The story of Dune takes place within the far future. 2025 or one thing. By this time, Kickstarter is the one place to purchase board video games. Every part is KS unique and campaigns final one minute and thirty seconds. Microtransactions have been jammed into board gaming and are actually the norm. Not surprisingly, all video games are Dune-themed. It’s been this manner since 2020.
Dune Betrayal is a hidden function, a social deduction recreation for 4 to eight gamers. Video games final between twenty and forty minutes, relying on participant depend.
Gameplay Overview
In Dune Betrayal, every participant is given a hidden identification which both places them in Home Atreides or Harkonnen. Relying on participant depend, every home will embody a number of fighters and a number of nobles. Primarily based on their identification, gamers will take two trait playing cards and place them face down in entrance of them. When mixed, these trait playing cards reveal {that a} participant is both a fighter for one of many two homes or that they’re a noble for both home. Nobles are particularly vital as a result of they’ve the potential to lose probably the most factors when focused. Scoring works in a tug-of-war trend which I’ll clarify later.
Over the course of three motion rounds, gamers will try to achieve details about the identities of different gamers, then the final two rounds (focusing on rounds) are used to play assault/defend playing cards onto different gamers.
In the course of the motion rounds, in clockwise order beginning with the supplier, every participant will draft one of many obtainable face-up motion playing cards. These playing cards both have instant results, resembling viewing one other participant’s trait, or they could offer you powers in the course of the focusing on rounds. When a participant’s trait card is considered, it’s then turned sideways to point that it’s shielded and can’t be considered with no particular motion card. Motion playing cards additionally include sigil symbols that will match the sigil symbols on a participant’s identification card. This may come up once more in scoring.
After every participant has taken three motion playing cards, there will probably be two focusing on rounds. Throughout these rounds, every participant will play both their assault or defend playing cards face down on one other participant’s identification card. All gamers will play one assault and one defend by the tip of the 2 focusing on rounds.
The sport ends with the battle spherical, which is basically simply tallying up the scores. Every participant will transfer a shared battle marker on the board both left (Harkonnen) or proper (Atreides), relying on various components. First, they rating 1 level for his or her aspect for every motion card they’ve with a sigil that matches any of the three sigils on their identification card for a max of three factors. Then, gamers achieve or lose factors primarily based on any tokens that got to them by different gamers. Lastly, goal playing cards are scored. Harkonnen nobles lose 1 level for every assault card obtained. Atreides nobles lose 2 factors for every assault card obtained. Fighters lose 1 level for every assault card obtained, however ignore any assaults after the primary. Lastly, every participant positive aspects one level for his or her aspect for every protection card obtained. Whichever aspect the battle tokens ends on in spite of everything gamers have scored, wins the sport.
Sport Expertise
Let’s handle the sandworm within the room. It is a hidden function recreation designed by the identical designer who made The Resistance/Resistance Avalon, Don Eskridge. He’s had just a few video games since, however Resistance put him on the map. Launched in 2009, it’s nonetheless effectively considered the gold normal for social deduction video games. Dune Betrayal begins with an identical basis of hidden roles, however adjustments the way in which info is gleaned and what’s completed with that info.
The very first thing that stands out are the principles. They shouldn’t be an issue in a recreation like this. Dune Betrayal has 11 half pages of guidelines, riddled with varied guidelines that require reference playing cards as a result of they aren’t intuitive. Nevertheless, they solely included 4 of every reference card. That’s sufficient to cowl the minimal participant depend. This ought to be a easy recreation, however the guidelines made it really feel extra sophisticated. Instructing this recreation induced extra confusion than educating every other social deduction recreation I’ve performed.
For probably the most half, particular talents are non-existent right here. The Harkonnen nobles get to know who their fighters are, however past that, everybody’s character works the identical means. This additionally signifies that issues don’t change a lot from recreation to recreation. In werewolf phrases, everyone seems to be a villager each recreation. There’s no added glee from being Merlin, Percival, Morgana, and many others… (as in Resistance Avalon).
