what's your playing style?

[brifbates]

Pick a nation and game goal before starting (fast Russia formation, form Italy, get Sweden cheeves, etc). Gameplay is no-cheese: no forcing PUs, no conquer/release, no NI swapping, minimal ai exploiting (can't say none because it's close to impossible to avoid at least some), etc.

Will probably try for the Norway cheeve next, or maybe the One League cuz playing dirt poor can get really old.

[G0dak]

I usually pick a nation and play until I get bored. Take, for example, my first 1399-1821 game as Bohemia vs my Vijayanagar game.

The HRE was Burgundy, and he was simply being an obnoxious brat after beating up France. I left the HRE and ended up eating up most of the eastern provinces. I became a colonial power, with the Holy Land and most of South America under my control. Burgundy and I had a late-game war, where I lost, but I didn't put my whole weight behind it. I ended up losing some crappy colonies in North America, but my stronger economy made the prolonged war crippling for Burgundy, and the ultimately collapsed, leaving me the predominant force in the world at around 1818.

In contrast, my game forming Hindustan was pretty boring. I was the strongest military and economical force in the world in less than 100 years. I could have eaten up the Timurids to meet up with Europe to westernise, but it would have been tedious beyond all compare (What, horde colonization isn't fun? Poppcock!). In the end, I ended the game at around 1550. By the time I westernised (I estimate that, given a good leader, it would have been around 1600), I would simply have been able to ROFL stomp everyone. That's no fun to me.

So, yeah, I rarely go into a game with a plan (outside of unifications), and I mostly play things by ear. Is France all up in my grill? Well, France needs to get out of my grill! Are the Ottomans starting to win against the hordes? Well, since I'm Hungary, that could be bad for me! Unam Sanctam, war, Serbia and Bosnia are my vassals, the Ottomans peace out with the GH and continue to fight back the Timurids. Perfect!

If, for whatever reason, the game stops being dynamic, I no longer find it interesting.

[hitchens]

I've found a deep passionate love for Austria. I play the arts of war. I conquer stuff from Italy to Ming.

[generalolaf]

Taking small nations to military glory is my game. Tuscany was a fun one, and Holland is going the same way. I want to try an Achaea game next, or maybe Montenegro just for kicks

[cpreston5]

Generally I dont place specific requirents or goals on myself, and I only have 2 rules

1 - No gamey tactics
2 - If I can't imagine something in a historical narrative (eg. Brandenburger hordes overunning France, or Mutapa launching a jihad against India) then I don't do it.

[viale]

I have a penchant for making a vassal-empire, in my recent Russia game I started making nice medium sized vassals out of everyone in europe. In my Ottoman game I'm only expanding in Europe through vassals, I intend to make my vassal wall bigger and bigger. On the other hand I usually keep to my own culture group only expanding if it makes strategic sense/makes the map prettier aka taking all of Caucasus including Kaffa(this is mostly to get rid og that annoying mission) even though they are not in my culture.
A secondary goal for this game has been to control the entire Middle-East, North Africa and Central Asia, although I'm unsure whether that would be considered secondary when playing the Ottomans

And although I'm quite the warmonger I also like the quiet years where I can watch my empire grow. there is something comfortable about seeing your yearly census tax jump after the completion of 10 workshops. What I never really do a lot of is the colonization game. I hate pirates more than anything in this game and the entire of aspect of colonizing the americas or africa just feels tedious to me.

[Kurblius]

I've found a deep passionate love for Austria. I play the arts of war. I conquer stuff from Italy to Ming.

We are enemies. You and I.

[hitchens]

We are enemies. You and I.

Ah venice! The old thorn in the eye. Venice usually get annexed after Hungary, The Balkans and the rest of the Italian states due to their fleet. Playing the glorious House of Habsburg I always focus on land tech due to lack of ports. But Venice always fall, it is inevitable.

[grommile]

2 - If I can't imagine something in a historical narrative (eg. Brandenburger hordes overunning France

Indeed, that happened outside the timeframe of EU3. (1870...)

[Iwanow]

Well my play style : Conquer everything I like to have pretty borders and nice income, and bully around, so all know that i'm the boss. But depend on nation I play as.
If I play muscowy - > forming russia ASAP is my 1st tier priority. I don't care about trade if i can't get income from it, but trade as much as possible if i can. Build production and manpower buildings anywhere i can. Somehow i hate hordes and also, hate bohemia in siberia, so it just prevent both things(Stomp bohemia, stomp GH if i can, send spies if i can't). Other than that i just observe what happens around me, and wait for any possible wars i can declare without losing stab.

[dragonizer]

Small nations anywhere survive build them up and do WC.
Or take 10 or less provinces and do WC.
WC rules.

[cpreston5]

Indeed, that happened outside the timeframe of EU3. (1870...)

Hey, it wasn't just Prussians! I mean, the other German states pulled their weight... Well you know, they chipped in... They were there.

[Angry_Norway]

+1 for the warmongers over here, the trading game just doesn't grab me at.

[Emperor Hans]

+1 for the warmongers over here, the trading game just doesn't grab me at.

Beating Austria with 10k Dutch soldiers ?

[Rotten Venetic]

I like to take a large minor in the 5-10 province range and make it into the most advanced nation on the globe as well as Europe's top dog with all (logical) cores taken and a number of vassals, maybe even world vassalization, and to carve blobs down to size (Austria this means you). Not that much into trade either, or frankly colonization, because I like to have ze shiny modifiers. And war. Lots and lots of war. I'm Chaotic Evil irl after all.

Alternatively I play Russia. Russia's always tons of fun, sometimes in Dwarven Fortress context though

[grommile]

Alternatively I play Russia. Russia's always tons of fun, sometimes in Dwarven Fortress context though

Most of the DF-ness in that part of the world lies in making Russia, not playing it once you've made it

[Rotten Venetic]

Just so. By the time I am Russia, I'm pretty much invincible unless I try to lose. Though it gets really smegging annoying if I can't keep up the tech and I have to throw numbers at superior opponents in the West. It works (all the way to the Algarves if need be), but I don't like it.

[WeissRaben]

Slow but steady build-up followed by a period of ridiculous expansionism, then another period of build-up, then playing cold war with all the other major powers.

This is it.

[Munashiimaru]

Conquer the world Of course! under the infamy limit. Hansa, Teutonic Order, and Portugal are some of my favorites.

[Dustman]

I like to take a large minor in the 5-10 province range and make it into the most advanced nation on the globe as well as Europe's top dog with all (logical) cores taken and a number of vassals, maybe even world vassalization, and to carve blobs down to size (Austria this means you). Not that much into trade either, or frankly colonization, because I like to have ze shiny modifiers. And war. Lots and lots of war. I'm Chaotic Evil irl after all.

Alternatively I play Russia. Russia's always tons of fun, sometimes in Dwarven Fortress context though

Tons of superpowers fit in '5-10 province range', Austria included Btw, my favorites are Poland, Venice and the Ottomans, in this order.