A stand-alone board game expansion for Dune (2019).
Here is a list of all the files needed to play
This idea started with both my desire to create a board game and my belief that the Dune board game could be better. By desconstructing an existing board game and improving on it, I could create a unique experience without spending all the effort of creating a brand new board game from scratch.
I wasn't the first to think about a Messiah sequel to Dune. If you go on Board Game Geek, you'll find a rule book someone created that is thematically based on the Messiah novel. The expansion does a great job at keeping the core the game the same, while adding some variable difference based on the Messiah novel. I wanted to create an expansion that was dramatically different while still confined within the core of the Dune system. Perhaps this was my first mistake with making an expansion, but I was really inspired by Root's asymmetric gameplay and wanted to bring that in the Dune system.
Below I list three of my core ideas driving my expansion. Then I list some of the signficiant rule changes, followed by the development progress.
Asymmetric factions
In Dune, each faction has different advantages, but were fundamentally the same, aside from the Bene Gesserit. In Messiah, I designed each faction to have unique mechanics and constraints that were aligned with their behavior in the story. In Messiah, the Atreides have full control of the planet, and each other faction is secretly building a conspiracy, so to keep the game accurate to the story, asymmetric desgin was needed. Another reason was that asymmetric design appeals to me because it's more nuanced. In the story, each faction has their own motivations and constraints that drive their behavior, and I wanted to express that through rules I gave them.
Deeper Immersion
Each new mechanic I added or changed had to have a direct reference from the story. This was to make Messiah as immersive as the story itself. I believe the original achieved a level immersion that I enjoyed, but I wanted to expand it.
Codependency
One aspect that the Dune game didn't express very well was the codependency of each of the factions. The Spacing Guild, who controls all shipping, would recieve shipping gold in the game, but they had no leverage over the price or control of shipping. The Emperor was dependent on each of the houses for tax and resources, but there was no hierarchy that had to be enforced.
Emperor
The emperor has complete control of the planet. They start with more forces and have ornithopters that can transport forces across the planet. Their goal is to terraform the planet and they will be converting sand tiles to green lush tiles, while also suppressing the other factions who are growing in power.
Fremen
The fremen have a loyalty system that allows them to grow in power over time. The loyalty system pressures them to fight all other factions, but their power can be useful in the late game.
Bene Gesserit
The Bene Gesserit have a monolopy on treachery cards and can sell them to other factions. They don't have an army and instead use forces to
grow a spy network across the planet.
Spacing Guild
The Spacing Guild can control shipping prices and collects all shipping revenue. They function like a company and must collect a certain amount of revenue each turn or they go bankrupt. They have an army of smugglers that can collect spice under the Emperor's radar and build hideouts in mountain tiles.
I started working with the 2021 version of the Arrakis map because I loved its cinematic look. Later I would swap to the original map from the 2016 version so it could be a proper expansion.
Coming soon...
The game has interesting mechanics, but interesting is not the same thing as fun. Somewhere in the process, I didn't realize this , likely because I didn't playtest early. The game didn't work as I intended. The biggest flaw of this game was that all the factions had strict strategies that the players had to adhere to. This was unlike the base game where factions had very few, if any limitations, and pushed the players to craft their own strategies.