The motion deck is a good suggestion in idea. This may help differentiate the expertise between gamers and between video games. Nevertheless, of the 30 motion playing cards, there are solely 10 distinctive playing cards. Meaning you’ll see repeat after repeat. Since there can’t be two of the identical card out without delay, I used to be discarding and redrawing extra usually than I needed.
I performed this recreation with a number of social deduction veterans who lower their tooth on Werewolf, Resistance, and many others… Nonetheless, the gameplay felt a bit arbitrary. There was not a lot path when it comes to what to share with whom and when. This led to much less speaking, accusing, mendacity, and arguing than what you’d anticipate. Moreover, this recreation didn’t have any stunning reveals, rigidity, or betrayal because the namesake may counsel. By the focusing on spherical, a number of gamers felt like they had been taking a shot at the hours of darkness when taking part in their assault and defend playing cards. With video games like this, I anticipate most to understand it fairly rapidly.
That’s the sport on the larger ends of the participant depend vary (6, 7, and eight). With much less, it’s hardly a recreation. It turns into apparent who’s whom inside a few motion rounds. All that’s left is to see who took probably the most motion playing cards with matching sigil. That’s not fascinating, and I don’t suppose they need to have jammed extra participant counts in.
We talked about The Resistance at first of this part, however what got here to thoughts extra throughout my performs of this recreation was a recreation referred to as Good Cop Dangerous Cop (Brian Henk & Clayton Skancke, 2014). Each video games have facedown trait playing cards that add as much as somebody’s identification, a aim of figuring out who the chief is with the intention to assault them, and playing cards with totally different talents. Good Cop Dangerous Cop is whacky, tense, extremely various, and enjoyable with a respectable approach to swap sides within the recreation. Dune Betrayal appears like a sterilized model of that recreation. I feel the aim was to make a extra critical recreation to match the tone of the Dune films, however in doing so, the enjoyable was misplaced. The Resistance took this extra balanced, methodical strategy as effectively, however it labored so a lot better.
Let’s discuss in regards to the manufacturing high quality. In a hidden function social deduction recreation, card high quality issues so much. It’s vital that with repeat performs, one function card can’t be instructed aside from one other when flipped the other way up. The playing cards on this recreation could also be among the thinnest card inventory I’ve ever performed with. That is in a day and age the place manufacturing values are bettering throughout the board. Is it an excessive amount of to ask for some common card inventory? After all, I can sleeve the playing cards, and I did. Nevertheless, I don’t suppose that ought to be anticipated from gamers, particularly when that is seemingly going to promote most to an off-the-cuff gaming viewers.
The theming is about as skinny as the cardboard inventory. The motion playing cards have some taste, however any previous story of excellent vs. evil may have been subbed in right here. I can’t shake the sensation that the mechanics for this recreation had been sitting round for a protracted whereas, ready for any previous setting to be utilized. Now, that’s not usually a difficulty if the gameplay is nice (see Resistance), however that’s not what we’re coping with right here. If there was extra added to carry the setting out and making it really feel just like the Dune universe, it may have made the expertise worthwhile. I do know that’s so much to anticipate from a social deduction recreation, however it’s a crowded area now.
Remaining Ideas
Sadly, Dune Betrayal doesn’t have the spice, as they are saying. They are saying that, proper? Whether or not you might be Home Atreides or Home Harkonnen, no person wins right here. Perhaps that’s thematic, however not well worth the effort. Try Resistance Avalon, Deception Homicide in Hong Kong, or Good Cop Dangerous Cop in case you’d prefer to play some actually good social deduction video games. I’m undecided who the audience is right here. There are a few superb Dune video games on the market. You may skip this one.
Remaining Rating: 1.5 stars – A social deduction recreation that offers a nasty identify to the style.
Hits:
• Motion playing cards are an fascinating idea
• Jogged my memory to play Good Cop Dangerous Cop once more
Misses:
• Few moments of awe, shock, betrayal, and many others.
• Gameplay is bigoted
• Playing cards high quality is dangerous
• Theme is pasted on
• Even worse at decrease participant counts
