Dune: Imperium – Uprising

There was no way the year could end without playing the new Dune, especially since we are such fans of Imperium. Uprising is standalone, but it also has that nice pick-and-mix feeling: it can be combined with expansions and cards from the other game. We opened it and played it on its own, though, so that we could first see clearly what it brings to the table.

The foundation remains more or less recognisable, with a similar board but no mentat, new leaders, and new cards changing the familiar setup. The flow still revolves around the choices opened up by the cards and influence, except here I got the impression that influence circulates more freely, so its decisions are built at a slightly different pace.

The interaction shows up mainly in combat, where there are now worms you can ride, but also in the new intrigue deck. Uprising is much more restrained there than Imperium: the deck felt defanged to me compared with before, while the new cards, though powerful in their own way, do not bring the same nastiness at high costs.

In the end, it is an excellent game, and it has a sufficiently different character from the original to justify its place beside it. If what bothered you in Imperium was the randomness, then here, at least on first impression, I see a welcome smoothing-out.