- Publisher(s) : Pixie Games, Quined Games
- Designer(s) : Nestore Mangone
- Artist(s) : Maciej Janik
- Players : 1–4
- Playing time : 90–150 Min
- Weight BGG : 3.28
What's this?
You play as one of the great families of his empire, tasked with strengthening their influence by building a castle, gaining allies across the Mediterranean, and issuing decrees that shape imperial power.
How do you play?
A game of Stupor Mundi takes place over several rounds, each divided into two main phases:
1. Action Phase
Each player, in turn, can:
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Travel : Move your ship from city to city to access new allies, markets, or action cards.
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Play an Action card : placed face up (to carry out its effect) or face down (to carry out a basic action on your player board).
The possible actions are varied:
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Promote a Specialist : Advance a character in the Labor zone to unlock bonuses and points.
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Visit the Market : buy/sell grains and stones to adjust your resources.
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Build a Construction : Add towers, walls or dungeons to your castle, improving capacities and income.
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Summon an Ally : Recruit an influential figure (loyalist or independence supporter) offering victory points depending on the situation of the imperial palace or your own domain.
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Acquire an Advanced Action card : enrich your hand with more powerful actions.
Certain buildings or events trigger Decrees , which modify Frederick II’s palace and influence players’ income.
2. End of Round Phase
Simultaneously, all players:
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Renew their hand of cards.
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Receive income from their castle (resources, points, money).
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Receive income from their allies based on conditions met.
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Perform maintenance on the central board (new allies, new cards available).
End of game
The game ends when a player has built their entire castle, decrees can no longer be renewed, or there are no more advanced cards available. Players then count their points (buildings, allies, money, bonuses). The most prestigious player wins.
Is it good?
Stupor Mundi offers a wealth of strategic depth. This management game requires planning, anticipation, and difficult choices to make every turn. Resources are scarce, and you’ll constantly have to decide between crucial actions: recruiting an ally, building, upgrading your deck, or advancing your specialists to take advantage of valuable bonuses.
The game is full of good ideas. The card mechanics, which can be played for their specific action or face down to activate actions on your personal board, are particularly ingenious. Specialists add a dimension of timing and synergies to exploit. Managing castle construction is full of interesting constraints: no tower, no allies; no walls, no additional storage; dungeons, on the other hand, offer powerful bonuses that can change the dynamics of the game. All of this creates a series of constant dilemmas.
But the real novelty lies in the interaction around the neutral player’s castle, which influences everyone’s scoring. The Imperial Decrees system is the heart of this mechanic: players manipulate the emperor to hinder the opponent’s plans in ways that are both diabolical and exhilarating. This indirect interaction, which modifies victory conditions and disrupts established strategies, creates constant tension and forces players to closely monitor the choices of others.
Production-wise, the material is of good quality, the illustrations are successful, and the medieval theme is well integrated. Gradually building your castle on your personal board is visually and mechanically satisfying.
On the other hand, one could criticize the game for a certain classicism in its management mechanics: despite the successful interaction with the neutral player and the original scoring, the game does not really offer a progressive increase in power.
In short, Stupor Mundi is a great surprise in the management game genre. Deep, challenging, offering numerous choices and original interaction around the neutral player, it will appeal to fans of planning and “German-style management.”
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