Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen
Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen Rulebook
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
Components
- 112x Resource Tokens: 28x Water, 28x Food, 28x Worm Teeth, 28x Spice
- 1x Attack Marker
- 6x Development Tokens (see page 9): 36x Stillsuits, 20x Crysknives, 12x Sietches
- 68x Scavenge Deck Tokens: 2x Maula Pistol, 2x Jubba Cloak, 1x Kulon, 1x Ornithopter
- Scavenge Deck: 20x Scavenge Cards
- Cycle Phase Tracker and Marker
- 14x Resource Production Sites: 3x Water Collection, 3x Food Gathering, 4x Worm Tooth Collection, 2x Spice Harvest Areas (Full Moon), 2x Spice Harvest Areas (Crescent Moon)
- 36x Double Sided Worm Tokens
- 1x Order Die
- 1x Arrakis Die
- 8x Rock Barrier Tokens
- 4x Tribe Sets, each with: 1x Tribe Card, 30x Double Sided Warrior Tokens, 8x Water Debt Tokens, 1x Thumper Token, 1x Reference Card
TIP: Because Arrakis contains many punchboards, once you have punched out all the tokens you will be left with a gap between the top of the storage tray and the top of the box, making it possible for some of your tokens to spill between cavities. To avoid this, rather than throw out the empty punchboard frames, lift the vacuum tray out of the box and place the empty punchboards in the bottom of the box and place the vacuum tray back on top. It is now raised by the right amount so that once the game board is placed on top they will sit flush with the box cover.
Object Of The Game
There are 2 ways to win Arrakis:
- By controlling the winning number of Sietches at the end of the Action Phase, or
- By unanimous decision of the Council.
Sietch Win
- Single players need to control 3 Sietches to win.
- Players in an alliance need to control 5 Sietches between them to win.
At the start of a game, or by unanimous agreement in a Council Meeting, players may set different winning numbers.
If competing players meet their winning number at the end of the same Action Phase, it is a tie.
If a single player has tied with an alliance, however, the single player wins.
Ties can be broken by the Council voting unanimously to continue play until the end of an Action Phase when one side has surpassed their winning number by more than any other player has.
Council Vote Win
You also win when all players agree in Council that they cannot prevent you from winning. This might be because you have superior strength and/or strategic position and can create or capture the winning number of Sietches before anyone else, or because other players have vanished, or both.
Setup
-
Claim Your Tribe. Each player takes a Tribe set and places it in front of their position: 1 Tribe Card, 1 Double Sided Thumper Token, 30 Double Sided Warrior Tokens, 8 Water Debt Tokens.
-
Prepare Resource Production Sites.
- Remove 1 Water, 1 Food, and 1 Worm Tooth Resource Production Site, flip them face down, mix them up and set them aside.
- Turn the remaining 11 Resource Production Sites face down next to the game board.
- Randomly add 1 of the 3 Resource Production Sites that were set aside face down to these 11 face down disks.
- Mix up the 12 face down Resource Production Sites so that selecting them will be random.
-
Prepare Scavenge Deck & Cycle Phase Tracker. Shuffle the Scavenge Deck and place it next to the Game Board. Place the Cycle Phase Tracker next to the board with the Cycle Phase Marker.
-
Roll The Order Die. Each player rolls the Order Die. The player who rolls highest will be the Harj Leader (roll again if tied). The Harj Leader places first in each step of the Harj. (Example: Green got the highest roll and is the Harj Leader.)
Player order proceeds counterclockwise around the board.
Tip: During Settlement and Worm placement, players should keep in mind that after the Harj the turn order will be reversed and the player who places last in the Harj will go first.
Game Play
Game play is split into three sections:
- Harj. The Harj is the final part of the game setup where players jockey for position and finish setting the game up by placing Rock Barriers and Resources before settling Arrakis with their Warriors.
- Initiation Cycle. The Initiation Cycle is the first cycle of the game. It has a few restrictions to ease into game play.
- Cycles. After the Initiation Cycle play continues until the game is won.
Harj
1. Rock Barriers
The Harj Leader rolls the Order Die (3-8) for the number of Rock Barriers included in a game.
- Starting with the Harj leader and proceeding counterclockwise, each player places a Rock Barrier on any boundary between 2 territories as shown below until the number of rocks to be used in that game is placed.
- Rock Barriers are never placed on a border with Drumsand.
- Except in special cases, Rock Barriers prevent movement or shipment across a border with a Rock Barrier.
Example: Rock Barrier Placement. The Green player rolled a 6 on the Order Die and places the first Rock Barrier on the boundary between Windy Basin and Little Gap, followed by the other players in counterclockwise order until all 6 Rock Barriers have been placed.
2. Resource Production Sites
Starting with the Harj leader and proceeding counterclockwise, each player selects one of the 12 face down Resource Production Sites without revealing it, and places it face down in any empty territory on the map.
A Resource Production Site cannot be placed in Drum Sand.
The next player counterclockwise does the same, and so on until all 12 face down Resource Production Sites have been placed without any players seeing what they are.
Example: Resource Production Site Placement. Players place the Resource Production Sites face-down on the board in counterclockwise order starting with the Harj Leader, Green, until all 12 Resource Production Sites are on the board.
3. Settlement
Turn all the Resource Production Sites face up.
Each territory with a site will produce a Resource of that type regularly throughout the game and the player occupying that territory controls the Resources produced there.
Starting with the Harj leader and proceeding counterclockwise, each player selects a territory and places one of their Fremen Warriors there, followed by the next player counterclockwise until all territories, except Drum Sand, have a Fremen Warrior.
Nothing can enter Drum Sand.
Example: Settlement. After the Resource Production sites are turned up the Green player claims High Expanse by placing their Warrior token there. Following the Harj Order, Players claim territories in counter-clockwise order until all territories have been claimed.
4. Call First Worm
When all of the territories have been occupied, the Harj Leader selects any territory they occupy and places a Worm Token there, Maker side up, see page 10.
Worms provide mobility and military strength in territories near them.
