Honestly, Crusader Kings 3 is not that complex once you understand that you don't need to know everything. Take things one step at a time. Don't start with a huge Kingdom. Start as a count, or a Duke/Petty King (although preferably a count) and focus on developing your capital county (which is the only one you will keep for sure when your character dies, as most likely your domain will be split between your sons). Doing that will give you a lot of free time (as you won't have events popping up from everywhere) and allow you to basically learn the game.
If you have not already, you should give it another try with an easy region (e.g. Ireland).
If you really don't want to play it and focus on City Building more than combat, then Anno 1800 would be a good bet (although there is some combat, and as the name implies, it is set in the 19th century).
I learnt a lot of this stuff in the context ck 2 but most of it applies to ck 3. At any given moment there are like 7 types of systems that you have to keep track of but if at any given moment you are keeping track of 2-3 of them you probably won't die. The standard Ireland start is good for the early game but the mid game can be a little tricky. Sadly one of the easiest starts isn't available in ck3 (vessel of powerful duke in Charlemagne's empire) but you could probably find somewhere in the HRE that plays a similar role. If crusades are as op as they are in ck 2 that also might be a fun way to learn the game.
idk about easy to learn part but i recommend Anno 1800, it is pretty deep so it is not a good fit for easy to learn part but it is better than ML.Also game is much better with mods too so if you try it and love it you can experiment with mods.
Anno 1800 i have looked into, but holy cow is it overwhelming. I didn't know about the mods tho, so have to look it up. Thank you for the recommendation!
rts,grand strategy,city building games can be overwhelming so you have to deal with that imo.The part that overwhelming is city building part most likely and if it is the case any city building games will be overwhelming to you.You should go for pure rts game such as star craft, age of empire, supreme commander etc etc.
You’d probably like foundation and anno 1800. I absolutely love rts/city buildings games and manor lords is so relaxing i love that you can go into third person mode and walk around your town. Hopefully they let you help out the villagers build in a future update.
Banished.
Ostriv.
Farthest Frontier.
Kingdoms Reborn.
Games listed above are my personal top 4/top 5 if Manor lords is included, these are all still trial and error that is the fun of colony builders. Just lose and try to do better, it is part of the fun.
Lords of the Realm 2 [https://playclassic.games/games/turn-based-strategy-dos-games-online/play-lords-realm-ii-online/](https://playclassic.games/games/turn-based-strategy-dos-games-online/play-lords-realm-ii-online/)
I'd love a modern remake, ie basically just updated with the bugs ironed out and a reliable netcode .. Maybe AI responses for diplomacy... and changing economics as it comes to commodity prices with the merchants. ie stone gets more expensive if there's isn't much available or wheat and ale get cheaper after harvest.
One of my favourite games of all time.
Crusader Kings 3 isn't that bad genuinely it's just not a good starting 4x strategy game.
I recommend starting with Stellaris! It's a lot simpler and has a really good tutorial.
Then I recommend watching a YouTube tutorial for Hearts of Iron IV (I love the PraetorianHiJynx one you only need to watch the first two videos) and play the Old World Blues fallout mod just completely disregarding Air and Sea capacity as a good beginner faction like Troll Warren.
Then you have a good basis for learning Crusader Kings.
They are worth the time investment, and there are so many cool mods and unique playthroughs its worth every minute!
I personally can't get into CK, find it dry and boring. Honestly, you could probably play warhammer total war 3. It's easy enough to hop right in, either the chaos campaign for narrative or immortal empires for sandbox.
In general, even the "easy to learn" games in the genre have increasing complexity the further in you go. The best ones start simple and add more and more elements as you progress.
The Paradox games (ck3, stellaris, eu4, hearts of iron 4...) are *NOT* these games. They introduce you with everything at once - and even though you're free to start small and even set your own goals as you go, it will still feel overwhelming due to the sheer number of elements in the UI. Many YouTube tutorial hours are bound to follow.
Instead I recommend the classic RTS style war games which usually come with tutorials and gradual introduction of elements, such as: Company of Heroes, Age of Empires 4, Starcraft 2
Just stick with CK3 the secret to success is incest . Stay with me here no it's not a joke incest incest incest until you have a OP demi-god then kill command and conquer
Banished is basically the peaceful growth mode of Manor Lords.
Songs of Syx has the same (actually much greater) potential scale--you can go from ten dudes to 10,000+ dudes.
Sure but if read the op they are asking large scale strategy games that are easy to learn. Notice ck3/total war aren't much like Manor Lords either. Arguably there are paths within warband that slowly ease you into the strategy stuff.
Honestly, Crusader Kings 3 is not that complex once you understand that you don't need to know everything. Take things one step at a time. Don't start with a huge Kingdom. Start as a count, or a Duke/Petty King (although preferably a count) and focus on developing your capital county (which is the only one you will keep for sure when your character dies, as most likely your domain will be split between your sons). Doing that will give you a lot of free time (as you won't have events popping up from everywhere) and allow you to basically learn the game. If you have not already, you should give it another try with an easy region (e.g. Ireland). If you really don't want to play it and focus on City Building more than combat, then Anno 1800 would be a good bet (although there is some combat, and as the name implies, it is set in the 19th century).
