Dune: Imperium – Uprising rules – how to play and how to score

Dune: Imperium – Uprising quick rules

The goal

Each player leads a Great House fighting for power on Arrakis, and the most Victory Points wins. You score them during the game, on the Score track: through combat, the favor of four Factions and certain cards. You send Agents to the board and gradually improve your deck. With 6, you play in two teams of three, with extra rules.

A round

Reveal a Conflict card, which announces the round’s combat and its rewards, and everyone draws five cards. Then each player takes one turn at a time: an Agent turn, or their Reveal turn, once per round. After everyone has revealed, resolve combat, add one spice to each Maker space left empty, everyone recalls their Agents, and the First Player marker passes left.

The Agent turn

You start with two Agents on your Leader. Play a card from your hand, choose one of its icons and place an Agent on an unoccupied space with the same icon, paying its cost if it has one. Three spaces also require 2 Influence with a Faction. You gain the space’s effect and your card’s Agent effect: Solari, spice, water, cards or troops.

The Factions

The Emperor, the Spacing Guild, the Bene Gesserit and the Fremen each have an Influence track, where your cube moves up when you send an Agent to them. At 2 Influence, you gain a Victory Point, which you lose if you drop back. At 4, you gain a bonus, and the first to arrive takes the Alliance token, worth one point; an opponent who climbs higher takes it from you.

The Spies

Each player has three Spies. When the Spy icon appears, you can place one on an empty observation post, connected to one or more spaces. Later, you recall it to Infiltrate (go to a connected space even if it’s occupied) or to Gather Intelligence (draw a card when you go there). The Spy Agent icon sends you there without recalling the Spy.

Troops and sandworms

The cube icon recruits a troop into your garrison, where it doesn’t fight. To fight, your Agent goes to a Combat space: you deploy to the Conflict the troops recruited this turn, plus up to two from your garrison. Sandworms, which are stronger, require a Maker Hooks token and go straight to the Conflict. While the Shield Wall token is in place, no sandworm fights for Arrakeen, the Spice Refinery or the Imperial Basin.

The Reveal turn

When you’re out of Agents, or if you prefer, reveal your whole hand and apply its Reveal effects. Persuasion acquires cards from the Imperium Row or the Reserve, which go to your discard pile; unspent Persuasion is lost. Your strength is 2 per troop in the Conflict, 3 per sandworm and 1 per revealed sword, and 0 with no units in the Conflict.

Combat

After all Reveals, players in the Conflict may play Combat Intrigue cards until everyone passes. The strongest takes the first reward, second place the second, and third place the third with 4 players only; a sandworm doubles your reward. If tied for first, each tied player takes the second reward. Two face-up cards with the same battle icon (a won Conflict or your Objective) score a Victory Point.

The end and scoring

At the end of a round, the game ends if a player has 10 or more Victory Points, or if there are no Conflict cards left. Everyone may still play Endgame Intrigue cards, then the highest on the Score track wins. On a tie: the most spice, then Solari, water and garrisoned troops.

Beginner pitfalls

Don’t play all your cards on Agent turns: your Reveal would be too weak to acquire anything. Acquire cards for their icons, and keep water for the desert. Remember the Swordmaster, your third Agent: 8 Solari, or 6 if someone already has theirs. Use your Spies, and watch out for opposing Intrigue cards, which often swing a combat.

With Bloodlines

Sardaukar Commanders wait on several board spaces: when you send an Agent there, you may pay 2 Solari to acquire one. It counts as a troop with strength 2, and you choose a Skill from the four face up, active while one of your Commanders is in the Conflict, once per round. After combat, it returns to your supply; 2 Solari during one of your turns recruits it again, one per turn.

How to score Dune: Imperium – Uprising

Victory Points

Read them on the Score track, where they’re scored throughout the game: combat, Influence, Alliances, battle icons, cards. With 4 players, everyone starts at 1; with 6, Commanders start at 4 and Allies at 1.

Game end

At the end of the round in which a player reaches 10 or more Victory Points, or when there are no Conflict cards left. Endgame Intrigue cards are played before comparing.

Teams with 6 players

A team’s score is the sum of its three players’ Victory Points.

Tie-breaker

On a tie: the most spice, then Solari, then water, then garrisoned troops.

Worked example

With 4 players, Emma starts at 1 Victory Point, earns 6 from combat, 3 from three Factions at 2 Influence and 1 from an Alliance: 1 + 6 + 3 + 1 = 11. The round ends and so does the game. Jake also finishes on 11; Emma has 3 spice, Jake 1: Emma wins.

Common mistakes

• Ending the game as soon as someone reaches 10: always finish the current round.
• Forgetting Endgame Intrigue cards, played before scores are compared.
• Keeping a Faction’s Victory Point after dropping below 2 Influence: it’s lost.
• Forgetting the 4-player head start: everyone begins with 1 Victory Point.

How to set up Dune: Imperium – Uprising

Setup takes about 15 minutes. The rulebook has no five-player game: you play with 1 to 4, or 6 in teams. Steps for 6 players, expansions and Rivals (solo and 2 players) say so; the Rivals come last.