Spice Melange is the most valuable substance in the entire Imperium, and can be sold or traded in exchange for a profit. Mining of spice on Arrakis in controlled by House Atreides, who operate the fief of Arrakis; previously, this belonged to House Harkonnen who amassed a significant amount of wealth via their operations.
Gameplay[edit | edit source]
Spice Melange is the most vital substance available for players to collect within the game. Spice is collected by Spice Harvesters and then collected by players after the harvesters have completed. Harvested spice is added to a players stockpile, which allows them to trade the spice for other composite goods within the game to increase their wealth and/or political standing.
Stores of spice are monitored in the top left of the game on a scale which balances input and output. If a player is consuming more spice than they are harvesting/purchasing, it is anticipated that their "spice bar" will be lower than a player who is harvesting more than they are consuming.
Spice can be collected from harvesters in the desert that have either broken down or been destroyed — whether this is a mechanical fault or due to forces from opposing houses/factions.[1]
Spice Tax[edit | edit source]
Irregardless of the faction players chose at the beginning of the game, each player must pay the Imperial Spice Tax on a regular basis. Paying this will increase Landsraad Standing and ensure that you are able to progress through the game. If a player regularly misses their Imperial Tax, they will lose standing and it will be more difficult for them to pass resolutions in their favour.
To ensure that players have enough spice to pay the Imperial Tax, they can use the Spice Slider to ensure they have enough reserves to pay the tax when it is due.