Frank Herbert’s classic science fiction novel Dune will live for generations as a masterpiece of creative imagination. In this game you can bring to life the forbidding alien planet and the swirling intrigues of all the book’s major characters.

Dune – the very name conjures up desolation. Desert sandscapes cover most of the planet surface, broken only by great rock ridges. Giant worms a quarter of a mile long live beneath the sand and attack any who linger on it. Human life exists in a few scattered places where precious water is available, but even those settlements are buffeted by terrifying coriolis storms.

Yet the planet is crucial to the destiny of a galactic empire. Because only on Dune can spice be harvested.

Spice is the key to interstellar travel. Only by ingesting the addictive drug can the Guild Steersman continue to experience visions of the future, enabling them to plot a safe path through hyperspace. Spice is also a geriatric medicine which prolongs life. Only by assuring a stable supply of it throughout the galaxy can any Emperor avoid civil revolt. With spice, in short, one can buy whatever he wants.

Powerful forces struggle for control of Dune. Imperial troops, aristocratic families, Guildsmen, a secret sisterhood and the nomadic native Fremen all vie for power on the planet.

All are subject to the rigid economics of their joint merchant combine, CHOAM; resources are expensive, shipping is costly, excellence has a price. And that price must be paid in the universal currency, the measure of all value: spice.

All need spice. Some will harvest it directly when it blows in an isolated area of sand, risking the onslaught of worm and storm alike. But others will take it violently in battle, or quietly in taxes and fees.

Those controlling large settlements will have access to ornithopters and cover great distances quickly. Other will have to pick their way slowly across sand and rock.

But all anxiously await the decision-making nexus signaled by the sudden appearance of the great sand worm, “Shai-Halud”.

Massive battles will occur, but often be decided by a single brilliant leader or an act of low treachery.