Dune - Advice for organizing?
Posted by stevestrifex

TL;DR - I want to organize a Dune event and I'm looking for advice from others with more experience.

First time Gen Con organizer and attendee. I'll keep this as short as possible. Any advice, either specific to Dune or just in general, is greatly appreciated!


  1. There are three Dune events already planned, but all of them are full. Is it okay for me to organize a new one? I'd avoid scheduling mine to conflict with theirs, but wasn't sure if this would still be impolite.
  2. I own one copy of the game and at first was only looking for five additional players. But after asking around on Reddit it seems there's a bit of interest in this. Should I set my maximum number to higher than 6? Also, would it be okay to ask in the event description for others to bring a copy of the game if they own it?
  3. Thoughts on changing this to a Dune tournament? Good idea, bad idea? If it's a tourny it'd probably need to be three games for prelims (at 5 hours each though is a long time), plus one final championship match.
  4. This is a more Dune specific question, but think it'd be okay to play by the WBC rule set? I know Dune has far too many house rules and personal interpretations, I figured this would be good way for everyone to be on the same page.
  5. I'd be willing to teach the rules for new players, but should I mention in the event description rules overview would be taught 45min prior to the start of the game? Or experienced players to show up 45min late?
  6. Any recommendations for special requests? I'd probably need the 5' round table (my Dune copy is homemade and VERY large). But any other recs?

I appreciate any help given, thanks so much!

Posted by derekguder

Quick answers:


  1. If you want to run a game, it's always OK to submit it, especially if all other sessions are filled.
  2. Some events request players bring their own copies of the game, but I think that's not the best way to run a board game. For a TCG or minis game where you need your own pre-built deck/army, it makes sense. But for a board game, selling a couple dozen tickets and suggesting some players bring their own copies just seems like a recipe for not having enough copies when players actually show up. I strongly recommend just submitting the event for the resources you have to support and if it sells out, try to recruit other people you can trust to bring more copies.
  3. I'm not sure what you mean by "changing this to a tournament" - you haven't submitted anything yet. If you want to run a tournament, do so. Depends on how much time you want to spend playing it, and how much time attendees will be willing to commit. If you think a tournament would be both feasible and cooler, then go for that, but focus on what you think will be fun & feasible first.
  4. I'm not going to be able to answer what rules set to use. Pick the one you like and/or you think most people will enjoy.
  5. Either teach the rules or don't. You can't require players to show up before the scheduled start time, nor is there much point in confusing things by telling them to show up late. If you're concerned about that, run two events: start with a teaching game and then follow that up with one where you just jump right in. People can sign up for both if they really want.
  6. I don't know what to recommend without knowing what your special requests would be :) Review the default setups in the Event Host Policy and request anything you need that differs from that.

-
Derek Guder
Event Manager
Gen Con LLC

Posted by stevestrifex

Thanks Derek! This helps immensely, I appreciate it a lot :)

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