Continuing in counterclockwise order, the remaining players each place a Worm in any one territory they occupy.
Example: Call First Worm. The final step of the Harj is to call the first worm. The Green player places their first worm in Rock Path. The other players follow in counterclockwise order.
Territory Distribution - Check Before Continuing!
- 4-player game - each Tribe starts with 9 territories
- 3-player game - each Tribe starts with 12 territories
- 2-player game - each Tribe starts with 18 territories
Resource Production Site Tokens
Spice Harvest (Full Moon), Spice Harvest (Crescent Moon), Worm Tooth, Food, Water.
Cycles
After Harj the game is played in Cycles. Each Cycle is divided into 6 phases: Development, Production, Trade, Shipment, Action, Council.
The first Cycle, the Initiation Cycle (see next page), has special rules that make its phases somewhat different from the phases in the remaining Cycles.
Cycle Phase Marker
The Lead Player places the Cycle Phase Marker on the Development Phase shown on the Cycle Phase Tracker and moves the marker to the next phase once each phase is completed. The Cycle Phase marker moves down as each phase is completed.
Lead Player
The player who placed the last Worm during the Harj is the Lead Player during the Initiation Cycle. In subsequent Cycles, the lead and play itself will pass clockwise from player to player.
Turn order is now reversed. (Example: Green was the lead player in the Harj. The last player to place a worm in the Harj was the blue player. They are now the first player and play proceeds clockwise for the rest of the game.)
Arrakis Die Roll
The fate of the Production, Trade, and Shipment Phases is determined by the Arrakis Die. There is a possibility that these phases may not occur, or have special rules.
The Production, Trade, and Shipment Phases on the Phase Tracker have a symbol to remind you to roll the Arrakis Die.
Cycle Phase Overview
Starting with the Lead Player, each player takes the actions allowed for the current phase, going in clockwise order.
Initiation Cycle
How Initiation Differs
No Arrakis Die Roll. The Production, Trade and Shipment Phases always occur in the Initiation Cycle, and the Arrakis Die is not rolled.
Special Phase Rules for Initiation Cycle
No Development Phase. Because no territories have produced resources yet, there is no Development in the Initiation Cycle.
Production. No new worms are called as players have already called their first worm in the Harj. Players select a Resource token that corresponds to the Resource Production Site in each of their territories and place it in the territory with the Resource Production Site.
Trade. Beginning with the Lead Player, players may offer each other player a one-for-one exchange as described in Trade on page 14.
Shipment. Beginning with the Lead Player, players may each make one shipment of their tokens to new territories, following the rules under Shipment on page 15.
Action. During the Action Phase in Initiation, each player has two actions but only one attack is allowed, and, if a player wishes to Scavenge, it must be their first action.
So players can make:
- A Scavenge action followed by an Attack action, or
- A Scavenge action followed by a Shipment action, or
- An Attack action followed by a Shipment action
The Action Phase will have up to two attacks per player for the rest of the game.
Council. At the end of each Cycle players have an opportunity to pause and evaluate the game. Discussions and decisions during this phase escalate as the game progresses.
Subsequent Cycles
Phases
Development. Players spend Resources to build Stillsuits, Crysknives, and Sietches. See page 9.
Production. Roll the Arrakis Die to see if the phase occurs. See page 11. The result of the Arrakis Die roll will determine what resources are generated and if players call any new worms. Beginning with the Lead Player, players produce resources in their Production Sites and add Worms as appropriate. If their resource is produced players select a Resource token that corresponds to the Resource Production Site in each of their territories and place it in the same territory as the Resource Production Site.
Trade. Roll the Arrakis Die to see if the phase occurs. If the phase occurs, beginning with the Lead Player, players may offer each other player a one-for-one exchange as described in Trade on page 14.
Shipment. Roll the Arrakis Die to see if the phase occurs. If the phase occurs, starting with the Lead Player, players may each make one shipment of their tokens to new territories, following the rules under Shipment on page 15.
Action. Each player may take 2 actions.
- The first action may be either a Scavenge or Attack.
- The next action may be either a second Attack or a Shipment.
This is described in more detail in Game Play - Action Phase on page 18 and under Shipment Phase on page 15.
Council. At the end of each Cycle players have an opportunity to pause and evaluate the game. Discussions and decisions during this phase escalate as the game progresses.
You May Pass
When it is your turn in any phase, you may choose to pass and do nothing for that phase.
Development Phase
Development
Development always occurs in player order, clockwise around the board.
Players may spend Resources they have collected in a particular territory to build a Development token in that territory. The chart below shows the Resource costs for the different Developments they can build.
Development Costs
| Development | Cost |
|---|---|
| Stillsuit (Strength 1, Movement 2) | 1 Spice OR 1 Water OR 1 Food |
| Crysknife (Strength 3, Movement 1) | 2 Spice OR 1 Water + 1 Worm Tooth |
| Sietch (Strength 1) | 4 Spice OR 1 Water + 1 Worm Tooth + 1 Food + 1 Spice |
Water Debt Exchange
| Rival Water Debts | Resources |
|---|---|
| Any 3 Rival Water Debts | Any 2 Resources |
| Any 5 Rival Water Debts | Any 3 Resources |
During Development players may also exchange Rival Water Debts they have received from other players for Resource tokens as described on the Reference Card. These Resource tokens may then be immediately used in the developments shown above and in the Development Cost chart.
Stillsuit
- Strength in a territory with a Stillsuit is increased by 1.
- May be moved during a Shipment or an Attack up to two territories.
- The strength of a Stillsuit in an adjacent territory is blocked by a Rock Barrier, but they and items that move with them can cross Rock Barriers and move into a territory blocked by a Rock Barrier.
Crysknife
- Strength in a territory with a Crysknife is increased by 3.
- Alone, may be moved to one adjacent territory.
- May be moved further with a Stillsuit, Worm, Kulon, or Ornithopter.
- The strength of a Crysknife in an adjacent territory is blocked by a Rock Barrier.
Sietch
- The goal of the game is to acquire the winning number of Sietches.
- Strength in a territory with a Sietch is increased by 1.