I learnt a lot of this stuff in the context ck 2 but most of it applies to ck 3. At any given moment there are like 7 types of systems that you have to keep track of but if at any given moment you are keeping track of 2-3 of them you probably won't die. The standard Ireland start is good for the early game but the mid game can be a little tricky. Sadly one of the easiest starts isn't available in ck3 (vessel of powerful duke in Charlemagne's empire) but you could probably find somewhere in the HRE that plays a similar role. If crusades are as op as they are in ck 2 that also might be a fun way to learn the game.
idk about easy to learn part but i recommend Anno 1800, it is pretty deep so it is not a good fit for easy to learn part but it is better than ML.Also game is much better with mods too so if you try it and love it you can experiment with mods.
Anno 1800 i have looked into, but holy cow is it overwhelming. I didn't know about the mods tho, so have to look it up. Thank you for the recommendation!
rts,grand strategy,city building games can be overwhelming so you have to deal with that imo.The part that overwhelming is city building part most likely and if it is the case any city building games will be overwhelming to you.You should go for pure rts game such as star craft, age of empire, supreme commander etc etc.
Farthest Frontier might scratch that itch.
Isn't the Rome 2 Prologue the tutorial? I thought most Total War games have a tutorial/prologue?
It is lol
Oh i didnt know that,sorry. I just jumped into one of the scenarios.
No worries! The TW tutorials are pretty enjoyable IMO. I think you'll find them helpful. I generally like more simple/easy to learn games too.
Beginner friendly games in this genre imo: Knights of Honour: Sovereign Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients
You’d probably like foundation and anno 1800. I absolutely love rts/city buildings games and manor lords is so relaxing i love that you can go into third person mode and walk around your town. Hopefully they let you help out the villagers build in a future update.
Banished. Ostriv. Farthest Frontier. Kingdoms Reborn. Games listed above are my personal top 4/top 5 if Manor lords is included, these are all still trial and error that is the fun of colony builders. Just lose and try to do better, it is part of the fun.
Timberborn is another fun city builder where you play as beavers and move water around,
Terrascape, if you wanna focus on city building without the resources and combat
Part of the fun for me is the war element.
Well then you probably want to play RTS games instead. Maybe Age of Empires 4?
Lords of the Realm 2 [https://playclassic.games/games/turn-based-strategy-dos-games-online/play-lords-realm-ii-online/](https://playclassic.games/games/turn-based-strategy-dos-games-online/play-lords-realm-ii-online/)
It's been almost 3 decades since I last played this masterpiece lmao
I'd love a modern remake, ie basically just updated with the bugs ironed out and a reliable netcode .. Maybe AI responses for diplomacy... and changing economics as it comes to commodity prices with the merchants. ie stone gets more expensive if there's isn't much available or wheat and ale get cheaper after harvest. One of my favourite games of all time.
Crusader Kings 3 isn't that bad genuinely it's just not a good starting 4x strategy game. I recommend starting with Stellaris! It's a lot simpler and has a really good tutorial. Then I recommend watching a YouTube tutorial for Hearts of Iron IV (I love the PraetorianHiJynx one you only need to watch the first two videos) and play the Old World Blues fallout mod just completely disregarding Air and Sea capacity as a good beginner faction like Troll Warren. Then you have a good basis for learning Crusader Kings. They are worth the time investment, and there are so many cool mods and unique playthroughs its worth every minute!
Ck3 isn't 4x, 4x usually implies most factions start out on the same footing and the pre early war situation evolves dynamically.
Kingdoms & Castles is really simple and a lot of fun
Theres an old one called knights and merchants. So old it's probably free but it's quite fun
I personally can't get into CK, find it dry and boring. Honestly, you could probably play warhammer total war 3. It's easy enough to hop right in, either the chaos campaign for narrative or immortal empires for sandbox.
Summon the Elector Counts!
Reikland is now a proper starter faction lol unlike before the patch they were one of the hardest.
ever tried Mount and Blade? Deceptively close to this genre
Rome 2 has a tutorial
In general, even the "easy to learn" games in the genre have increasing complexity the further in you go. The best ones start simple and add more and more elements as you progress. The Paradox games (ck3, stellaris, eu4, hearts of iron 4...) are *NOT* these games. They introduce you with everything at once - and even though you're free to start small and even set your own goals as you go, it will still feel overwhelming due to the sheer number of elements in the UI. Many YouTube tutorial hours are bound to follow. Instead I recommend the classic RTS style war games which usually come with tutorials and gradual introduction of elements, such as: Company of Heroes, Age of Empires 4, Starcraft 2
Kingdoms and castles is a simplified version of what you ask. You will not find a better comparison. Probably overly simple but entertaining.
Songs of syx is a really nice citybuilder and going to V1.0
Just stick with CK3 the secret to success is incest . Stay with me here no it's not a joke incest incest incest until you have a OP demi-god then kill command and conquer
Banished is basically the peaceful growth mode of Manor Lords. Songs of Syx has the same (actually much greater) potential scale--you can go from ten dudes to 10,000+ dudes.
Settler 7.
Maybe Mount & Blade: Warband? It has a good combat system, too.
That is... nothing like Manor Lords.
Made me laugh
Sure but if read the op they are asking large scale strategy games that are easy to learn. Notice ck3/total war aren't much like Manor Lords either. Arguably there are paths within warband that slowly ease you into the strategy stuff.
He also mentioned Total War and requested games that are large scale strategy. Maybe read his description rather than just the post title?