Tournament Rules
All games will be played using the latest edition of the rules published by Gale Force 9, modified by the latest version of the published FAQ.
The official Gale Force 9 core game rules booklet can be downloaded here.
The official Gale Force 9 Ixians & Tleilaxu expansion rules booklet can be downloaded here.
The latest version of the published FAQ can be downloaded here.
None of the optional rules at the back of the Gale Force 9 rules will be used.
All games will be played using full Advanced Rules and the full Ixians & Tleilaxu expansion rules, including new factions, new treachery cards, and tech tokens. All players are advised to make sure they have knowledge of all of these rules.
In addition, one tournament house rule will be employed as follows:
The Shield Wall will be considered a stronghold for the purposes of victory ONLY, immediately after the 4th worm appears (counting all worms, even Karama worms summoned by the Fremen). Victory conditions are unchanged after the Shield Wall becomes a stronghold, meaning it should become easier to win after that point.
Shipment to the Shield Wall still costs 2 spice/token (1 spice/token for Guild shipment), as usual for rock spaces.
Occupation of the Shield Wall is not restricted to only 2 factions, as usual for rock spaces.
The Shield Wall is not affected by storm or worm, as usual for both strongholds and rock spaces.
Family Atomics may be used as written. When Family Atomics is played, all tokens on the Shield Wall are destroyed (regardless of storm location), but the Shield Wall continues to be treated as a stronghold and continues to be unaffected by storm or worm.
In the unlikely event that two separate factions occupy the Shield Wall at the end of a turn (due to location of the storm preventing battle between them), neither faction is considered to control that stronghold for the purposes of victory determination.
When questions arise, tournament moderators may be called upon to make specific rulings for individual games.
In all cases, all players are expected to abide by all rulings made by a tournament moderator.
Where possible, rulings made during the tournament will be documented and enforced for all later games to help provide consistency, at the discretion of tournament organizers.
With multiple different moderators ruling on multiple simultaneous games, it is possible that a rule could be enforced differently from one game to another. A moderator’s ruling will stand, even if later found to be inconsistent with published rules or with a ruling made in another game.
Game Setup
Each player should be online and logged in to Tabletop Simulator using the server name and password provided and logged in to Discord at least 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start of his/her game. A tournament moderator will ensure that the game and Discord call is successfully established.
Players should join the game at the virtual seat indicated for the faction for which he/she was assigned for the game.
Players may then conduct play together, using normal Tabletop Simulator functions. NOTE: Dune is not a scripted game on Tabletop Simulator, so players must all be well-versed in how to play the game and how to manually manipulate the game components to successfully enforce the rules themselves.
Game Duration
All games are scheduled for 5 hours. All players should be prepared to play at least that long if needed to complete the game.
No game may continue past its scheduled end time. Players must make every attempt to keep their games on track at a recommended pace of 30 minutes per game turn.
No new turn should be started with less than 30 minutes remaining in the scheduled duration.
The final possible turn of the game should be completed as quickly as possible. If no player(s) have won at the end of that turn, then scores should be recorded normally with no points awarded for winners. (See “Scoring and Advancement” below for details.)
Results Reporting
At the conclusion of a game, the game moderator will record and submit the scores for the game in an official tournament scoresheet, which can be viewed here.
Players should leave the game state as it was in Tabletop Simulator and SAVE it at the end of the game for moderator verification if necessary.
Scoring and Advancement
At the end of a game, whether it was completed naturally or it was terminated at the end of the scheduled duration, a score is recorded for each player as follows:
Player WON the game (1000 pts or 2000 pts)
These points are only possible if the game completed naturally.
These points apply regardless of how victory was achieved – stronghold victory, Bene Gesserit prediction victory, or Fremen/Guild default victory.
Each player in a winning alliance gains 1000 points. (Note that Fremen/Guild default victories are shared with allies, but a Bene Gesserit prediction victory is not.)
A player who wins alone gains 2000 points.
Each stronghold controlled by the player at the end of the game (100 pts)
Each force the player has on the board (not in reserves, not in tanks) at the end of the game (1 pt)
Each leader the player holds (not in tanks, not captured) at the end of the game (1 pt)
Each card the player holds in hand at the end of the game (1 pt)
Each spice the player holds at the end of the game (1 pt)
After completion of the entire first round of play, up to 36 players or two-thirds of the registered player count, whichever is less, will advance from the first round to play in a semi-final round.
The players with the highest TOTAL scores from both of the first-round games they played will be notified that they will advance to the semi-final round.
In case of ties, all tied players will be advanced if space permits. If not possible, ties will be broken in favor of the player(s) with the highest single-game score.
After completion of the semi-final round, exactly 6 players will advance to the final game.
The players with the highest score from the semi-final round game they played will be notified that they will advance to the final round.
Ties will be broken in favor of the player who had the highest TOTAL score from the first round.
The single player with the highest score in the final game will be declared the winner!
Handling Issues
Any player who is found to be in violation of any tournament rules may be removed from the tournament at the organizers’ discretion.
If a player is unable to attend one of his or her scheduled game slots and notifies tournament organizers at least 12 hours prior to the scheduled game start time, that player will be re-scheduled for another slot if at all possible. Tournament organizers will make every attempt to substitute the player into a different scheduled slot.
If a player is involuntarily forced to abandon a game due to technical difficulty or genuine emergency with insufficient notice, that player may be re-scheduled for a later make-up game, at the tournament organizers’ discretion. The dropout player must contact the tournament organizers to explain the situation immediately when the reason for dropout is encountered. Tournament organizers’ judgement regarding the possibility for re-scheduling is final.
If a player abandons a game in progress prior to its scheduled finish per “Game Duration” above, perform the following:
Remove all the player’s forces and non-captured leaders from the game.
Return the player’s spice to the spice bank.
Place the player’s cards in the discard pile.
If Harkonnen drops out, return any captured leaders to their owners’ reserves.
Score ZERO for the drop out player.
All remaining players will continue the game minus the faction that dropped out.
A player who was allied to the faction that dropped out is immediately considered to be unallied and may win solo.