- A player's Sietch doubles (to 2) production of Spice, Water, Food, and Worm Teeth in the territory where it is located and in each of that player's adjacent territories.
- May not be moved; Sietches remain in the territory where they were developed.
- Both the strength of a Sietch in an adjacent territory and its ability to double production are blocked by a Rock Barrier.
Development Example
During the Development Phase each player may trade in their Resource Tokens for Development Tokens.
- Green Tribe trades a food in Tribal Ridge for a Stillsuit.
- Green Tribe also trades a Water Token and a Worm Tooth Token in East Chasm for a Crysknife.
- Red Tribe trades 4 Spice Tokens in High Mesa for a Sietch.
Development Tokens
Tokens have 1 or 2 numbers on them.
- The white number on a dark gray background is the Strength value. Every Development Token has a Strength value.
- The smaller black number on a light gray background shows how far it can move in an Attack or Shipment.
Stillsuits, Crysknives, and Sietches can be developed as described above.
| Token | Strength | Movement |
|---|---|---|
| Stillsuit | 1 | 2 |
| Crysknife | 3 | 1 |
| Sietch | 1 | (cannot move) |
| Maker | 2 | 3 |
| Great Maker | 3 | 5 |
| Maula Pistol | 2 | 1 |
| Jubba Cloak | 1 | +1 |
| Kulon | 2 | 2 |
| Ornithopter | 1 |
Maker - Great Maker. Worm Tokens are double sided, with a Maker on one side and a Great Maker on the other. Worms can be called or promoted in the Production phase. They start as Makers and can be promoted to Great Makers.
Finally, there are some Development Tokens that can be obtained through the Scavenge Deck: Maula Pistols, Jubba Cloaks, a Kulon, and an Ornithopter. These tokens have special abilities that are detailed on their Scavenge cards.
All the Development tokens except Sietches are Moveable, see page 15.
Alone the Maula Pistol may be moved to one adjacent territory, but can be moved further with a Stillsuit, Worm, Kulon, or Ornithopter.
Production Phase
Set your Thumper
Each player, starting with the Lead Player, chooses to put the Full Moon or Crescent Moon side of their Thumper Token face up.
Roll the Arrakis Die
The Lead Player rolls the 12-sided Arrakis die, and the face that comes up determines if the phase will occur.
| Roll | Trade & Shipment Phase | Production Phase |
|---|---|---|
| Crescent Moon | Phase Occurs | Food, Water, and Worm Teeth are produced. Spice is produced only in the territories with the Crescent Moon Spice Harvest Areas. Players whose Thumper Tokens have been flipped to the Crescent Moon side can either produce a new Worm in any of their territories without a Worm in it, or promote an existing Maker (by flipping the Worm Token over), making it a Great Maker. Players with Thumpers on the Full Moon side may only promote a single Worm they control to a Great Maker. |
| Full Moon | Phase Occurs | Food, Water, and Worm Teeth are produced. Spice is produced only in the territories with the Full Moon Spice Harvest Areas. Players whose Thumper Tokens have been flipped to the Full Moon side can either produce a new Worm in any of their territories without a Worm in it, or promote an existing Maker (by flipping the Worm Token over), making it a Great Maker. Players with Thumpers on the Crescent Moon side may only promote a single Worm they control to a Great Maker. |
| Both Moons | Phase Occurs | Resources are produced in all territories with Resource Production Sites. Players may either produce a new Worm in any of their territories without a Worm in it, or promote an existing Maker (by flipping the Worm Token over) making it a Great Maker. |
| Lead Player | The Lead Player decides if the phase occurs or not. | The Lead Player decides if the phase occurs or not. If the Phase occurs Resources and Worms are produced just as if Both Moons had come up. If the phase does not occur there is no production. |
Worms
Worm production proceeds according to the Die Roll chart. No new Worm may be produced in a territory where a Worm already exists.
Resources
If production occurs, territories with a production site produce 1 Resource of the appropriate type, but only if that type of Resource is not already in the territory. Exception: As the chart indicates, Spice is not produced in a territory during the wrong phase of the moon.
Resource tokens are Moveable, see page 15.
Sietch Bonus Production
Any Resource Production Site territory you control containing a Sietch, or adjacent to a territory you control with a Sietch, gets bonus production.
You get 2 tokens if you have none of that Resource there, 1 if you already have 1, and none if you have 2 or more.
2 Sietches adjacent to a Resource site do not compound the effect. Sietch bonus production is never more than 2.
A Sietch does not double production in adjacent territories from which it is separated by a Rock Barrier.
Worm Production Example
The Arrakis die rolled a Crescent Moon.
- Blue Tribe's Thumper Token is also Crescent Moon side up but they choose to promote the Maker in Split Sands to a Great Maker instead of calling a new worm.
- Green Tribe's Thumper Token is Crescent Moon side up and they choose to produce a new worm in Deep Basin, so they place a Worm Token there, Maker side up.
- Red Tribe's Thumper Token is set to the Full Moon side, so they do not produce a new worm and can only promote a Maker to a Great Maker, which they do in Hot Pass.
Resource Production Examples
The Arrakis die rolled a Crescent Moon. Because a Crescent Moon is rolled, Tribal Ridge does not produce any resource tokens.
The Arrakis die rolled Both Moons.
- The Rock Barrier stops any Bonus Production from the Sietch in White Rock, so Deep Basin produces 1 Water.
- Arid Plain already has 2 Food, so no additional resources are generated.
- Bonus Production happens in White Rock. Since there is 1 Worm Tooth already there, 1 Worm Tooth is produced.
- Bonus Production happens in Dark Rock since it's adjacent to a Sietch. Since there is no Spice there, 2 Spice are produced.
- Tribal Ridge is not adjacent to a territory with a Sietch, so only produces 1 Spice.
Trade Phase
Roll the Arrakis Die
The Lead Player rolls the Arrakis Die and consults the Result column on the chart on page 11 to see if the Trade Phase occurs or not.
If Trade occurs, starting with the Lead Player and then proceeding clockwise, each player may propose and discuss a single, one item for one item trade with each other player in clockwise order.
