Duna shines not only in cinemas, but also on vinyl records. We have selected the best ones. Several of them were published in Czech

Dune

Number of players: 2-6 ●​​ Recommended age: 12+ ●​​ Game Time: 180 minutes ●​​ Language: English

The oldest representative in our ranking is a negotiation strategy with the simple name Dune, which saw the light of day back in 1979 (no, it's not a typo). However, the ravages of time have not taken their toll on it at all, and some players still consider it one of the best games of all time. In addition, a few years ago it was released in a decent reissue, so you can buy it without any problem and you don't have to rely on the homemade version.

Dune is one of those titles where you really need the full number of players around the table, six in this case. Here, six factions are fighting for supremacy over the desert planet of Arrakis – the Harkonnens, the Atreids, the Ben Gesserits, the Emperor, the Merchant Guild, and the Fremen. Players will collect spices, buy weapons and technologies, place units and fight with others. Nevertheless, diplomacy, negotiation with others and bluffing also play an important role here. Each faction has unique abilities and play style, some may even have special victory conditions.

The game is demanding not only in terms of the number of players, but also in terms of playing time. Depending on the experience, the game time is around 4-6 hours. At the same time, it should be kept in mind that diplomacy games, in which interaction between other players is important, will not be fun for everyone. But if Dune suits you, you can look forward to a spectacular experience full of atmosphere, which you will want to repeat immediately.

Dune: Empire

Number of players: 1-4 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 120 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech ●​​ Publisher in Czech: REX games

Dune: Empire ranks among the most successful and popular games of recent years. The genre is deckbuilding and worker placement, in which you take on the role of one of the great families from the template. You can seat 1-4 players at the table and the good news is that they can be complete game beginners as well. The rules are relatively simple, and if you are not playing in full, the playing time is more friendly than with Dune from the previous page of the article.

You will compete with your opponents in the battle for supremacy over Arrakis. To do this, you will improve your deck of cards and place your agents on free places on the planet where you mine water, spices and money. In addition, you can also influence other factions from the universe, such as the Bene Gesserits, the guild, or the emperor. Battles with other players are an integral part of the game.

The great popularity of the game is also evidenced by the fact that two expansions have already been released. Immortality adds Bene Tleilax faction NPC and modifies research. The rising of Ix then adds a new planet – Ix. You can also purchase a Deluxe expansion set with plastic miniatures.

Dune: Betrayal

Number of players: 4-8 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 40 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech ●​​ Publisher in Czech: Blackfire

Dune: Betrayal is a social deduction game in which players become members of the Harkonnen and Atreides clans. The goal is then to defend the nobles of their family, and on the contrary to reveal the identity of the strangers. The interesting thing is that the game is controlled using cards and does not depend only on player negotiation, which is not usual for this genre. Some may not like the graphics used directly from the movies, but that's a matter of taste.

At the beginning, you don't know at all who is your ally and who is the enemy, and you can't be sure of anything until the end of the game, so there is no shortage of unexpected revelations at the end. Thanks to this, each game is different, but a lot depends on the communication skills of the players.

However, similar to other social deduction games, be prepared to need as many players as possible at the table – six is ​​the bare minimum. The playing time is then around half an hour per game, so it is quite possible that you will replay it straight away after one.

Dune: Battle for Arrakis

Number of players: 2-4 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 120 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech (May 2024) ●​​ Publisher in Czech: Blackfire

The Battle of Arrakis is a Danish remake of the popular strategy game The War of the Ring from the Lord of the Rings universe. As the name suggests, this game also pits the Harkonnens and the Atreids against each other in a battle for control of the desert planet Arrakis. The original project recorded a successful campaign on Gamefound, where it collected 29 million crowns in conversion. The game started going to backers at the beginning of 2024, in the Czech translation Blackfire will bring it to store shelves in May.

The battle for Arrakis can be played alone, in fours, or in twos, with the latter option, as with LotRa, providing the best experience. In the case of four players, the two basic factions will also be joined by allies in the form of the Fremen on the Atreides side and House Corrino on the Harkonnen side. Use a set of action dice to play here. In addition to fighting, you will also mine important spices and try not to get killed by sandworms.

