THE ESSENCE OF DUNE

by the designers of Future Pastimes-Bill Eberle, Jack Kittredge, and Peter Olotka with modular assistance from that indomitable Englishman Charles Vasey.

	The authors for our feature on DUNE are actually the design team which makes up that talented group called FUTURE PASTIMES-a small, new game company which stood the hobby on its collective ear in 1978 with COSMIC ENCOUNTERS. That novel game system proved to be the forerunner from which DUNE evolved to our eternal gratitude. Yet, not everything herein is seen through the naturally biased eyes of the creators of the game. Lo, there is an interloper in the script in theform of that inveterategame criticandall round rogue Charles Vasey. His commentsfirom the view of the player on the attributes of the various game characters present an interesting comparision to the picture drawn by the designers of those same characters. Note that Charles' analyses take into consideration all the Advanced Game rules whereas Jack Kittredge restricts his comments to the Basic Game. In each case, Charles'comments originate in the left hand column of each module; those of Jack Kittredgefollow on the right.

	When we first began to imagine a DUNE game, we each remembered our own favorite images from the book. Creating the game was a matter of finding the right focus for the endless stream of ideas the book brought to life for us. Our goal was to create the essential experience of DUNE in a game. We would like to thank Frank Herbert for making such a project possible. The challenge of creating a game which matched the depth and excitement of the novel inspired our total enthusiasm and energy.
	Our starting points were the planet, the spice economy, the intense competitive psychology of the book's characters, and the fierce battles waged on the planet's surface. Each of these elements offered its own possibilities for game play.
	In this article we will describe how DUNE is played, illustrate the game by examples of possible play, and offer an analysis of specific game elements. We will also comment on the process of converting ideas in a book to ideas in a game and on optimum game strategies for DUNE players.
	Perhaps the most important thing to say about the planet Dune is that it is constantly trying to kill you. Its dryness quickly sucks away all unprotected

body mositure. Its storms cut both men and metal to ribbons, giant sandworms attack anything that moves on the surface of the endless deserts, and possession of its wealth makes one a target for the most powerful and deadly forces in the Empire. Such a planet promotes the utmost of thrift, caution, shrewd calculation, and swift, precise action. Just the sort of place for an evening of classic confrontation among friends.

	What makes Dune more interesting as a location for a game conflict than most imaginary planets is its contrasting deadly ecology and fabulous wealth. The spice wealth of Dune is extraordinary. The spice, or melange, makes people live longer, is necessary for safe navigation through space, and is subtly addictive. Obviously such a substance is destined to be the most valued commodity of any human civilization of which it becomes a part. And, if the substance which has become a galactic civilization's basic measure of wealth has as its only source the sand oceans of one planet, the conflict situation is classic in its simplicity. Control of Dune means control of the galactic empire.
	The people are equally as interesting as the planet in this conflict situation. Civilization's expansion to the stars has created a violent military society in which personal skill with weapons and technological protective devices is mandatory, and where treachery, assassination, and armed force are the coin of daily life. In addition, techniques of exceptional concentration, mind control, and patient genetic engineering has led to individuals who are as dangerous as the most impressive weapons science has devised.
	The combination of these fierce people, the unrelentless planet, and the struggle for ultimate wealth and power on the planet's surface is what DUNE, the game is all about. These are people of extreme intelligence and competitiveness who have been schooled in fighting and intrigue from childhood, and the plots generated by their conflicts are intricate and dangerous. While we were developing the game, we often described the nature of plotting and intrigue in the game by referring to Frank Herbert's phrase, "wheels within wheels within wheels." The game has been constructed to foster just such a sense of intricate danger and opportunity.
	In the DUNE game, each player is challenged to make the most of the resources he starts with. Each player has a given number of troops, leaders, spice, wealth, weapons, and special advantages and disadvantages relating to the abilities and political inheritance of one DUNE character, and also secretly controls a leader of one other player. On a map representing most of the planet's northern hemisphere, players attempt to win the game by seizing three Dune strongholds and holding them for the duration of one turn. Confrontations are resolved in battles where players must risk and spend their resources. The troops maneuvering on the planet's surface, the avid quest for spice, and the overall scheming are all brought to focus in the climatic battles which determine a player's fortune.
	Except in the central region known as the Polar Sink, players must battle each other whenever their tokens occupy the same territory at the end of the movement round. In a battle, each player creates a battle plan on a battle wheel, and then the battle wheels are revealed simultaneously.
	The elements of a battle plan are the number the player dials and reveals on the battle wheel, the value of the leader played, and the weapons and defenses (treachery cards) played which determine whether a leader lives or dies. In the battle, each player dials any number up to the number of tokens (troops) he has in the contested territory, and also must play one leader whose value (provided the leader lives) is added to the number of troops dialed.
	Conflict on Dune is as costly as it is unavoidable. The number of troops dialed on the battle wheel are always removed to the "tanks" after the battle. A player who does not play the proper defense to counter an opponent's weapon sees his leader die, and the leader's value is lost in the battle. There are five leaders of different values for each player, and the value and the fate of the leaders often determines who wins a battle. Depending on available resources (weapons are expensive), a player usually protects his leader with a