Objective of the Game

In Stupor Mundi, players take on the role of vassals serving Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, known as stupor mundi ("the wonder of the world"). Your goal is to build and manage your kingdom by summoning Allies, constructing Structures, and promoting Specialists. The game ends when certain conditions are met, and the player with the most Victory Points (VP) wins. Consult the manual for details on victory conditions.

Preparation (Setup)

Central Board Setup

Place the Central Board in the middle of the table. Create a common supply of Grain cubes, Stone cubes, and Augustalis coins. Place 1 Grain and 1 Stone on their respective "1" spaces on Frederick’s Reserve, and 1 Augustalis coin on the "6" space of Frederick’s Treasury. Randomly place Workplace tiles on matching spaces in the Workplace Area. Place City Bonus tiles face up in City spaces, equal to one fewer than the number of players. Shuffle Edict tiles and place 3 face up on the Active Edict spaces and 3 on the Next Edict spaces. Place Frederick’s Specialist on the first space of the first Workplace tile. Set up Frederick’s Castle with Keeps, Walls, and Towers as shown.

Voyage Board Setup

Place the Voyage Board in the middle of the table, using the side matching the number of players. Randomly place Market tiles on the board, choosing between easy (blue) and challenging (red) sides based on desired difficulty. Shuffle Ally tiles and place 1 face down and 1 face up on each Ally space. Create the Advanced Action card draw pile by shuffling level A and level B cards separately, then combining them. Place 1 Advanced Action card face up on each empty space.

Player Setup

Each player represents a House and starts with a draw pile of 10 Action cards. Take your player components: Player Board, Specialists, Ship, Scoring disc, Card Slot tile, and Castle Structures. Place your Scoring disc on the "0" space of the VP track. Shuffle your Action cards and draw 5 to form your starting hand. Randomly choose a first player and distribute Augustalis coins, Stones, and Grains.

Flow of the Game

The game is played over a variable number of rounds, each divided into two phases: the Action Phase and the End Phase. During the Action Phase, players take turns traveling with their Ship and performing actions by playing Action cards. The End Phase involves refilling hands, collecting Castle and Ally income, and reorganizing the board. Consult the manual for details on each phase.

Actions and How to Play

Travel

At the start of your turn, you may move your Ship 1–4 spaces clockwise on the Voyage Board. Movement beyond the first space costs 1 Augustalis per space. After moving, proceed to perform an action.

Perform Action

Play an Action card face up to perform its action or face down to perform one of the main actions indicated by the soldiers’ spears. Main actions include:

• Promote a Specialist: Move a Specialist along a path in the Workplace Area.
• Visit the Market: Sell or buy resources in the city where your Ship is located.
• Build a Structure: Add a Tower, Wall, or Keep to your Castle.
• Summon an Ally: Pay the cost to summon an Ally from the city where your Ship is located.
• Purchase an Action card: Buy an Advanced Action card from the city where your Ship is located.

End of the Game and Scoring

The game ends immediately after any round in which:

1. One or more players have built every Structure in their Castle, OR
2. An Active Edict space cannot be refilled, OR
3. There are insufficient Advanced Action cards to refill the Voyage Board.

Final score is calculated based on your position on the VP track, plus:

• +1 VP for each Structure in your Castle.
• +4 VP for the player(s) with the most Structures, and +2 VP for the second-most Structures.
• Exchange Grain and Stone cubes for 2 Augustales each, and gain 1 VP for every 6 Augustales remaining.

Tips for Winning

• Focus on building Structures early to increase your Castle’s capacity and gain bonuses.
• Strategically summon Allies that align with your goals, as they provide VP during the End Phase.
• Use Edicts wisely to manipulate Frederick’s Palace and maximize your VP gains.