Dune: Imperium

Oh sweet, looking forward to reading your review.

Finally got to play this last night. It’s a very, very good game that does absolutely nothing new or novel.

I REALLY enjoy this game. No, each piece taken on its own is not new, but the combined experience is very good and ultimately justifies it's existence. The combat at the end of each round is fun, different effects for cards you don't play is super interesting, and it really flies in the face of standard braindead deckbuilding where you want to buy every card you can afford (you really don't want to). Culling plays a way bigger part in this game than any other deckbuilder I've seen.

Plus, it's nice to spend some time in the Dune universe and not have it depend on getting 5 players and a full afternoon.

I agree completely- this is a great example of how a game doesn’t have to reinvent the wheel or come forward with something totally new to be really good. It’s definitely not as good as EON Dune...but it is considerably more playable.

charlest wrote: Nah, don't have a copy of it. I'm not sure how I'd feel about it as there are very few worker placement games I enjoy.

Thanks for saying this. I always feel ostracized (especially by my local group) because I don't care for worker placement games (which they all adore). The term itself is so passive it makes my skin crawl.

That said, I did add Dune: Imperium to my recent order. I had Christmas money burning a hole in my pocket, and I do like the universe. I'm eager to discover how I feel about this one.

At the risk of derailing the thread, which ones do you like? I liked Abomination, but I think it was mostly the theme more than the game. I genuinely like Russian Railroads. I can't think of any others I like at the moment.

The ones I enjoy are kind of odd I admit.

I've always been very fond of Troyes, despite it encapsulating many of the issues of modern Euros. The dice drafting plus engine aspects with the cards make for gripping gameplay.

There was a time where I was very into The Manhattan Project. The interesting elements concerning tempo and some of the espionage elements intrigued me.

Stone Age is maybe my favorite straight up worker placement. It has that early Euro feel to it and it's simple and relaxing while still offering a bit of competitiveness. I also dig the slight drama and tension as a result of the dice rolling.

Sons of Anarchy is a distant cousin to worker placement - in actually it's a bit more area control - and I adore that game.

I think I would enjoy Argent if I gave it another chance but it didn't grab me with my first play.

Gregarius wrote: At the risk of derailing the thread, which ones do you like?

I'm not a huge fan of worker placement, but there are a few that I love. Pan Am is excellent. Shellie and I have been playing Charterstone which is quite unique and interesting. I have also enjoyed Raiders of the North Sea and The Village. I do love Argent but I can see that it may be overwhelming at first.

As for Dune: Imperium, I've only played it once but I enjoyed it immensely. I did feel a bit overwhelmed by the many choices, but I think that was more because we were playing on-line and so the board was a little difficult to read. I'm looking forward to more plays!