The big attraction of the game is the amount of detailed miniatures that you will find in the box. However, the production quality will certainly affect the price of the game. The price tag of the Battle of Arrakis should be somewhere around 3,500 crowns. However, the first responses from the English version are positive and it looks like we can look forward to an atmospheric strategy game with a playing time of around 2-3 hours.

Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen

Number of players: 2-4 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 60-120 minutes ●​​ Language: English

Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen differs from the other titles in this article in its setting. It takes place hundreds of generations before the Atreides came to Arrakis. So forget the classic Harkonnen vs. Atreides fight, this time several Fremen tribes will face each other. The genre is area control, in which you will want to wipe your opponents from the map.

There are two ways to conquer a desert planet. Either you go the route of brute force and dominate a certain number of sich, or you and your opponents meet in council and unanimously agree that none of you can win this war…

In addition to battles, you will also build your own fortresses to survive the attacks of others, mine resources including the obligatory spices, and develop technologies. The game brings some interesting ideas – for example, the one about the agreement on the impasse and the subsequent end of the game – but overall it lacks a greater degree of consistency.

Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy

Number of players: 2-4 ●​​ Recommended age: 12+ ●​​ Game Time: 60 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech ●​​ Publisher: Blackfire

Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy is a modified version of the original Dune from 1979. The biggest change is adjusting the number of players to a maximum of 4, leaving the Harkonnens, Atreids, Fremen and Imperium as factions. While the original Dune needs to be played in full, in the case of this title you can also try a special variant designed for two players. Another change is rule simplification and new powerup card packs. The graphics have also undergone changes, which are completely in the spirit of the first film.

The game is also significantly shorter, played over 3-5 rounds, and the winner is the one who has 3 occupied fortresses at the end of the round. If this situation does not occur, whoever has the most spices at the end of the fifth round wins. Don't expect a grand epic experience like in the original version, this Dune bets on speed, simplicity and accessibility for less experienced players.

The name of the game is a bit misleading – you will conquer here in style, but diplomacy will not get much space here. For this you will have to go to the original Duna.

Dune: The Secret of the Family

Number of players: 1-4 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 180 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech ●​​ Publisher: TLAMA Games

Clan Secret is the only representative of the cooperative game genre in this article. It is a story game that offers four scenarios that take place after the end of the first part of the new film series. You will become members of a resistance group against the Harkonnen family on the planet Arrakis. You go through the chapters here through encounters, which also help you complete the tasks of the given chapter. However, you have limited time, so you definitely won't have time to go through every one of them.

You can look forward to a lot of story texts, and in some places Tajemstvi Rod will remind you more of a gamebook than a board game. The fact that the authors have prepared two different endings depending on which paths you take is pleasing. However, the replayability in this case is almost zero, because you will know the whole story after playing all the scenarios.

You can play Clan Secrets in both story mode and score mode. Although it says on the box that you can play with up to 4 players, given that this is basically a gamebook, the experience will be best with one, maximum two players.

Dune: Empire – Uprising

Number of players: 1-6 ●​​ Recommended age: 14+ ●​​ Game Time: 120 minutes ●​​ Language: Czech (3Q-4Q 2024) ●​​ Publisher: REXhry

At first glance, it might seem that Uprising is another expansion for the successful Dune: Empire. However, the truth lies a little further away. This is a standalone game that you can combine with both the released Rise of Iks and Immortality expansions, as well as Empire. So it's basically a new improved base of the original Empire with some new mechanics and a greater emphasis on deckbuilding that promises a more playable experience.

Uprising is focused on the second part of the film series and therefore brings a number of new cards and characters from this film, for example Paul Atreid as Muad'Dib. Again, this is worker placement crossed with deckbuilding, but the big novelty of this game is the mode for six players. In it you will face each other in two teams – on one side the emperor and on the other Muad'Dib. This mode then brings much more interaction between players.

The game is already available in English some Friday, in Czech we will probably see it in the second half of this year, thanks to the publishing house REXHry.

Dune RPG

Release language: English

In 2021, this RPG also rode on the wave of games from the Dune universe. In the Herbert world full of intrigue, politics and power struggles, you will be able to create your own clan, with which you will try to win your place at the top of the pyramid. The game is based on the 2d20 system, which is based on the third edition of Dungeons and Dragons and is specially adapted for Dune. This dynamic system – as the name suggests – makes extensive use of 20-sided dice rolls. Characters have a base of 2 and always try to roll the lowest possible result.