You may make the following types of trades.
Resource Trade
Each player may trade one Resource with another player, and the Resource the two players trade may be any type including the same type, e.g. a Water for Water trade is allowed.
Water Debt and Scavenge Item Trades
When trading Water Debts, players can trade their own Water Debts or Rival Water Debts they have received from other players.
Players can trade:
- A single Water Debt token for a single Resource token
- A single Water Debt for a single Tradeable Scavenge Card
- A single Tradeable Scavenge Card for a single Resource token
- A single Tradeable Scavenge Card for a single Tradeable Scavenge Card
Tradeable Scavenge cards have the word "Tradeable" printed on them.
Tradeable Scavenge Cards are:
- Discovery
- Fremkit
- Karama
- Marketplace
- Raid
- Sand
- Shifting Sands
- Smugglers
- Water of life
(Example card: TRADEABLE. Use immediately, or at the start of your turn in any Phase. Gain one resource token of your choice in any one of your territories. AFTER USE: RECYCLE INTO DECK.)
See page 18 for more details on Scavenge cards.
Traded Item Placement
Once traded, any traded Resources are placed by each player in any territory they control.
Any Tradeable Scavenge Card traded should be placed near the new owner's player position.
Place any traded Water Debts on the Rival Water Debts section of your Tribe card.
Resource Trade Example
Green and Red Tribes agree to trade 1 Worm Tooth for 1 Spice. Red Tribe gives Green Tribe 1 Spice from High Gap, which Green tribe chooses to place in Hollow Basin. Green Tribe gives Red Tribe a Worm Tooth, which Red Tribe chooses to place in Split Sands.
Alliance Trades
Any two players in a formal alliance may trade territories as one of their trades (see Formal Alliances, on page 26).
When players trade territories, only the warrior tokens are moved between the two territories, and anything else in the territories remains (i.e., Worms, Crysknives, Spice, etc.). You cannot give any other item in exchange for a territory. The only valid exchange is territory for territory.
If you're in a formal alliance, you may never give a Water Debt to your ally in a trade.
Shipment Phase
Roll the Arrakis Die
The Lead Player rolls the Arrakis Die. If Shipment occurs, see page 11, each player may make one Shipment as follows.
Shipment
When Shipment occurs, starting with the Lead Player and then proceeding clockwise, each player may make a single shipment, shipping moveable tokens starting from, moving through, and ending in territories they control. The distance you can move items depends on the movement number of the starting token.
When moving over multiple borders, you may move into the same territory more than once.
All Resource tokens and all Development tokens except for Sietches are movable during Shipment. Warriors are not.
Moving Items
You can pick up any number of moveable tokens from your starting territory and move them to other territories.
Drum Sand
No Shipment can be made into or through Drum Sand except that an Ornithopter can fly over Drum Sand counting the borders it flies over.
Picking Up and Dropping Off
During legal moves across multiple borders, you can pick up and drop off moveable tokens in each territory you move through or to.
No Duplicates
If you end a movement with more than one Stillsuit, Crysknife, Jubba Cloak, Maula Pistol, or Worm, you must eliminate any duplicate tokens. More than one numbered moveable token can be moved through territories that contain the same numbered moveable token but two can never be left in the same territory.
Alliance
If you are in a formal alliance (see Council Phase, page 26), you may ship through your ally's territory as if it were your own, but you may not pick up or drop off Resources or other items in your ally's territories.
Using Water Debts
You may spend 1 Water Debt to ship through 1 territory controlled by another Tribe. The Water Debt must belong to the Tribe controlling the territory you wish to ship through. They may not refuse and must let you pass. Your final destination must be in a territory you already control.
Shipment Types
To make a Shipment pick one of the movable tokens in a territory that you control as your starting token and make your Shipment as detailed below, picking up and dropping off other movable tokens on the way.
Border Transfer - 1 adjacent territory. Any moveable token or group of moveable tokens may be moved from one territory to an adjacent territory. The Warrior Token does not move. Note, border transfers are not allowed across Rock Barriers unless accompanied by a Stillsuit or Kulon.
With Stillsuit - Up to 2 adjacent territories. From one territory to an adjacent second territory and then to another territory adjacent to the second territory. Stillsuits can move across a Rock Barrier, however a Stillsuit may not be accompanied by a Worm if a Rock Barrier must be crossed.
Jubba Cloak. A third territory may be added to a Stillsuit move if accompanied by the Jubba Cloak. A Stillsuit with a Jubba Cloak gets 1 extra movement, even if the Stillsuit picks up the Jubba Cloak as part of its normal movement. The Jubba Cloak can move 1 on its own.
By Maker - Up to 3 adjacent territories. From one territory along a chain of adjacent territories also controlled by the player with the Worm, crossing up to 3 borders. Note, Makers can not cross Rock Barriers.
By Great Maker - Up to 5 adjacent territories. From one territory along a chain of adjacent territories also controlled by the player, crossing up to 5 borders. Note, Great Makers can not cross Rock Barriers.
By Kulon. Through any territories, over Rock Barriers crossing up to 2 borders, and ending in a territory controlled by the player moving the Kulon.
By Ornithopter - Up to 7 adjacent territories. Through any territories (even controlled by other players), over Rock Barriers, and even the drumsand territory, crossing up to 7 borders, and landing in a territory controlled by the player moving the Ornithopter.
Shipment Examples
Stillsuit across a Rock Barrier. Blue Tribe moves 1 Water Token across 1 border from Deep Pass into the adjacent territory. Blue Tribe could not have moved the Water into Drift because the border has a Rock Barrier blocking it. Stillsuits can move across a Rock Barrier: the Stillsuit moves 1 Water from Deep Pass, across 1 border with a Rock Barrier into Drift, picks up 1 Spice and crosses a 2nd border into The Knot. The Stillsuit, Water and Spice end up in The Knot.
Shipment with Great Maker. Red Tribe's Great Maker Shipment starts at Deep Pass. It may move across 5 of your adjacent territory borders, picking up and dropping off resources, weapons or other scavenge tokens. Note: The Great Maker can move through a territory with another Worm.
