Dune: Imperium – Uprising

Long live the fighters!

There’s been a steady flow of expansions to the original Dune: Imperium since its release in 2020, and this deck building/worker placement game set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe has stood the test of time. It’s a game that I find myself constantly going back to, as it hits that sweet spot – not too complex, but enough decision-making to make it interesting and enough theme to keep it engaging.

There was a lot of confusion, however, when this stand-alone ‘expansion’, Dune: Imperium: Uprising, was released. Was it a replacement for the old game? Which was better? How did all the expansions now work with both versions of the game? It took a while for the dust to settle, and it’s still rather confusing, but basically this is the same game, but with some significant changes that give it a new feel and open up new strategies. The cards and boards have been altered, but most significantly we have the addition of sandworms (and the shield wall that keeps them out of some conflicts until it is breached), and spies that allow more flexibility with the selection of board spaces.

It’s still basically the same game we know and love, but it has a more climactic and cinematic feel, and while I’m not yet ready to say it’s better, I’ve really enjoyed it so far (after putting off buying a copy for several years).

However, there is a lot of fiddly mucking about when it comes to using all the expansions, especially with the addition of Bloodlines, which has some different components and rules depending on whether you’re using the original game or Uprising. So I decided to take on the challenge of reworking my original game summary, and creating a brand new one for Uprising; each of which don’t refer to the other game. This way you have summaries and reference sheets that refer only to the game you’re playing, and make set up and play much, much easier than decoding the many rulebooks. Enjoy!