Dune CCG: New Card Faces

The Dune cards hold a ton of information - There are symbols, number attributes, type and timing information, all kinds of stuff. There are about 17 variables contained in each card which makes them tough to design, all that information needs to be organized in a readable and clear manner.

My goal when making these templates was to prioritize learning the game above all else - with complex rules and detailed cards, making the information clear to new players is vital to keep them playing.

The first step was to simply remove the image field. I don't have the resources to create art at this point, so diverting that space to rules text was a given. From there I identified each part of the card that had information important to the player and to give each piece a place on the card.

As an example, some effects refer to one of the five broad card types: Holdings, Plans, Resources, and, Personas, and Events. But the cards in the original game don't list that information - they use a different card frame to indicate card type. I don't think that's enough of an indicator, so I made the card type explicit under the card's Name.

I also added labels for Allegiance, Talent Requirements, Cost, Command and Resources to make those markers more clear. In the base game they are

Personas are the main 'actors' in a game of Dune. They can make battle, begin intrigues, duel other personas, and arbitrate over contracts. They can be improved with Resources like liaisons, vehicles, and weapons.

Plans are temporary special powers that you can play to alter the game. Each Plan's subtype shows where, under which conditions, and what phase it can be played during.

Resources are attached to Personas and Holdings to amplify their abilities. A card's Command is the limit of Resource cards that can be assigned to them.

Holdings are the other key card in Dune. They represent locations or large scale government operations. They often generate resources, and can be upgraded with Resource cards.

Events are special, far-reaching one-time effects that have a larger effect the more turns a player 'charges' them up by playing them face down on the field. When revealed, they trigger their special effects.j

After playing through with a set of these cards, I'm considering how to make room for the art with a redesign. The first alternative I'm thinking is to replace the 'skill box' with Magic: The Gathering Keyword-style text, like Battle 3. Other alternatives include breaking the skill box into 3 separate modules, or to have a full stat line like Warlord CCG.

CCG Regeneration: Card Back Designs

I've finished transcribing all the Dune CCG cards and developed templates for new printings:

Image of a card with a blue background, a light blue geometric pattern, with a gold geometric pattern in the foreground. The card is labelled 'House'.

Image of a card with a purple background, a light blue geometric pattern, with a gold geometric pattern in the foreground. The card is labelled 'imperial'.

I wanted the card backs to be very distinct in color, but have a matching design to reinforce the relationship between the House Deck, which represent an individual House's resources, and the Imperial Deck, which represents unique assistance from other forces within the galaxy at large.

I used purple for the Imperial background color to reference the Imperial Deck's higher status, and I used blue to indicate that the House Deck is still of 'nobility' but to a lesser degree.
Both card backs use patterns to add texture to the background color. I chose different patterns to further subtly differentiate the cards from each other.
Both cards use a

"Purple was the color worn by Roman magistrates; it became the imperial color worn by the rulers of the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Empire, and later by Roman Catholic bishops. Similarly in Japan, the color is traditionally associated with the emperor and aristocracy.^{[7]" - Wikipedia}

"Blue has been an important colour in art and decoration since ancient times. The semi-precious stone lapis lazuli was used in ancient Egypt for jewellery and ornament and later, in the Renaissance, to make the pigment ultramarine, the most expensive of all pigments. In the eighth century Chinese artists used cobalt blue to colour fine blue and white porcelain. In the Middle Ages, European artists used it in the windows of cathedrals. Europeans wore clothing coloured with the vegetable dye woad until it was replaced by the finer indigo from America. In the 19th century, synthetic blue dyes and pigments gradually replaced mineral pigments and synthetic dyes. Dark blue became a common colour for military uniforms and later, in the late 20th century, for business suits. Because blue has commonly been associated with harmony, it was chosen as the colour of the flags of the United Nations and the European Union.^{[2]" - Wikipedia}

New Game! 'Dune' 4x Game, Part 1

After replaying Dune II at Epic Port, I realized how much I enjoyed the resource management and base building aspects of the game. The combat is fine but I found myself wondering how much more fun a game like that could be if it took the wider elements of the Dune setting into account when developing mechanics.

Dune II has detailed mechanics for base building, power management, space management, spice harvesting and storage, radar and cartography, worms & wormsign, manufacturing, and terrain types.

What I find problematic is that combat is the only way to win the game. I think that only includes the smallest sliver of the Dune setting, and that you could create a hugely entertaining game by creating mechanics to support the other parts of the setting.

Let's start with additional ways to win. Currently military dominance is the only path to victory. In 4x games, there are usually 4 ways to win: diplomacy / politics, economics, science, and military.

A 4x game is a complex strategic game with multiple avenues to victory.

Let's take a look at what the Dune setting offers for each of those victory methods.

Diplomacy / Politics:
The player garners enough influence to earn their ascension to the Landsraad / Imperial Throne. Influence would be gained through relationships developed with other factions. Influence includes both positive and negative reputation. Actions that alter influence would be worker treatment, people's rights, trading, assassination, assistance, charity, and law enforcement.

Economics:
The player corners the market on spice export from Arrakis, forcing the other factions to surrender. Economic supremacy would be gained through harvesting, researching more efficient technologies and structures, sabotaging opponent's infrastructure, theft, control of all spaceports on Arrakis, and volume of spice.

Science:
The player discovers the secret relationship between the Worms and the Spice, and uses this information to either smuggle a worm off-planet to another ecosystem, or taking the planet hostage by threatening to kill the worms, or terraforming the surface to change the ecosystem.

Military:
The player seizes control of Arrakis by defeating the other martial forces on the planet. Researching military technologies, conquering territories, garrisons and infiltration all help a military victory.