Stupor Mundi

Stupor Mundi is a relatively recent 2025 release with an Italian designer, yet on the table it has the look and taste of dried-out German bratwurst. It is that classic German-euro sort of affair that rarely thrills me personally, even though that school has given us enduring greats such as Hansa Teutonica and Stone Age. Here, unfortunately, I found nothing that earned a place in my memory.

At its core, it is a euro entirely in step with the times: cards, cubes, and plenty of little bits spread everywhere. The game feels more like managing a loaded system than an experience that grabs you by the sleeve and makes you care.

Players move through this familiar euro-machine, using its various elements to advance the game, while interaction is not what stayed with me. I have no reason to invent detail that the session itself did not support: the outcome was so bland that, halfway through the second round, our group had to ask whether they had already played it 7–8 months earlier. And yes, they had.

Compared with other games by the same designer, such as Darwin, Neuton, and Autobahn, Stupor Mundi struck me as very mediocre and, worst of all for this kind of game, forgettable. I did not have a bad time — it was not some tabletop disaster. It was simply far too dry for my tastes and, from me, an easy pass.