The Grand Campaign

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the Introduction blog entry of my current game of Europa Universalis III: In Nomine. Through proceeding blog posts it is my intention to follow the drama and excitement(!!) of playing as the great nation of Muscowy!

Normally this type of thing is for the game’s message board - called “After Action Reports” - but I thought it would be a cool challenge to try to explain to a lay audience, in narrative form, the complexities of the game’s mechanics and put into words the epic drama (no, seriously) that is inherent with devoting many, many, many, many hours to playing as a single nation. So, I will attempt to keep it simple, relevant and totally not boring.

Briefly, Europa Universalis III: In Nomine (EUIII) is a historical grand strategy game. You can pick from a list of hundreds of countries to play. The Grand Campaign runs from 1399AD to 1821AD, though you can always pick a starting date any time in between. The cool thing about how this game is that it too flows with history. So while you’re struggling to seize control of the Balkans, there’s a good chance that, at the same time, Spain is colonizing the new world, and France and England are constantly in conflict with each other. How do you use all of this to your advantage? The game gives a lot of data and it’s up to the player to make wise and timely decisions.

EUIII is a fun game. I enjoy it. A little intimidating sometimes, but still satisfying to play. My current game as Muscowy (Modern-day western Russia-ish) has been a great learning experience. This is one of the reasons why I’m going to try to follow through with upcoming blog posts. The other is that right now I’m in a very interesting tactical position, and the outcome is hinged on making a single critical decision: Go or no go.

Stay tuned!