Dune: House Secrets

This is a much more streamlined version of the Detective series. It's not as heavy with work that you have to put in with the story. Compared to the others, there's no scavenging the internet to link historical events to a fictional story. I'm going to assume that this is a side story to the Dune series, can't tell as I've never read the books and have only seen the movie this game is based off of. This game has 3 chapters and a prologue, each that'll take about 90 minutes to complete. You can either play the game for the story or play a more gamified version where your actions have more steep consequences. The website that assists the game is much more smooth this time around as well. I didn't like the app all that much from Vienna Connection, so this use of the website was much easier to digest. If someone wants to play the Detective system and am not sure where to start, I think that this would be a nice place to start.For those who have never played this series before, you have a certain amount of turns to play through a series of cards, where you learn more and more about the story that's happening. It gives you options to peruse other cards that'll reveal more information, but you should choose wisely. You won't get the full picture on one playthrough, but there's enough information on the decisions that you make to deduce what happens. After you play through a chapter, you are asked a series of questions to see what happened. From there, it'll let you know how well you traversed the cards and tests your deduction skills.Great story and easier mechanics to handle than it's predecessor, though I'm not sure if it's worth the $40 price tag. Grab it when it's around $25 or so, which happens quite often.

I appreciate this board game that allows for one-person play, and the cards and scenarios are awesome, but the game board is small and confusing. It was an inexpensive game, so this was a good purchase anyway.

The website is required to play and the website doesn’t work properly. This was painfully burning and we didn’t even finish the epilogue before we opted to box it up and never touch it again.

Nice maps though

For my part, I've really enjoyed playing Dune: House Secrets. I'm a huge Dune fan and wanted an additional solo experience to engage in while re-reading the original novel. Some reviewers haven't cared for House Secrets and I totally get it. In the end, this feels less like a more traditional game and more of a card-based, unboxing narrative experience. Maybe there are superior examples of this genre out there, but for me this game was a first and I dig the novelty of it. But again, I think basic criticisms are fair and while I think I'm onboard for the next adventures in Dune: House Secrets, I'm also interested to see how they potentially improve upon everything.

Stick with DUNE Imperium.

The headline says it all. The game is fun, the theme is strong, but it's over before you know it and there isn't enough toy factor in the components to make it worthwhile. Buyer beware. I'd you don't mind spending $40 for the same amount of game you can get in a $10 escape room game and you love Dune, then go for it. As for me, Dune Betrayal would have felt like a better title, but that was used.

This game is barely a game. It's basically are just reading paragraph after paragraph and then making a very obvious choice. You play as a NON-book character and your characters upgrading is basically "get a resource token" which is lame. The rulebook makes it clear there are no wrong choices in the game. Which creates a very unengaging gaming experience. It works similar to Time Stories where you have a certain amount of time to do things/have conversations and you won't be able to do everything. Unlike Time Stories the missions aren't very interesting or memorable. And this is coming from a big fan of the world of Dune. I had my expectations lowered for this game as it being a pale comparison of Detective (the game engine on which this is based) and I still found it fairly boring. I completed the first scenario and was halfway through the second when I realized I would rather be reading a book or playing an actual game. not some weird lame combination of both.

I ordered this for my brother who is a huge boardgame collector and Dune fan ( as am I).It arrived pristine and sealed in shrinkwrap.I love the artwork on the box and compared it to what he was missing as he has other Dune games. This had the better reviews.I was disappointed when he opened it. There was not much inside. No figurines. No accessories or anything extra that makes setting up fun. It may just be a card game sold as a board game then. I was expecting an actual chipboard board game map or maps something substantial. Instead, there are literally just regular copy paper printed sheets in inkjet with graphics. Not even laser copies which used oil based ink. And a few thin character cards in color. A few pine wood tokens. A deck of cards. There is a moulding slot in the interior which looks like something is missing but I remarked how an “expansion” might fit in. They thought this far ahead. Giving an incomplete experience perhaps so you invest more as this feels “empty”. Super minimal game just looking at it, but for full price, my brother was disappointed too. He has games with hundreds of pieces and figurines. For the price he gets to pass a great deal of time just painting them, studying them and getting involved. Had this been $32.99 it would be okish. But at $70 I expect more. Unless the copyrights cost more than conceptualizing and fabricating this game.This is prompting me to design games now even more. I have been mulling over it for three years, and make sure I add value to games, so no one feels this way when buying and or gifting a game. You get something worth taking out and setting up. Not a cash grab.In a few years I will hopefully change this minimalistic scene for big price mentality. Die cuts are expensive but some pressed board materials are not. I don’t need a team yet because I am an artist and can do my own art and sculpts. I also write fiction so it will be like taking my novels and making them 3D.Update on actual gameplay and reaction will come soon… and pictures.

I read Dune at college, and fell in love with the saga. The high points are this feels like part of it, the quality of the game is top notch. Where it falls down is the video clips you refer to on website. Does not live up to the same attention to detail and presentational gloss the boxed game presents. The replay value feels a very limited, so bear that in mind if price still appeals if play this less than a handful of times. This is a beautiful chose your own adventure style board game though. If you watched the film (new or old) and want to play the game, but never read Dune … spend your money on that first. And if you are a Dune memorabilia collector … this looks fantastic. To sum up why not five stars: poor replay value once know story (two or three goes should get it all), the clips on website are terrible when they could have been fantastic and added to the experience. Love Dune, love this detective style game, then well worth getting don’t be put off.

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