Fans of the highly influential sci-fi novel series may be aware of the officially licensed Dune board game. Officially titled Dune: A Game of Conquest and Diplomacy, it was a grand strategy game where you controlled one of four factions and fought for control over the precious spice, melange. Now, Galeforce Nine have announced a new major expansion for the game.
In an official post on their website, GF9 gave additional details about what this new Dune board game expansion will contain. As mentioned before, the base game allowed you to play as House Atreides, House Harkonnen, the Fremen, or the Imperium. The first major expansion, simply titled Betrayal, added in rules and systems for you to set up duplicitous alliances and stage coups. Now, the second official expansion will add two additional playable factions.
The first is the CHOAM (Combine Honette Ober Advancer Mercantiles) which controls most of the economic affairs within the Dune universe. Thanks to their massive control over commerce, CHOAM is a power in of itself which always finds a means for self-profit while ensuring all of their clients are content. The second new faction is House Richese. While this House doesn't become important until later installments in Frank Herbert's novel series, Richese is recognized for its technological developments and ingenuity. But due to several mismanaged investments, the House was forced to sell off prized creations just to keep their competitive operations going. That ingenuity might come in handy if they are going to make a move to control Arrakis and its precious melange from under the noses of the others however.
GF9 has a long history of developing Dune board games. While there are other tabletop adaptations of the source material, their original adaptation from about 40 years ago is still highly regarded for adapting one of the most dense sci-fi novel series into an accessible and playable board game. The most recent iteration of the game is their most streamlined with more straightforward rules and refined mechanics, not to mention licensed art and promotional material from the critically and commercially beloved 2021 film adaptation of the first book by Denis Villeneuve.
While there is no official release date for the CHOAM and Richese expansion for the Dune board game just yet, you can download the full rulebook right now to get a head start on how their playstyle will effect your new games.
