Welcome to the first (hopefully of many!) Let's All Play Together community thread! The idea is that we'll all play the same nation chosen from among the less popular states picked by EU4 players. The thought appeared after Wiz posted the list of most popular EU4 nations played:
In particular we'll avoid choosing one of these nations. By playing together, hopefully we'll come up with a lot of new and specific strategies for a variety of nations over time, which will serve as a useful resource for players looking for help with these countries. We can also see different ways people choose to play & expand to find out what kind of potential is out there with these lesser-known starts.
With sufficient participation, I'll start a new thread for the next nation every 2-6 weeks, depending on how things go. Sometimes the nation might be picked by popular request, or by going to another part of the world from what we've done before, or just trying something totally different. In the beginning I'll try to avoid particularly difficult nations, or starts that are a bit wonky due to outstanding issues with recent patches.
We'll also take a quick look at the real-life history of these states! Feel free to offer more trivia for these, along with, of course, empire screenshots and playthrough reports / AARs. Be sure to post a link if you make a video stream!
Okay, enough of all that. Let's get started by taking a quick look at the history of our first nation: Zazzau!
History of Zazzau
Also known as Zaria, Zazzau was the first of the seven Hausa Kingdoms to appear (the others being Daura, Kano, Katsina, Gobir, Rano, and Biram; only Kano and Katsina are also present at game start). While the origins of these kingdoms are only told in legends, by the mid-1400s the Hausa Kingdoms were thriving states competing with Kanem-Bornu and Mali for trade.
For the most part these kingdoms worked together, specializing both production and defense from outside invaders. However, they were never able to fully unite, and in the 1800s the region was conquered and made into part of the Sokoto Caliphate. Today, Zazzau is part of the nation of Nigeria.
The most famous ruler of Zazzau was Queen Amina. This warrior-queen is the subject of many legends. We don't know exactly when she ruled, but Paradox was kind enough to make her the starting ruler of the Zazzau state. Part of her exploits included the subjugation of Katsina and Kano, forcing them (and other kingdoms) to pay tribute. She also conquered into Nupe and Kwararafa (the uncolonized provinces east of Nupe). She is also believed to be responsible for bolstering the defenses of Hausa cities with earthen walls.
Starting Position
Zazzau's starting situation is a little rough, enough so that I actually hesitated to suggest them as the first community nation. They're an Animist Tribal Kingdom bordered by the powerful Songhai Sultanate and Katsina Sultanate, both of which have embraced the Sunni faith by this time. An early war with Songhai could end your game, and breaking out of both tribal government and pagan religion can be a bit daunting for a newcomer.
However, there are numerous opportunities and advantages that make Zazzau interesting. First, of course, is the badass Queen Amina that you start the game with. Boasting 5/4/6 stats, none of the other regional starting rulers can hold a candle to her. This will greatly boost your starting potential by giving you plenty of desperately-needed Monarch Points. Next, you're also surrounded by fairly weak states; Kano, Nupe, and Oyo are unlikely to be much of a threat and give plenty of opportunity for quick expansion.
Katsina, just to the north, is an inland center of trade. Hausa ideas are great for dominating trade, so you're in a good spot to take the local Katsina node and perhaps Timbuktu as well. You don't have to go very far south to border the uncolonized African coast, which you can use to Westernize off colonizing Europeans fairly early.
Also, did I mention that Queen Amina is also a goddess-general? With 4/4/5/1 stats, you'll roll over anyone in your path so long as you don't get her killed. But that's quite a hefty risk to take; her monarch points are extremely important, and you start the game with no legal heir. An early regency as Zazzau is basically a restart.
A note: player Zosh127 (josh127 on the forums here) streamed a bunch of videos with this nation back in 1.11, available on YouTube. You might get some useful information from those streams, but remember there have been lots of changes since then.
Suggested Objectives
These are just some suggestions on how you could approach the game. They're meant more as challenges rather than as strategic advice. Pick some, any, all, or none of these for your own game. As an aside: it doesn't matter if you play on or off Ironman, with or without mods, whatever. Just have fun with it, and share your exploits!
1) England
2) France
3) Ottomans
4) Castile
5) Brandenburg
6) Austria
7) Muscovy
8) Portugal
9) Poland
10) Great Britain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
11) Sweden
12) Teutonic Order
13) Papal States
14) Byzantium (yes, you made the top 20)
15) Prussia (presumably mostly from continued saves)
16) Spain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
17) Japan
18) Hungary
19) Denmark
20) Ming
21) Netherlands (presumably mostly from continued saves)
22) Commonwealth
23) Burgundy
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/top-23-most-played-countries.865345/
2) France
3) Ottomans
4) Castile
5) Brandenburg
6) Austria
7) Muscovy
8) Portugal
9) Poland
10) Great Britain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
11) Sweden
12) Teutonic Order
13) Papal States
14) Byzantium (yes, you made the top 20)
15) Prussia (presumably mostly from continued saves)
16) Spain (presumably mostly from continued saves)
17) Japan
18) Hungary
19) Denmark
20) Ming
21) Netherlands (presumably mostly from continued saves)
22) Commonwealth
23) Burgundy
https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/index.php?threads/top-23-most-played-countries.865345/
In particular we'll avoid choosing one of these nations. By playing together, hopefully we'll come up with a lot of new and specific strategies for a variety of nations over time, which will serve as a useful resource for players looking for help with these countries. We can also see different ways people choose to play & expand to find out what kind of potential is out there with these lesser-known starts.
