Dune (card game)

Dune is a collectible card game produced by Last Unicorn Games and Five Rings Publishing Group, and later Wizards of the Coast. Set in the Dune universe created 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.

Publishing history
Originally released in 1997 as Dune: Eye of the Storm by a partnership of Five Rings Publishing Group and Last Unicorn Games, negotiated the license with the Herbert Estate and oversaw the design and art direction of the game. The set included 301 cards available in both starter boxes and booster packs, although Ally and Homeworld cards were only available in starter boxes. A small number of Promotional cards were also released to people requesting additional information about the game prior to Eye of the Storm's initial release. All of these cards have "Preview" on the left-hand side of the card face.

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

Two more complete sets, Dune: Judge of the Change (183 cards, covering House Atreides' arrival on Arrakis) and Dune: Thunder at Twilight (178 cards, covering the reclaiming of Arrakis by House Harkonnen) were released in 1998, but the challenging gameplay proved too difficult for younger players leading 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 Corrino IV), were planned for release in 1998 when the game was canceled.

Gameplay
Each player begins the game with a homeworld and small amount of solaris. Major characters and holdings are competed for via auction-style petitioning, and each player can also bring his own resources (personas, equipment, enhancements, etc.) into play to pursue victory. Players challenge one another through Intrigue, Battle, Arbitration, and Dueling to gain political standing and wealth. The mystical elements of prophecy and Bene Gesserit weirding ways can also be utilized to significantly further one's agenda. Victory can be gained once a player's House accumulates 10 or more spice units and 10 or more Favor points.