Moving on, let's see what you can use to learn how to play the game.
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As said on the review, Paradox isn't exactly known for its comprehensive manuals. Similarly, if -- and when -- they do add tutorials to their games, these are usually very simple and introduce only key game concepts, leaving aside any considerations regarding gameplay.
For the population in general this can be a problem, since grand strategy games of the scope of Paradox titles are very rich in features, some of which are deeply ingrained in the engine, and not at all apparent from just looking at the data presented to us. Likewise, the data that
is presented to us is often complex, very rich in terminology and tightly integrated with the rest of the game. There's load and loads of numbers and terms that need to be learned and understood; both their meaning and the vast web of consequences of messing with them.
Truth be said, not every information is meant to be taught to the player. An intrinsic part of playing any grand strategy game is to learn the innards of its engine. But this isn't possible to do if we don't have a basic knowledge of the gameplay. It's very easy to look at a title like
Crusader Kings II,
Victoria or
Hearts of Iron (all Paradox games) and quickly lose interest because the player finds the game unplayable without the knowledge of how to play it.
Thankfully
Crusader Kings II isn't a hard game to get into. Paradox did an excellent job abstracting the whole complex affair of internal politics in a feudal system into an easy to understand set of game features. At first glance the game looks as daunting as any other Paradox title, with the exception of
Hearts of Iron (possibly the most complex game ever conceived). But once we get a helping hand, we realize that things do fit in, make a lot of sense and can be easily understood.
That
helping hand is the players community, who had been doing a great job publishing all sorts of material to help others learn the ropes of Paradox games.
What I'm going to present next is the set of links that I personally used to learn how to play the game. With the material below, I was able to understand the gameplay to its fullest. With a little free time in your hands and a bit of perseverance, you will find too the pleasure of playing
Crusader Kings II.
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(1)
What introduced me to the game and pretty much taught me how to play it were the excellent
tutorials by TekkorGJC. He has a pleasant voice and demeanor and guides us through the game in 5 tutorials followed by two Q&A videos. After going through all of them I was essentially introduced into the gameplay and could play it on my own.
TekkorGJC also has a Let's Play Crusader Kings series on his channel that you may want to follow too. He explains many of the things he does in the game and you get to see the game being played in its fullest.
(2)
Another excellent source for learning the game is
Das24680 Let's Play series. Another good communicator that is easy to follow and won't tire you. Das, explains the game as he plays it in 11 episodes. He doesn't fear making mistakes, talking about them and learning (him too) how to play the game as he goes.
I watched Das series a fair bit after I started playing the game on my own. And it was worth it since it introduced me into yet more game concepts.
(3)
The game forums are an essential resource for any game of this type, as you well know. There, you can learn about everything there is to know about the game, as players share their experiences and accumulated knowledge of the game. There's however an invaluable resource in there in the form of a sticky thread that gets into a somewhat deep analysis of the key game concepts. This is the
In-depth Guide to CKII thread, managed by Meneth.
It's, at the time of this post, a work in progress. Meneth keeps on adding new information and correcting whatever information is found to be wrong or unclear. A companion thread to the guide allows anyone to give feedback or clear any doubts. I'm listing both below.
