What's the ruler to start with to learn the game?

[Oriflamme]

The earl of Dublin has a nice learning curve, because your father dies early on and you inherit his earldom nearby, which gives you enough points to create a duchy and fight wars for claims on nearby earldoms. It might be a little too easy for some people, though, and many people complain about not knowing what to do after uniting Ireland.

Personally, my first playthrough was as one of the few Christian counts in Sweden, and it was pretty enjoyable, though you always have to worry about Norway. A lot of people suggest playing as Denmark, because you start off really small but have plenty of opportunities to expand.

 

[Talq]

Everyone says "don't play in Spain." Well, I'm playing in Spain (León->León+Castille->Destroy León title->Castille) for my current (and first) game. I find it fun, but there is certainly a lot happening. I don't have much to compare it to to know how hard a start it is for a newb, but I still exist and have even grown a bit in the early thirteenth century, so it can't be a complete lost cause. IIRC all the Christian kingdoms of Spain at the 1066 start belong to the same dynasty, which means a lot of opportunities for inheritance if you play your cards right.

Thats part of the problem for Spain as a learning game, as everything is thrown at you usually in the form of 3 holy wars in the first month, a few extra holy wars as the Muslims return the favour and Leon assassinating his relatives (Intrigue 19 and not afraid to use it!). Although as Leon, you don't have the joy of Leon killing you, or half the other kings and starting a revolt in the unified kingdom.

 

[SamStarrett]

Thats part of the problem for Spain as a learning game, as everything is thrown at you usually in the form of 3 holy wars in the first month, a few extra holy wars as the Muslims return the favour and Leon assassinating his relatives (Intrigue 19 and not afraid to use it!). Although as Leon, you don't have the joy of Leon killing you, or half the other kings and starting a revolt in the unified kingdom.

Well, I've found the HRE to usually be more than happy to help curbstomp the Moslems. Haven't lost a defensive Holy War yet. And obviously, as you say, León doesn't have to worry about being assassinated by León. My first king did lose the crown to his sister, but his son won it back and it's been smooth sailing from there (except that my wives aren't very creative about names; I think I've had one ruler not named Alfonso.)