- The Great Maker picks up the Crysknife in Deep Pass and moves into High Expanse, where it drops off the Crysknife.
- The Great Maker then picks up the Maula Pistol and Spice in High Expanse and moves into The Knot.
- The Great Maker picks up the Food in The Knot and moves through Deep Wastes into Flats.
- The Great Maker picks up the Worm Tooth in Flats. It then moves back across the border into Deep Wastes where it ends its Shipment and drops the Maula Pistol, Spice, Food, and Worm Tooth. The Great Maker also ends up in Deep Wastes.
Shipment with Ornithopter. Green Tribe's Ornithopter Shipment starts at High Expanse. It may move over Rock Barriers, enemy territories, and even the drumsand territory, crossing up to 7 borders.
- The Ornithopter picks up the Crysknife in High Expanse and moves into Deep Pass.
- The Ornithopter picks up the Maula Pistol in Deep Pass and flies over Drum Sand to Drum Pass.
- The Ornithopter picks up another Crysknife in Drum Pass and moves into Drum Wall, where it drops off the first Crysknife.
- The Ornithopter picks up the Water in Drum Wall, and moves into The High Wastes where it drops the Maula Pistol.
- The Ornithopter picks up the Worm Tooth in The High Wastes and moves into Hot Pass.
- The Ornithopter picks up a Spice in Hot Pass and moves into Dark Rock, where it drops the 2nd Crysknife, Water, Worm Tooth, and Spice. The Ornithopter also ends up in Dark Rock.
Action Phase
You do not roll the Arrakis die for the Action phase; it always occurs. Starting with the Lead Player, and proceeding clockwise, each player may perform 2 actions.
First, you may Attack or Scavenge. Then you may Attack or Ship. You may always choose to pass and not take an action.
- Action 1: Scavenge or Attack
- Action 2: Shipment or Attack
Reminder: In the Initiation Cycle only one of your actions can be an Attack.
Action Phase: Scavenge
If you don't have any attacks you can or want to make for your first action, you may Scavenge.
Draw Scavenge Card. To take a Scavenge action, draw 1 card from the Scavenge deck and reveal it to all other players. Place any Scavenge card that is not used immediately face up next to your Tribe Card.
There are 2 types of Scavenge cards - Map Scavenge and Tribe Ability. When you draw a Scavenge card, follow the instructions on the card.
The cards marked "Recycle" are shuffled back into the Scavenge deck immediately after use.
The cards marked "Remove" are removed from the game immediately after use.
Map Scavenge Cards. Map Scavenge cards place tokens on the board. There are two types: Resource and Development.
- Resource Cards. When you draw a Resource Card you get to immediately place a corresponding resource in one of your territories. (Example card: "Gain this resource token immediately in any one of your territories. After use: recycle into deck.")
- Development Cards. When you draw a Development Card you get to place the corresponding Development token in one of your territories. Keep the Card as a reference for the token's rules. If the token gets captured give the card to the token's new owner. (Example card, Ornithopter: "Place this token in any one of your territories. An Ornithopter can move over Rock Barriers, enemy territories, and even across the drumsand area. When used for shipping, it can descend and ascend as often as needed (without exceeding its movement limit), picking up and dropping off moveable tokens except for a Kulon or a Worm.")
Tribe Ability Scavenge Cards. Tribe Ability Scavenge Cards are powerful one-off abilities that can change the course of the game if played at the right time. Each card shows when to use it, any special rule, and whether it is removed or recycled. (Example card, Smugglers: TRADEABLE. Use immediately, or at the start of your turn in any Phase. Move up to two of your items from the following list (Stillsuit, Crysknife, Maula Pistol, Jubba Cloak, Kulon, Ornithopter) to any other territories you control. After use: remove from game.)
Action Phase: Attack
To successfully attack a territory, you must have more strength than the territory you are attacking.
Steps in an Attack:
- Target a territory
- Calculate defensive strength
- Calculate bearing strength from other players
- Calculate attack strength
- Determine if the attacking strength is higher
1. Target a Territory
Select a territory you wish to attack and place the Attack Marker into the territory.
2. Calculate Defensive Strength
To determine a territory's defensive strength, first add together the strength values of the territory's Warrior, any Stillsuit, Crysknife, Worm, Sietch, and Scavenged items with a strength value.
Then add to that the bearing strength of all adjacent territories the defender controls.
The bearing strength of one territory on an adjacent one is the military force it bears on it. That force is the sum of all strength values on the tokens in the bearing territory so long as there is no rock barrier between it and the target territory. If there is a rock barrier, that strength is zero.
3. Calculate Bearing Strength From Other Players
Starting with the player to the left of the attacking player, all other players with territories adjacent to the target territory declare whether they will remain neutral, join the attack or join the defense.
Once other players have made their decision about who to support in this attack add in the bearing strength of all adjacent territories whose controller(s) committed to supporting the defense in this attack.
This is the defensive total.
4. Calculate Attack Strength
Adjacent Offense Strength. To determine a territory's offensive strength, first add the bearing strength of all adjacent territories the attacking player controls. Then, once other players have made their decision about who to support in this attack, add in the bearing strength of all adjacent territories whose occupier has committed to supporting the offense in this attack. This is the offensive total.
Non-Adjacent Offensive Strength. As an offensive player, you may also add additional strength to an attack by moving strength from one non-adjacent territory into the target territory.
This movement must begin in a territory you control, using a moveable token to initiate the attack, and then end in the targeted territory. The movement number on the starting token you choose defines how many territory boundaries you may cross to reach the target territory. Other moveable Development Tokens may be picked up by the starting token and participate in the attack.
Note that in an Attack, all items you pick up must be carried into the target territory. You may not drop off items, (like resources), along the way in surrounding territories, and you can't pick up multiple Development Tokens of the same type as part of an attack.
Your Attacking total strength equals the bearing strengths of territories controlled by you and others supporting your attack plus the non adjacent offensive strength you are bringing into the attack.
