the game

history

“Listen, friend. Times are hard, but the winds of change are in the air, brought about like you and I. Look at this planet, Arrakis. The people here are oppressed; abuses are so commonplace in the Imperium that they are no longer noticed. Only we can make the changes that are so obviously necessary. Support our motions before the Landsraad, and we will use our influence to secure your admission to the High Council.”

-Inscription on the Atreides Starter Deck

Dune is an out-of-print collectible card game produced by Last Unicorn Games and Five Rings Publishing Group, and later Wizards of the Coast. Set in the Dune universe based on the books written by Frank Herbert, the game pits two or more players against each other, each in control of a minor house vying for entry in the Landsraad.

Originally released in 1997 as Dune: Eye of the Storm by a partnership of Five Rings Publishing Group (FRPG) and Last Unicorn Games. The license negotiated with the Herbert Estate and Universal Studios was for intellectual property based on the 1984 film Dune directed by David Lynch. By December 1997, the license covered all of the Dune novels by Frank Herbert, and the game was based on the first three novels (Dune, Dune Messiah, and Children of Dune). It was designed by Owen Seyler with additional design by Christian Moore, and featured painted card art instead of screen captures from the film.

FRPG intended on releasing expansion sets quarterly. The first one, the 152-card set Judge of the Change, was released in December 1997. It was sold in 60-card half-fixed starter decks and 15-card booster packs. The set added the factions 'Spice Miners Guild' and 'Water Peddlers Union' and the type 'decrees'.

When Wizards of the Coast purchased Five Rings later that year, Dune: Eye of the Storm underwent a major shift. In a program called Rolling Thunder, small expansions of the game, called "Chapters", were released every two months. While intended to keep the pace of collecting exciting, it resulted in high duplicate rates in booster packs and a competitive landscape constantly in flux.

In 1998, Wizards of the Coast released two more complete sets, Dune: Judge of the Change (183 cards, covering the arrival of House Atreides on Arrakis) and Dune: Thunder at Twilight (178 cards, covering the reclaiming of Arrakis by House Harkonnen), but the challenging gameplay proved too difficult for younger players. Its speculated that this ultimately led to the collapse of the Dune CCG.

Two more expansions, Dune: Second Moon Rising (the rise of Paul Atreides) and Dune: Fall of the Padishah (the defeat of Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV), were planned for release in 1998. However, the game was canceled before they were printed.

‍Sources

the game

overview

DUNE is a game of political and economic rivalry in which players each represent an Imperial House vying for admission to the Landsraad High Council. One of the Great Houses has offered to support your admission, if you will first help them seize control of Arrakis

Petition Imperial Cards

The Order of Petitioning creates a bidding contest in which Houses dispute the deployment of a target ally, holding, or decree. Rival Houses may contest this by tendering Solaris to increase the deployment cost of the card.

Control the Cost of Spice

The Exchange monitors surpluses and shortages within CHOAM's twin banks, inflating or deflating the value of Solaris according to the amount of spice held in reserve. The CHOAM Rate of Exchange (CROE) fluctuates from 1 to 6, indicating the value (in Solaris) of one unit of spice.

Initiate Rites

Conflict lies at the heart of the Imperium. The Great Convention provides formal rules for resolving House conflicts without harming innocents. These rules - the Forms of Kanly - dictate the types of aggression permitted and the processes involved. The Forms of Kanly sanction four methods for settling disputes among the Houses. These ritual forms are called Rites, and each has its own flavor and purpose.