My friends and I were really into the Star Wars Customizable Card Game one summer in the 90s, and I have a vague recollection of us trying to get into the DUNE game around the same time. For whatever reason, it failed, and I forgot about it until I saw these images of the game on Instagram:
You can check out more of the artwork on illustrator Mark Zug's website.
Produced by Last Unicorn Games (which has since been bought out by Wizards of the Coast), the Dune Collectible Card Game was released in 1997. Each players controlled a Minor House vying to join the Landsraad council. There were military battles, duels, political negotiations — and of course, some wild cards thrown in from the Bene Gesserit and Spacing Guild. Board Game Geek breaks the gameplay down like this:
A collectible card game (CCG) set in the Dune universe. Players are the heads of Minor Houses (sponsored by one of the familiar factions, e.g. Atreides) attempting to become a Great House and join the Landsraad. To win, a player must acquire both 10 spice and 10 favor. There are four types of combat (called rites); Duels and Battle which can gain a player favor, and Intrigue and Arbitration which gain a player Solaris (money). Spice can be acquired through card effects or bought from a limited supply.
More details on cards and gameplay can be found here. Someone else put together a comprehensive WordPress fan site with more details on the game, too, if you're interested in cobbling together your own version of it.
There's a more recent Dune strategy board game, too — but the artwork's not as cool as this 90s CCG.
Dune CCG [Board Game Geek]
Dune, the Card Game [Mark Zug]
