Dune: War for Arrakis, the board game based on the sci-fi franchise, will once again be available for players to grab through a new crowdfunding campaign.
Dune: War for Arrakis, which was originally crowdfunded through a campaign that closed on Kickstarter in September 2022, is a board game in which players compete against each other as two warring houses. War for Arrakis is based on the fictional world created by Frank Herbert in the author’s science fiction book series, before being adapted several times, including film adaptations directed by Denis Villeneuve, with Dune: Part II being released earlier this year.
Designed to support up to four players, War for Arrakis (which was co-designed by Marco Maggi and Francesco Nepitello) is set on the desert world also known as Dune, and players take control of either House Atreides or House Harkonnen. In a two-player game of War for Arrakis, each player commands the troops of their own house, while in a three- or four-player game players team up with one another. Each house’s victory objective is unique: the Atreides seek to rally their Fremen allies to put an end to Harkonnen operations, while Harkonnen players will attempt to collect as much Spice (the valuable resource only found on Arrakis) as possible to send to the Empire.
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In addition to a unique victory objective, houses in the Dune board game each have their own troops, cards, and game mechanics that are completely specific to them.
House Harkonnen has control of the spice harvesters which they can use to collect the precious resource, which they will need to win the game. As House Harkonnen collects spice, players can spend it to unlock new abilities and perks. However, if they fail to collect spice, Harkonnen players will not be able to access certain options until they do. Harkonnen players will need to protect their spice harvesters with their various troops and vehicles, as well as find the route to Fremen outposts hiding in the sand.
Meanwhile, House Atreides will need to use their Fremen troop teams to stop the Harkonnen spice trade and eventually remove their base from the board. Players will be able to place and activate their Fremen troop caches against the Harkonnen troops and Spice Collectors, removing them from the board. In addition to ground troops, Atreides players will be able to call upon the aid of Sandworms to defeat enemy units and advance towards the Harkonnen base.
In addition to offering players who missed out on Dune: War of Arrakis during its first crowdfunding campaign (especially since the release of the popular Dune: Part II), the title's upcoming crowdfunding campaign will also feature a brand new expansion called Desert War. The game's upcoming expansion will contain additional units for Houses Atreides and Harkonnen that will further reflect the “harsh reality of the conflict that was waged on the fiery surface of the planet Dune.”
The crowdfunding campaign for Dune: War for Arrakis and Desert War will be launched by publisher CMON (also known for releasing the Zombicide board game series) on Gamefound sometime in the near future.