OddballGreg - Paradox Games (Grand Strategy)

Screenshot is of Europa Universalis IV and was taken from the Quill18 video here.

Being the thinking man that I am, (and perhaps having too much time on my hands), it was only natural that I would progress from playing the fairly common Age Of Empires that most everyone knows, to something that requires far more thought. Thankfully, Paradox Interactive's grand strategy games scratch that itch.

Grand strategy. What on earth is that? (Teehee) Grand strategy is a term typically used to describe the games made by the Paradox Development Studio, the child company of Paradox Interactive, who also publishes their games. These grand strategy games typically involve a bit more than a single villager who miraculously makes a house take form by hammering the floor. (Because logic. Maybe I can get rich by blowing air into my wallet?) Anyways, these games involve various time periods and the control of entire nations as you try to manipulate all the facets of the nation to lead them to greatness. While hardly easy, for people that like to think, they are endless fun. I've listed the most recent games below, in order of the time periods that they take place:

1. Crusader Kings 2

Crusader Kings 2, also colloquially known as Betrothal Simulator with Assassination and Parenthood DLC. (I'm seriously joking, and joking seriously.) Crusader Kings is the Paradox game of the medieval era, with plots of intrigue, succession wars for thrones and a lot of marriages. Crusader Kings 2 is less about world domination and more about the prestige of a bloodline, with you being in control of a single bloodline rather than a specific nation.

While certainly interesting, even Quill18 grew quickly tired of the game thanks to the incessant need to marry off daughters, marry your main character to someone, marry your sons to someone prestigious, and then try to stop the pretenders from offing your heir before he can claim the throne. Best enjoyed in small chunks with a specific goal in hand, like getting your bloodline to own the entire Iberian peninsula.

2. Europa Universalis IV

Europa Universalis, the mainstay of most grand strategy gamers, (That I know at any rate.) Europa Universalis is the roughly renaissance era Parardox game, taking place roughly in the same period that the America's were colonized by the European powers. As a favorite among many YouTubers and casual gamers, (myself included), EUIV and it's multiple expansion packs sees the the player(s) attempting to make the most powerful nation possible through trade, diplomacy, war, and colonization. There's also religious and cultural aspects mixed in for added fun.

While perhaps nothing much to look at, this oddly addicting game makes minutes into days just by you trying to figure out the best ways to run your country and deal with the issues that pop up ever so frequently. Combine that with new and interesting addons being made by Paradox frequently, and this is a thinking game that can keep you busy for a long time.

3. Victoria 2

Victoria, the World War 1, American industrialization, global politics game that nobody plays due to complexity. While not by any means a bad game, Victoria suffers from the issue of age and a Paradoxically difficult to use interface compared to Europa Universalis. (Heehee, see what I did there?) While extremely interesting in that it works off of the management of actual population groups tracking everything from the fulfillment of their needs to their ideological beliefs and literacy levels.

Now, that might sound like a lot of work for some people... which it probably is, but for crazy individuals like myself, managing several millions worth of peoples beliefs enough to make them work and fight cohesively and aid the development of a country sounds like a ton of fun... If only the game actually explained how to do anything of the sort to you. 80% of playing Victora is just figuring out how to do anything, with the enigmatic Nothernlion of YouTube summing this up by detailing how excited he was when he managed to make his people 1% more literate. But here's to hoping an updated sequel comes out... eventually.

4. Hearts of Iron 3

Hearts of Iron, the world war 2, assault management, supply line, factory structuring, diplomacy, political, technology, empire simulator. In all frankness this is perhaps the most interesting of the 4 games, but it's also the most complex in terms of management. (as averse to simply getting stuff to work ala Victoria.) This game is literally so complex, that it offers to let you have every single aspect of your nation managed by the AI. Not that that is always such a good idea, but it can allow you to chop and change so that you can focus on specific areas more than an inefficient control of everything.

I will admit to slight amusement at their allusions that the tutorial was written by Hitler, who promptly offs himself by the end of it (they would likely refute that it was him though.) This is definitely the most ambitious of the Paradox games, with so much detail that the time passes in hours rather than days, meaning a far shorter period can have far more happen in it. Intense, interesting and difficult, managing to do anything in this game is a reward in itself.

I will mention that they recently announced Heart Of Iron 4 and are currently signing on Beta testers for it. Including an improved UI and various other enhancements and changes, (Thank heavens), the new game should be far easier to play but without the loss of any strategic depth. So definitely something worth keeping an eye out for if you're into that sort of thing.

In any case, that's enough about my nerdy game likes. If you're also a fan of the Paradox strategy games, or just want to know something else about the games then do be sure to ask us down in the comments below of over Facebook/Twitter. Also, if you've got some insane friends that like games like these, be sure to share this post with them. I guarantee they'll appreciate it. Of course, if you would like to read more articles about subjects like this and different to it, then do be sure to like the official TCSA Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter using the associated buttons on the bar to the left, so that you can get the latest posts as they go up. Regardless of what you do, I thank you for having taken the time to read this post; hope that you have/had an absolutely FANTASTIC day, and I will speak again soon.

Good luck generals.