Note: in making an attack, you may move your numbered moveable tokens through your formal ally's territory as if it were your own but you may not pick up or drop off numbered moveable tokens in those territories.
5. Determine if the Attacking Strength is Higher
If the total attacking strength is higher than the total defensive strength, then the attack succeeds.
If the total attacking strength was equal to or less than the defensive strength, then the attack is not successful. You may either target a different territory, or choose a different valid Action.
Using Water Debts in an Attack
You may spend 1 Water Debt to move through 1 territory controlled by another Tribe. The Water Debt must belong to the Tribe controlling the territory you wish to move through. They may not refuse and must let you pass. Your final destination must be in the target territory.
Rock Barriers
Territories do not add their strength to an attack (do not bear on) an adjacent territory if a Rock Barrier separates them.
Players can not attack an adjacent territory separated by a Rock Barrier unless they use a Stillsuit, Kulon, or Ornithopter to move into the targeted territory over the Rock Barrier. Of course, a Stillsuit, Kulon or Ornithopter may pick up other tokens with strength values such as a Maula Pistol, a Crysknife, or a Jubba Cloak. Worms never cross Rock Barriers.
The Kulon Development token allows you to apply your bearing strength and add the strength values of Stillsuit, Jubba Cloak, Maula Pistol, and Crysknife tokens across a border that is blocked by a Rock Barrier.
Note, Unless there is a Rock Barrier territories always bear. Even if you do not want to prevent another player from taking your territory, your adjacent territories must add their bearing strength to your defense total.
Attack Summary
Add the totals of each step together. The attack is successful if the total attacking strength is higher than the total defensive strength.
Defense Total
- Start with the Strength of the target territory.
- Add the strength of adjacent territories controlled by the target territory player.
- Add the strength of other player's territories adjacent to the target territory that commit to the defense.
Offense Total
- Add the strength of adjacent territories controlled by the attacking player.
- Add the strength of other player's territories adjacent to the target territory that commit to the offense.
- Add the strength the attacking player can bring into the attack from non-adjacent territories in 1 legal movement.
Occupation
When you take a territory from an opponent, replace the Warrior with yours.
Duplicate Items After an Attack
If any Development tokens of the same type end up in the same territory at the end of the attack, all duplicates must be discarded.
Capturing Items From an Opponent
Any tokens in that territory that are not eliminated because of duplication are captured by you, and remain in that territory. Likewise, any resources that were in that territory are also captured.
Water and Water Debt
After you successfully attack another player you render your opponent's Warrior Token for its Water by adding a Water Resource to the territory you have occupied. Now give your defeated opponent their Warrior Token and your Water Debt Token(s) as follows.
- If the defensive player loses a total strength of 1-3, give them 1 of your Water Debt Tokens. Example: if the defensive player lost a Warrior and a Stillsuit the attacking player would give them 1 Water Debt Token.
- If the defensive player loses 4 or more strength, give that player 2 of your Water Debt Tokens. Example: if the defensive player lost a Warrior, Crysknife, and Worm, the attacking player would give them 2 Water Debt Tokens.
Note, the defeated Warrior token always has a strength of 1.
Using Water Debts to Stop Attacks
Once the Attack Marker has been placed in a territory, the defensive player may place 2 Water Debt tokens in that territory to prevent the strength of 1 other player being used in that attack. The Water Debts used must be the color of the player being stopped, and only protects the territory they are placed in.
The stopped player cannot attack or support another player's attack on that territory for the rest of the cycle, however, they can help defend the territory where their attack was stopped later in the same cycle.
Proceeding with attacks
If a player's first attack is stopped by Water Debts, the player can proceed to make any other valid attack or choose instead to change their first action to Scavenge.
If a player's second attack is stopped by Water Debts, the player can proceed to make any other valid attack or choose instead to change their second action to a shipment.
Attack Example
- Target Territory. Red Tribe wants to attack Rocky Ridges, currently occupied by Green Tribe and places the Attack Marker in Rocky Ridges.
- Calculate Defense Strength. Green Tribe defends with 5 Strength in Rocky Ridges. Little Gap and Split Sands are defending Rocky Ridges: 7 Strength from Little Gap and 8 Strength from Split Sands, for a total of 20 points.
- Other Players' Territories. Yellow and Blue Tribes have territories adjacent to the target territory. The Yellow Tribe decides to support the Green Tribe, adding 2 Strength to the Defense, bringing the Defense Total to 22 Strength. The Blue Tribe decides to join the attack, so will add their strength to the Red Tribe's Attack Total.
- Calculate Adjacent Offensive Strength. Red Tribe calculates adjacent offense total: 1 Strength bearing from Windy Basin, 2 Strength from Rock Path, 5 Strength from Depression, 8 Strength from Steep Basin. Blue Tribe adds 4 Strength from Deep Pass. For a total of 20 Strength.
- Add Non-Adjacent Offensive Strength. Red Tribe still needs 3 strength to win. They have a Maker and Stillsuit in Cliffside that they add to their Offensive Strength by moving them into Rocky Ridges. This adds another 3 Strength to their attack bringing their total to 23 Strength, which means their attack succeeds.
Occupation Example
Since the Red Tribe's attack was successful, they now occupy Rocky Ridges.
- The Green Tribe's Warrior token is returned to its owner and is replaced with a Red Tribe's Warrior token.
- When the Green Tribe's Warrior token is returned to its owner it is rendered for Water. A Water token is then added to Rocky Ridges. Since the Green Tribe lost a total of 5 strength, the Red Tribe must also give the Green Tribe 2 Water Debt tokens.
- Because the Maker and Stillsuit were in a remote offense territory, they must be moved from Cliffside into Rocky Ridges to complete the attack. Since there are now 2 Stillsuits in Rocky Ridges, 1 of them must be discarded.
- The Attack Action is now complete so the Attack Marker is removed.
Using Water Debts To Stop Attacks Example
You can use a Rival's Water Debts to stop them from attacking one of your territories.
- For their second action the Red Tribe wants to attack the Green Tribe in Split Sands and places the Attack Marker in Split Sands.
