Vicky or Crusader Kings

[Chaingun]

Victoria does appear a lot more complex than CK (it is more overwhelming in a way). If you have the time and patience for it though Victoria might be the best choice, but myself I like Crusader Kings more.

 

[Chaingun]

To me, crusader kings was a mystery. I borrowed it from a friend and tried to understand it but it was just too complicated and strange, so I gave up.

Vicky, on the other hand, was easy to understand and learn, since most of the - if complex - game concepts are a lot like concepts in the real world.

Heh I learnt the basics of CK in thirty minutes. Vicky probably took me 20 hours in total before I even got a mediocre grasp of the game.

Victoria didn't look too real to me in certain respects; to have the option to build a few centrally planned factories in a specified set of states didn't feel too real for me (though admittedly it's much less abstract than the EU2 and CK province improvements). Neither did a global world market that doesn't actually work as a real life market impress me.