With sufficient participation, I'll start a new thread for the next nation every 2-6 weeks, depending on how things go. Sometimes the nation might be picked by popular request, or by going to another part of the world from what we've done before, or just trying something totally different. In the beginning I'll try to avoid particularly difficult nations, or starts that are a bit wonky due to outstanding issues with recent patches.
We'll also take a quick look at the real-life history of these states! Feel free to offer more trivia for these, along with, of course, empire screenshots and playthrough reports / AARs. Be sure to post a link if you make a video stream!
Okay, enough of all that. Let's get started by taking a quick look at the history of our first nation: Zazzau!
History of Zazzau
Also known as Zaria, Zazzau was the first of the seven Hausa Kingdoms to appear (the others being Daura, Kano, Katsina, Gobir, Rano, and Biram; only Kano and Katsina are also present at game start). While the origins of these kingdoms are only told in legends, by the mid-1400s the Hausa Kingdoms were thriving states competing with Kanem-Bornu and Mali for trade.
For the most part these kingdoms worked together, specializing both production and defense from outside invaders. However, they were never able to fully unite, and in the 1800s the region was conquered and made into part of the Sokoto Caliphate. Today, Zazzau is part of the nation of Nigeria.
The most famous ruler of Zazzau was Queen Amina. This warrior-queen is the subject of many legends. We don't know exactly when she ruled, but Paradox was kind enough to make her the starting ruler of the Zazzau state. Part of her exploits included the subjugation of Katsina and Kano, forcing them (and other kingdoms) to pay tribute. She also conquered into Nupe and Kwararafa (the uncolonized provinces east of Nupe). She is also believed to be responsible for bolstering the defenses of Hausa cities with earthen walls.
Starting Position
Zazzau's starting situation is a little rough, enough so that I actually hesitated to suggest them as the first community nation. They're an Animist Tribal Kingdom bordered by the powerful Songhai Sultanate and Katsina Sultanate, both of which have embraced the Sunni faith by this time. An early war with Songhai could end your game, and breaking out of both tribal government and pagan religion can be a bit daunting for a newcomer.
However, there are numerous opportunities and advantages that make Zazzau interesting. First, of course, is the badass Queen Amina that you start the game with. Boasting 5/4/6 stats, none of the other regional starting rulers can hold a candle to her. This will greatly boost your starting potential by giving you plenty of desperately-needed Monarch Points. Next, you're also surrounded by fairly weak states; Kano, Nupe, and Oyo are unlikely to be much of a threat and give plenty of opportunity for quick expansion.
Katsina, just to the north, is an inland center of trade. Hausa ideas are great for dominating trade, so you're in a good spot to take the local Katsina node and perhaps Timbuktu as well. You don't have to go very far south to border the uncolonized African coast, which you can use to Westernize off colonizing Europeans fairly early.
Also, did I mention that Queen Amina is also a goddess-general? With 4/4/5/1 stats, you'll roll over anyone in your path so long as you don't get her killed. But that's quite a hefty risk to take; her monarch points are extremely important, and you start the game with no legal heir. An early regency as Zazzau is basically a restart.
A note: player Zosh127 (josh127 on the forums here) streamed a bunch of videos with this nation back in 1.11, available on YouTube. You might get some useful information from those streams, but remember there have been lots of changes since then.
Suggested Objectives
These are just some suggestions on how you could approach the game. They're meant more as challenges rather than as strategic advice. Pick some, any, all, or none of these for your own game. As an aside: it doesn't matter if you play on or off Ironman, with or without mods, whatever. Just have fun with it, and share your exploits!
- Match Amina's legendary exploits! Vassalize Kano and Katsina and conquer Nupe before she dies. Don't worry about the Kwararafa area though -- you're probably not going to be doing any colonizing in her lifespan.
- Preserve the ancient ways! The Zazzau region refused to widely adopt the Sunni faith up to the time of the Sokoto conquests. Keep the Animist faith and hold Gobir to prevent Sokoto from ever appearing. OR...
- Adopt the Sunni faith! Conquer northward and let Sunni rebels convert your nation. Hold Gobir and become Sokoto when the event fires (late 1700s...).
- Make the Hausa region into the envy of the world! Conquer Katsina province and move your capital there. Use capital, trade center, and Hausa idea bonuses to develop the city into the largest total development value in the world. Consider using the Economics idea set to reform your government. OR...
- Build a massive Hausa empire! Annex or vassalize the entire trade regions of Katsina and Timbuktu (excluding uncolonized provinces). Consider using the Administrative idea group to reform your government.
- Become a Westernized African empire, then defeat the Europeans at their own game! Westernize as soon as possible, take colonization, and expand. Bring the trade of the East to African shores, but then keep it there, out of those grubby French, British, and Iberian hands!
- Continental domination! Conquer and colonize every single province in Africa, bringing the glory of the ZZZ tag to the whole continent.
- Hard Mode: Go with Exploration or Expansion as your first idea group, leaving your government reformation for much later. Take the Kwararafa region, coastal provinces, even Tuat to get yourself into Morocco (or, with Exploration, head east into Ethiopia or north into Tunis / Mamluks). Then use Innovative for the next idea group to reform.
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