TBTIDIGTW #5 - Getting hopelessly lost in grand strategy

Last week Crusader Kings 2 was free to try out.  I haven't played a strategy game in a while, and I figured this was the perfect chance to throw hordes of hapless soldiers at all who dared not to be me!  Maybe it is my all or nothing attitude that got me into trouble, but I quickly realized that I was not going to get any sort of understanding of Crusader Kings in a few short days.

Way over my head

Crusader Kings 2 is a grand strategy game based in medieval Europe.  You can start at any point between 1066 and 1337 and play for many decades.  This may remind you of civilization, but the big difference, and what caught my attention right off the bat is that Crusader Kings 2 is a real time strategy game, not turn based.  I always assumed it was turn based, and never really looked into it.  I saw some of the funny posts on reddit about the game, and that opened me up to the idea of trying it out.

Now the last time I had played anything close to a grand strategy game like this was Medieval Total War.  It can get complex, but not much more than some macro economics stuff.  I was not prepared for how in depth these games could get now.

Why are there so many windows?

You can do so much in this game.  Spy on the members of your court to see who you could bestow honors on, or imprison, or marry.  Who do you want your heir to be?  A son, or daughter?  Want to be your stupid brother's heir?  Plan some political maneuverings, and assassinations, and you got it.  There are also a lot of mechanics you need to be aware of.  For example, you can attack any county you want, but you have to have a claim to that land.  If you don't have a legitimate claim to the land, you can have your spy master forge a claim, and then use that to rally your allies' armies behind your's to conquer the county.  The process for doing this takes you through at least 4 different windows, and their sub menus.  It could be more depending on the make up of your army and what's going on in your kingdom.

Playing Crusader Kings 2 for a week was barely enough to scratch the surface.  It is a very deep game, with a lot of strategy.  The complexity isn't for everyone (like me) but it does add a lot of interest to the story you're crafting.  If it sounds like the game for you I would absolutely recommend that you pick it up.