I just thought it would be a good idea to have a thread about your most frustrating games. Not those where you ragequit but where you're stubbornly moving on until you finally fail.
So here is mine: Hungarian ironman game.
On day 0 Bohemia, Poland, Venice, Aragon makes me rival. Venice, Poland, Aragon allied with Austria. Austria gets a heir after a few days. That excludes any expansion to the North or West, because attacking any of my possible targets would mean I have to face at least Poland, Austria and Venice in the same war. Not having any other option, I was forced to ally up with Austria. As a bonus I allied to France as well. I was no other option than to go with the Hunyadi family line and to expand to the South, as usual, occupying Ragusa and Bosnia, keeping Serbia and Wallachia as vassals. I also took Romagna from the Papal State, but I couldn't extend my reign any further because Tuscany occupied Ancona and any attack would mean drawing in Austria, Aragon, Venice, Poland. TO gets destroyed by Poland-Lithuania-Austria, Muscovy considered e too distant to be an ally. Sweet...
In ~1500 my heir dies, most of the non-Hungarian provinces change to protestant, religious turmoil. No matter, still has Austria and France as allies (I managed to reopen any lost alliance when I was forced to join ether of them against the other in war), and my ruler is under 30, he'll produce a heir and I'm gonna avoid the succession war between HAB and FRA.
Or did I?
In the next 20 years 2 comets, nobles want recompensation (3 times in 20 years!), ruler dies. I still thought I can make this work. France won the war, I got PUd under him, it still could work if we stomp Austria. I was building up my provinces, finally converting back heretics. BOOM! France allies with Muscovy who has military access through everyone. Bye-bye independence war!
(Note: Austria was still allied to Venice and Poland, as they were through the whole game)
And the final blow: After being drawn into many idiotic wars by France, there came something I will never understand: Swedish-Danish war, we're drawn in, just before I decide to try to break free. Bohemia is also drawn in. France completely ignores me, Bohemia's stacks get insane bonus, and a demigod leader, so even though they are 2 levels behind me in MIL, they roflstomp everything I could throw at them. They occupy half my country, no army, bankruptcy and finally: my dear overlord presents half of my country to Bohemia, because f*** that's why!
This was the most tedious, irritating game I have ever played! I had no room to expand anywhere, one side the OE, the other the megacoalition of Austria. Stab hit events struck every 5 years... I don't even think I made any gamebreaking mistake, but there was simply no way to make a good step, nor I had the ability to jump into a war I could win by compensating with being the player.
I'm sure you all have some similare experiences. Don't hold them back, rant away!
So here is mine: Hungarian ironman game.
On day 0 Bohemia, Poland, Venice, Aragon makes me rival. Venice, Poland, Aragon allied with Austria. Austria gets a heir after a few days. That excludes any expansion to the North or West, because attacking any of my possible targets would mean I have to face at least Poland, Austria and Venice in the same war. Not having any other option, I was forced to ally up with Austria. As a bonus I allied to France as well. I was no other option than to go with the Hunyadi family line and to expand to the South, as usual, occupying Ragusa and Bosnia, keeping Serbia and Wallachia as vassals. I also took Romagna from the Papal State, but I couldn't extend my reign any further because Tuscany occupied Ancona and any attack would mean drawing in Austria, Aragon, Venice, Poland. TO gets destroyed by Poland-Lithuania-Austria, Muscovy considered e too distant to be an ally. Sweet...
In ~1500 my heir dies, most of the non-Hungarian provinces change to protestant, religious turmoil. No matter, still has Austria and France as allies (I managed to reopen any lost alliance when I was forced to join ether of them against the other in war), and my ruler is under 30, he'll produce a heir and I'm gonna avoid the succession war between HAB and FRA.
Or did I?
In the next 20 years 2 comets, nobles want recompensation (3 times in 20 years!), ruler dies. I still thought I can make this work. France won the war, I got PUd under him, it still could work if we stomp Austria. I was building up my provinces, finally converting back heretics. BOOM! France allies with Muscovy who has military access through everyone. Bye-bye independence war!
(Note: Austria was still allied to Venice and Poland, as they were through the whole game)
And the final blow: After being drawn into many idiotic wars by France, there came something I will never understand: Swedish-Danish war, we're drawn in, just before I decide to try to break free. Bohemia is also drawn in. France completely ignores me, Bohemia's stacks get insane bonus, and a demigod leader, so even though they are 2 levels behind me in MIL, they roflstomp everything I could throw at them. They occupy half my country, no army, bankruptcy and finally: my dear overlord presents half of my country to Bohemia, because f*** that's why!
This was the most tedious, irritating game I have ever played! I had no room to expand anywhere, one side the OE, the other the megacoalition of Austria. Stab hit events struck every 5 years... I don't even think I made any gamebreaking mistake, but there was simply no way to make a good step, nor I had the ability to jump into a war I could win by compensating with being the player.
I'm sure you all have some similare experiences. Don't hold them back, rant away!
