DUNE has been one of my favorite sci-fi games for years, ever since it's appearance. When I heard FFG had acquired the rights, I was ecstatic, then downcast when news came that the rights to the game mechanics did not come with the Dune license. However, it was stated then, some two years ago, that the game would end up fitting into the TI environment. Now they've done it, and it seems like an incredible fit. For me, it doesn't have to be Dune, as much as I loved that book and Herbert's universe. It was the game mechanics that shone and held my interest. This new re-imagination and re-interpretation of this classic game seems poised to bring all those mechanics back to life in a whole new universe, one that I enjoy as well. I could not be happier. DUNE by any other name will still be sweet.

Ditto.

Do you guys know whether or not (or has it even been said for that matter) if this is a carbon copy of the Dune board game? Like, same rules, etc etc. I actually have been interested in the Dune board game for quite some time, but I never really was able to snag a copy. I also hear that the 60s Dune board game is a lot better/different than the 80s Dune board game. Is this true? I want to perhaps give these games a shot to know what I'm getting into before I play Rex.

The 80's version's main difference was that it had Sting on the cover. Other than that, same game.

We don't know the rules to this one yet. FFG has kept a very tight lid on Rex for the past few years. The recent announcement says pretty clearly that they aren't making a carbon copy, though so far it sounds like a lot of the same but with different names. It even sounds as if the faction abilities will be similar if not the same.

The game mechanics are supposed to be largely unchanged though, so if you get your hands on Dune (not that you'll get it any cheaper than Rex), you'll have a good enough idea. My guess is Rex will have a lot of new optional rules but a pretty similar base game aside from map layout and the deck consistency.

Huh, didn't know that the only difference to the 80s Dune game was the box cover... Makes me wonder why the heck people are paying 100+ dollars for the older edition... I guess collectors will be collectors however! I think I'll wait till Rex comes out, as I definitely want to support anything that the TI franchise has to offer.

The Sting cover, and the two Dune expansions, were done in '84 to capitalize on the Dune movie. According to Peter Olotka in a recent interview, the movie was so bad that sales of the game tanked! So the Sting cover is associated with the failure of the game in the market, and its absence from American publication for nearly 30 years.

Also, it's just uglier than the classic "sandworm" cover. ;-)

As much as I love the Dune movie (yes, I'll admit it), I can agree that the Sting cover couldn't compare to the classic cover.

Although, if memory serves, Bill Sienkewicz did the covers for Marvel's comic adaptation, and he drew a wicked Sting!

Back on topic, I'm looking forward to playing this game, both for the setting and the mecahnics. It'll be interesting to see what they've done with the rules.

@CountingGardens
Are you thinking of the Parker Brothers Dune game from the 80s? That has nothing to do with the Avalon Hill classic.

Pretty psyched to see how this runs. I remember playing the dune game in high school, but can't remember much about. Just that I enjoyed it immensely.

This looks really sweet now that more info is available, so does this look like Dune to those of you that played it?

Skowza said:

The board design is definitely a twist, though not a deal-breaker for me, personally. Everything else looks comparable to Dune thus far. They are clearly incorporating some of the old "optional" rules as standard in Rex - for example, the fact that there are two influence nodes on each card is akin to the "double spice blow" optional rule from Dune (which was very popular in its time.)

The rules of Dune explicitely allow secret discussions among allies. The rules of Rex explicitely forbid them. I wonder why they felt the need to change it.

wice said:

One possibiltiy is game length. If you're familiar with Diplomacy, one of the aspects of the game that make it last so long is time spent in secret discussion. Now Rex/Dune has significantly less of this compared to Diplomacy, but it could still shorten the length of the game. I can come up with other ideas as well, but not good ones.

Either way, I'm glad the rule is explicit. If players don't like it, they can house rule it away and have secret discussions. Having the rule explicitly stated in the rules makes it easier in discussing whether or not it should be allowed in the game with the other players. Even if it's not what I prefer, I'd rather be able to say "The rules say this, so we're doing this," than to have half the players want to play one way, and the other half want to play a different way, and having an argument over playing preferences.