.

Ties

• If players tie for first place, neither wins the Conflict; both receive the second reward.
• Ties for second place result in both players getting the third reward.
• Ties for third mean neither player receives a reward.

End of Combat

• After distributing rewards, return all deployed troops to the players’ supply.
• Reset the Combat markers on the Combat track to 0.

Phase 4: Makers

• This phase focuses on spice accumulating on the board spaces with Maker icons.

Spice Accumulation

• There are three board spaces on Arrakis with Maker icons: The Great Flat, Hagga Basin, and Imperial Basin.
• If a space is unoccupied by an Agent, place 1 spice from the bank on that space.
• Spice continues to accumulate each round if the space remains unoccupied.

Occupied Spaces

• If a space has an Agent, no spice is added that round.

Phase 5: Recall

Recall Agents

• Each player retrieves all their Agents from the game board and places them back with their Leader.

Mentat Return

• If a player used the Mentat during the round, return it to its designated space on the Landsraad section of the board.

Pass First Player Marker

• Pass the First Player marker clockwise to the next player, who will be the first to act in the following round.

End of 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.