Dune: War for Arrakis - a comparison with War of the Ring

[@andremcmillan1504]

Thanks for helping me decide on yes/no and thanks for reaching out to the designers to help them with needed fixes.

[@mercuzio711]

Thank you, very helpful!!!

[@haukionkannel]

Good preview! You seems to know yours Lore and in Dune and LotR the theme is the king! Also the knowledge of the mechanic is solid and analyze is solid based on that. Very balanced solid review! I hope that you give your feedback to developers. It could be very positive to the game. Good job!

[@Kristofer__B]

Thank you, yeah The origin books of modern Fantasy and Science Fiction... and lucky me both get the treatment of amazing designers (who I managed to get to know and work with during the WotR development)

[@simonb4689]

Really good video. I hope you make strategy videos

[@fubarbox]

Thank you. This was a great video and it really helped me with a few thoughts. I really hope you are able to pass your insights to the designers since you have had a working relationship with them or that they see this video and take it to heart. I am curious, how do you think this compares to a similar game, Star Wars Rebellion? Thank you.

[@Kristofer__B]

I have sent feedback to the designers and I am positive they will ”fix” or tweak what is needed. Rebellion is a game I happily play but never really suggest playing due to I finding it less thematic and varied than WotR. Still a good game. With the minor fixes fixed I see Dune being better than Rebellion. Especially in potential to see the table due to the shorter play time. This is really strange when I think about it as I am a bigger SW fan than LotR or Dune but I guess game play is that important to me.

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

Not the main topic, but I love the Breaking of the fellowship scenario, it is wonderful. Any chances it might be updated for Warriors expansion?

[@metalrock720]

Thank you very much for your thoughts! Do you feel that this game scratches enough of a different itch from WoTR and BoFA that it justifies all 3 really? I am more a mechanics first person but also LoTR is my favorite franchise of all time hands down. I more recently got into Dune so not as much history there. WoTR mechanics are truly amazing but I guess the only issue with that game is that it takes me like 4+ hours to play even having played it quite a few times periodically and is hard to get on the table more than a handful of times a year. But the theme and decision space in WoTR is what does it for me. Does Dune differentiate itself and is fun enough though to make it worth more of my limited table time?

[@joseramongomez2656]

Great video Cristopher !!!! Is it very language dependant ? Some friends of mine have some problem with English... Thanks in advance

[@Kristofer__B]

The cards aren't super language heavy but you need to understand them so not being able to read ENglish will be a problem.

[@fubarbox]

Any chance of updated thoughts on your BGG comparison thread or via here now that they have announced some updated rules? Thank you.

[@Kristofer__B]

Guess what's being processed for release later today? ;)

[@chadamir]

Have you spoken directly to the designers about your concerns and heard back from them? Cmon seemed to indicate development is nearly done.

[@simonb4689]

I'm a huge dune fan and I don't want a 10h long game. But I do want a complex game that compels you to try again and again. You think this will be it?

[@Kristofer__B]

Yes, If you want a two player (I haven’t played the four player version so cannot comment on that) strategic game shorter than WotR and like the Dune theme this is the game for you! It kind of scratches an itch not scratched by neither Dune Imperium nor the remake of the old Dune from GF9 as it is more of a strategic military game.

[@simonb4689]

@@Kristofer__B thanks. Much obliged

[@kirillkrechetnikov1757]

Thanks a lot for your review! Would be really cool to also hear your thoughts on how and if the expansions for WfA change the base gameplay in a meaningful way. Or if it’s just a bit more of the same.

[@JanusZudnik]

I think that this is better compared to The Battle of Five Armies, or the two scenarios of the one expansion for WOTR first edition.

[@Kristofer__B]

I see where you are coming from as the fighting is more in focus but those games put more emphasize on making the battles even more involved through maneuvers, damage tokens, and rallying. Dune is more like the grander strategic scope of WotR but still slightly more zoomed in, and the combat is even more streamlined and faster than in WotR.

[@JanusZudnik]

@@Kristofer__B Yes that's true, but after watching all the available gameplay videos I just don't get the grand strategy feel, like you said, it's zoomed in and for me it feels like fighting over a small piece land. The similarity is also very evident in the instant confrontation, there's no possibility for a gradual build up, the win conditions for both sides are locked in and you better hurry. That said, I don't consider this all to be a detriment, I really like TBOFA and the Rohan scenario (I haven't played Gondor yet), so essentially I'm making a case for these a little bit overlooked games...

[@GarranTana]

The dice problem sounds like it could be fixed somewhat with a card set with those actions.

[@Kristofer__B]

There are several ways to "remedy" "bad" action dice results. The trick is to make it balanced and thematic.

[@GarranTana]

@@Kristofer__B yes, but people are saying this is a problem. It felt like it even from the first game of the previous LOTR based gams.

[@Kristofer__B]

@@GarranTana bad action dice rolls are not an issue in WotR as the dice are rolled so many times (usually 10-14 times) and the Free Peoples (who has fewer dice and are therefor more at risk of it happening) have the Elven rings. So basically I would like there to be something like the Elven Rings in Dune. There can of course be insanely low odds results like the Free People not rolling a Will of the West for 6 turns in a row after Gandalf the Grey died and therefor cannot bring in Gandalf the White but those are so statistically low that it doesn't warrant trying to address.

[@GarranTana]

@@Kristofer__B 10-14 times or even 10x that is still not a 'statistic chance' (my english fails me to explain this better) and as you mentioned that's prone to chance results swinging the game. And that's a bad game design in my book. I want push my chance and manage it or get rid of it as far as possible. D6 roll is a very old game design in my opinion, and board games went forward years ago.

[@Kristofer__B]

@@GarranTana You want chance and randomness, within the limits that make the game fun, allows for the underdog winning now and then in important battles, and to force the player to make interesting and challenging decisions, and son on. If you want control, play chess (I do and love it, but it's a different beast).

[@fan-i-am]

Great video, poor sound quality

[@RB028]

Audio is horrible... couldn't finish it