- Not wanting to lose another territory, the Green Tribe places the 2 Red Tribe Water Debts in Split Sands. The Red Tribe's attack is stopped, and they cannot attack, or support another tribe's attack on Split Sands for the rest of the Cycle.
- The Red Tribe can now start their second action again, either choosing a different territory to attack, or make a Shipment instead. The Red Tribe chooses to attack The Western Sands instead and moves the Attack Marker to their new target.
Game Play - Council Phase
The Council Phase always occurs. After the last player has taken their action in the Action Phase, the Council Phase occurs. At the Council, all players may discuss the game and propose modifications which, if unanimously agreed upon, become binding for that game.
The Win
If no player or players have won at the end of the Action Phase, players take stock of the current state of the game and determine if any player or alliance is so well positioned to win that further play is not required. If all players agree unanimously, victory is declared and the game ends. Otherwise, play continues. If the game has ended in a tie, the Council can decide whether or not to play another Cycle to see if the tie can be broken, or if the game should end.
Other Rules
Water Debt Summary
Each player has 8 Water Debt Tokens, which serve several purposes.
Gaining Water Debts. You may gain Rival Water Debts during trades and when your territories are successfully attacked (see also pages 20 and 23).
You may have your Water Debts returned to you:
- When players use them to transit your territory during a Shipment or Attack, or
- When they spend them to stop your Attack or support of an Attack on a territory, or
- When they spend them to purchase resource tokens.
Spending Your Water Debts. You spend your Water Debts:
- When you successfully attack a territory (see also page 20)
- When you trade them away during trade (you may not trade your water debts with your ally, see page 26).
Spending Rival Water Debts. You spend Rival Water Debts:
- When you trade them away during trade.
- When you transit a territory controlled by that player.
- To stop an attack or support of an attack by that player.
- When you exchange Rival Water Debts for resources.
Stopping Ally Bearing in Attack. 2 Water Debt tokens may also be used to stop any ally support during an attack. For example if Red Tribe needed Green Tribe's support to take a territory from Blue Tribe, and Blue Tribe had 2 Green Tribe Water Debt tokens, Blue Tribe could spend the Green Water Debt tokens to keep Green Tribe's bearing strength from counting.
In the rare case when you run out of Water Debts, you do not have to give one to a player whose territory you have taken.
Vanishing
A player can decide to vanish at any time, removing all of their warriors from the board, leaving all other tokens, and resigning the game. Territories with no Fremen warrior are called "abandoned territories". Of course, if you decide to vanish, you give up your seat on the Council.
Occupying an Abandoned Territory and Items Left Behind. If you are an ally when you vanish, your abandoned territories are immediately occupied by your ally or allies. They place their Warrior tokens into the newly abandoned territories and all tokens you left behind now belong to them. Once they have taken possession of the abandoned territories play continues from where you left off.
If you are an unallied player when you vanish, your abandoned territories can now be occupied by any player during a normal Action Phase if the attacker has sufficient strength. Items in territories from which a player has vanished do not count in defending them, but territories that bear on the attacked one can be counted if they still have a player's warrior and that player wishes to support or deny the attack. Any tokens remaining behind in abandoned territories are now controlled by the player successfully attacking that territory.
Scavenge Cards. Any Tribe Ability Scavenge Cards that a vanished player was holding are returned to the Scavenge Deck, which is then shuffled.
No Water and No Water Debt. If an empty territory is taken, no Water is rendered and no Water Debt token is owed.
Shipment Through Abandoned Territories. You may not ship through abandoned territories, but may move through them in an attack if on that attack you have enough strength to have successfully attacked that territory. Players moving through an abandoned territory may not pick up resources, developed or scavenged items from that territory on the way. They may only claim those things by successfully attacking that territory.
Rock Barrier Summary
Worms are not able to cross a border with a Rock Barrier on it. Additionally, territories do not bear their strength into an adjacent territory if a Rock Barrier separates them unless one player has a Kulon in their territory. Players can not attack an adjacent territory separated by a Rock Barrier unless they use a Stillsuit, a Kulon, or an Ornithopter to move into the targeted territory over the Rock Barrier.
Note that a Rock Barrier on the border between Hollow Erg and Hollow Basin means that all of Hollow Erg is inaccessible by Worm. Additionally, a Worm placed in Hollow Erg can never leave as long as the Rock Barrier is there.
Rock Barriers also block production of extra resources from an adjacent sietch.
Alliances
Informal
While the default is "every Tribe for itself", players may support each other as they wish during the game, helping during trades and attacks. There are no obligations, enforcements, or special advantages involved in these alliances.
Formal
In each Council Phase, players will get to approve proposed formal alliances between certain players. Before approving an alliance, players can also adjust the win condition for allied and non-allied players.
Formal Alliance Benefits.
- The right to trade 1 territory with an ally for another territory during trade
- The right to move through an ally's territories during shipment and attack
- The right to share a win so that all players in an alliance win
- Formal alliances are permanent and allies can never attack each other
All players must agree to the proposed alliance(s) by unanimous vote. Multiple proposals may be discussed and rejected in the same phase until an agreement is reached. A proposal may involve altered victory conditions for any of the players. For example: Players may agree to allow Player A and Player B to ally, needing 5 sietches to win, while Player C and Player D also ally, but only need 3 sietches to win.
If agreement is unanimous, this situation now remains permanent for the remainder of the game (unless modified again by unanimous vote). If there is no agreement, players simply continue with the default no alliance game, or with the previously agreed upon alliance.
Alliance Rules
No secret communication. There can be no secret communication between Allies.
5 Sietches to Win. Unless the sietch win number is altered in the alliance negotiation, the allies will win together if, at the end of the Action Phase, they control 5 sietches between them before any single player controls 3, or before another alliance controls 5.
Alliance Development and Production. Allies develop and produce normally.
No Water Debts in Trades. Allies may not offer each other Water Debt Tokens during the Trade Phase.
Alliance Shipment. During the Shipment Phase, an ally may ship resources through an ally's territory (with that ally's permission). They may not, however, pick up any tokens of that ally. Shipments must end in a territory controlled by the player making the shipment.
No Attacks Between Allies. Allies may not attack each other's territories during the Action Phase.
Moving Through Allies Territory in Attack. A player may, however, move through an ally's territory when making an attack. They may not pick up any tokens of that ally when moving through the ally's territory. No Water Debt payment is required for this.
Permanent. Formal alliances are permanent.
4 Player Alliance Mode
Another mode of play for a 4 player game is to have permanent alliances at the very start of the game. Allied players sit across from each other so alliances will alternate turns. Each alliance needs to control 4 sietches between them in order to win, or if one alliance vanishes into the desert during the Council phase the other alliance wins. Use all of the rules for formal alliance, but in this game, alliances are working together during the Harj and Initiation Cycle.
Organize the Resource Tray
Since Arrakis: Dawn of the Fremen has a lot of tokens it comes with an extractable storage tray that keeps all of your Resource tokens, Development tokens, and Resource Production Sites organised and tidy, without having to keep the whole box on your playing area. The tray illustration shows where the various commonly used tokens fit (Stillsuits, Worms, Crysknives, Sietches, Worm Teeth, Spice, Scavenge Deck, Resource Production Sites, Food Tokens, Water Tokens). The main storage tray has 4 large cavities to store each Tribe's Warrior, Thumper, and Water Debt tokens, as well as a cavity under the Scavenge card deck for the Rock Barrier Tokens, Attack Marker and Dice.
Strategy
Arrakis is the game of early settlement on the planet Dune. Resources were few and not all tribes had access to them. Water and food were available in just a few locations. Otherwise the settlers had to use the products of the gigantic sandworms - the spice melange which was deposited at rare locations, the sparse remains of the worms themselves that featured hard teeth able to be fashioned into durable materials, and the living worms that could be used by skilled riders to provide the transport and force needed for tribal activities.
Some tribes, because of their locations and their leadership, were able to build protective sietches before others and survive the harsh conditions. Those were the ones who thrived and multiplied. Other tribes dwindled and vanished. This game memorializes that history of struggle.
The Harj: Setting up the map with rocks and resource production sites can involve many strategic decisions. Rocks define regions where travel and strategic movement are concentrated. Production disks locate the sites of valuable resources. Locating Resource Production Sites close to one another will allow rapid doubling of wealth when sietches are built. Locating them broadly, however, tends to slow wealth accumulation and reward those who build military strength.
Picking territories wisely is a key to winning. Territories which contain Resource Production Sites are crucial because they produce the materials from which stillsuits, crysknives and ultimately sietches - the requirement for winning - are fashioned. Locating your first worm is also important as it serves to protect your nearby assets and threaten neighboring territories.
Depending on your territory picks, you may have a variety of different sites, or several of the same kind. Having different types of production sites is good because you will then have access to more of the resources you will need. Quickly shipping those resources to the same territory so you can develop them, however, may prove difficult without internal adjacency and a worm. On the other hand, monopolizing one kind of resource can also be good. That way other players may trade with you for what they need. The advantage of trading, of course, is that you can locate any resource item you receive wherever you want among your territories, avoiding the problem of shipping it.
Development Phase: This is the time to convert resource tokens into useful items. Stillsuits do not require a lot of resources and give you extra might and mobility. But if you save your resources and combine them in 1 place, you can develop them into crysknives and sietches. Crysknives require just 2 resources, and are worth 3 points in battles. Your sietches double resource production in their own territory and in adjacent territories you control, enhancing your ability to develop strength. But sietches are expensive to build, attractive to opponents, and are not worth much in a battle. So, depending on how vulnerable your position is, you may choose to build crysknives before sietches.
Production Phase: You will want to protect resources you produce as well as the production sites themselves, since they are attractive and can be seized by other players. In the early game, of course, some raiding of others' sites is likely to occur and is normal. Eventually important production sites should be reinforced with crysknife and worm.
Trade Phase: Once you have resources, you can trade with other players to get the right resource combination in one place to develop what you need. Trade that benefits you will also benefit your trading partner, so some trades may not be wise to make as they will tip the balance of power away from you. But a reason to trade is to move resources out of their original production territories. If they remain until the next production phase, no new resources will be produced there.
Shipment Phase: Shipment is vital to your success. You need to ship resources to collect the right ones together to secure and defend key territories and sietches. Normally you can move a group of tokens across 1 border, but when accompanied by a stillsuit the group can cross 2 borders, and when riding on a worm can cross 3 (or even 5 with great makers). These methods of transportation are important for building your strength and every opportunity to ship should be carefully evaluated and usually used.
Action Phase: Battling for a territory is often necessary to secure an advantage, but the water debt you incur if you succeed may prove a valuable boon to the loser. So sometimes it is wise to Scavenge instead and take your chances. Whether you get valuable help or not, items in the scavenge deck are never harmful.
You may find that what you draw from the Scavenge deck greatly influences your decision to ship or attack for your second action. For example, if you get a token with strength, like a Maula Pistol or a Kulon, this may give you enough bearing to attack a territory you couldn't take before.
Often, whether you attacked or scavenged on your first action, you will want to ship for your second and final action. Shipping can consolidate the position you achieved with your attack, defending newly won territory or moving strength back from your frontier to defend your vital center. Or you can attack for your second action. These attacks prevent follow-up reorganization, but can be devastating to your opponents at the right time.
Alliances: Quite often, after a few rounds in the game, 1 player will have built a strong position that no other player feels able to challenge. If he or she continues, the chances are that player will eventually win.
In such a situation it may well be in the best interests of other players to form an alliance to coordinate an effective challenge to the position of the likely winner. If 2 or more players wish to form an alliance they need to discuss it at a Council Meeting, receive a unanimous vote to allow them to proceed, and notify all other players there that those players are now allied. The number of sietches required to win is increased for the allies, but they also receive permission to cooperate in useful ways - such as trading territories, moving through each other's territories, and sharing the win - that are forbidden to those not in alliances.