History VideoGame / EuropaUniversalis

* BalkaniseMe: A prime strategy of the English against the French. France has dozens of releaseable states making up over 75% of their territory. You can reduce France to the Ile-de-France and numerous minor countries over the course of two wars if you completely defeat them in both. Spain and England, along with several other nations, can also suffer this fate; England can lose Northumberland, Wales, Normandy (Calais) and Cornwall as sovereign nations. Castile only has to worry about Galicia, a single province state in their northwest, but once it becomes Spain it adds Granada, Aragon and Catalonia to the mix. Sweden has Finland to worry about, the Teutonic Order Gotland, the Ottomans various nations including just about the whole empire if they are unlucky enough to suffer a smashing after subduing the Byzantine Empire, and the Mongols and Timurids frequently collapse just trying to keep their various resurging nationals under control.

** In addition, some of Gotland's ships have weird names, in Swedish of course: Spain is not the Emperor, Comet Sighted, Sweden is OP, etc.

''Europa Universalis'' has you take control of a nation from roughly 1400 to the early 1800's. There are dozens of playable nations although some are more playable than others. While not ''every'' nation is in the game, a good chunk of them are, and so apart from standbys like France or Britain you can try your hand at a world conquest as the Iroquois or the sultanate of Makassar.

''Europa Universalis'' is closely linked to three other series of grand strategy games, all of them made by Paradox: ''VideoGame/CrusaderKings'', ''VideoGame/VictoriaAnEmpireUnderTheSun'' and ''VideoGame/HeartsOfIron''. Theoretically, they can all be played in one big historically chronological succession thanks to a pretty brilliant (though somewhat buggy) OldSaveBonus system created by the developers.

** The unification of larger nation-states is something the AI & game mechanics prevent from happening historically. Russia and Spain, particularly, will almost never form at the appropriate time. Sometimes the effect is reversed - Great Britain tends to form centuries early.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Several minor countries at the beginning of the game can become world powers by the end. For example, Portugal, even under the AI, can become a force to be reckoned with due to their [[TrueNeutral unwillingness to get involved in Europe]] and their [[TruthInTelevision proclivity towards colonisation]].

** Sadly, many reviewers and fans consider the last one to be a DolledUpInstallment and TheScrappy of the series. The ExpansionPack made it much better.

-->"[[WhatAnIdiot It's likely just harmless talk.]]"
-->'''[=EU2=]'s Chinese "[[HistoricalInJoke The White Lotus Rebellion]]" event'''

''EuropaUniversalis'' is a series of historical [[TurnBasedStrategy turn-based]] / [[RealTimeStrategy real-time]] FourX grand strategy games for the PC and Mac (based [[ArtifactTitle increasingly loosely]] on a licensed French [[BoardGames board game]]). The games are produced, developed and published by ParadoxInteractive.

** A more Asian-themed version, ''Europa Universalis : Asia Chapters'' [[NoExportForYou was released separately for the Asian gaming market]].

** And its four expansions : ''Napoleon's Ambition'', ''In Nomine'', ''Heir to the Throne'', and ''Divine Wind''.
* And an [[AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent Roman Antiquity-themed]] SpinOff, ''Europa Universalis : Rome'' (2008)

''EuropaUniversalis'' has you take control of a nation from roughly 1400 to the early 1800's. There are dozens of playable nations although some are more playable than others. While not ''every'' nation is in the game, a good chunk of them are, and so apart from standbys like France or Britain you can try your hand at a world conquest as the Iroquois or the sultanate of Makassar.

The games have a history of buggy releases and somewhat impenetrable interface with a variety of concepts not being adequately explained by game documentation (sometimes because they weren't ''in'' the original release version...) making the learning curve something of a learning cliff, and this is arguably the ''least'' complex of the ParadoxInteractive strategy games.

''Europa Universalis'' is closely linked to three other series of grand strategy games, all of them made by Paradox : ''CrusaderKings'', ''VictoriaAnEmpireUnderTheSun'' and ''HeartsOfIron''. Theoretically, they can all be played in one big historically chronological succession thanks to a pretty brilliant (though somewhat buggy) OldSaveBonus system created by the developers.

** The fourth game tries to balance the pros and cons of this system by introducing special historical event chains for certain missions. For example, every nation can descend into civil war if a king dies without heir, but if the same happens in England at a certain time frame the game will trigger a WarOfTheRoses event chain. Similarly, if Russia did not westernize after a certain date but is ruled by a competent king, an event chain might trigger that simulates the modernization reforms enacted by PeterTheGreat.

* EventFlag: There are a wide variety of events in the game, some are random, most have some kind of trigger. In the earlier games some were "Historical" and would trigger for certain countries in order to recreate certain historical events, such as the Habsburg inheritance of Hungary. These were removed in [=EU III=] (though restored in some of the {{Game Mod}}s, with more complex trigger conditions to ensure that historical events only happen when the conditions are appropriate); whether that is a good thing or not is a matter for debate

* And a fourth instalment is now in the works (creatively called ''Europa Universalis IV'') set for release late 2013.

* TheLateMiddleAges

* AlternateHistory: A popular reason for loving the game series is because of the ability to "correct" things that went "wrong" in real history. A lot of it is really funny, especially when the player has had nothing to do with it. Some examples: Milan blobbed all over Europe, England eaten by Northumberland, Protestant Syria, the landlocked African nation of Sokoto winding up in control of Burma, and Ming China wandering around Egypt in the early 1400s. This has led to the concept of "hands-off games", where the player picks an out-of-the-way nation like Ceylon and disables popups, then leaves the game running for a few hours and comes back to see what [[HilarityEnsues hilarity has ensued]].

-->'''[=EU2=]'s Chinese "[[HistoricalInJoke The White Lotus Rebellion]]" event'''

''EuropaUniversalis'' is a series of historical [[TurnBasedStrategy turn-based]] / [[RealTimeStrategy real-time]] FourX grand strategy games for the PC and Mac (based [[ArtifactTitle increasingly loosely]] on a licensed French [[BoardGames board game]]). The games are produced, developed and published by ParadoxInteractive.

* BreakMeter : Most battles are won not by destroying every single unit the enemy's army has, but by lowering their morale so they flee the battlefield.

* CivilWarcraft: You WILL suffer from revolts or civil wars. Your enemies will suffer from {{Enemy Civil War}}s. It comes with the time period.

* HegemonicEmpire: As typical of ParadoxInteractive games, there are mechanics for expanding through peaceful vassalization and annexation.

* MissionFromGod: Three examples: The Holy War casus belli, the Deus Vult national idea and the mission mechanic flavor text: "God's will has been revealed to us !"

** In ''[=EU III=]'', once Aragón learns about said province, it can get the mission [[LordOfTheRings "Become King of Gonder"]]. [[StealthPun Yeah, notice what they did there...]].
*** ''Heir to the Throne'' expanded on the theme with the addition of the Turkish Beylik of Saruhan... and their flag featuring a white hand. (Needless to say, Aragon now can get "Defeat Saruhan" as a mission, too).

* TooGoodForThisSinfulEarth: There is a sentiment on the forums that leaders with good stats are destined to die young, while cruddy leaders will persist for decades.

* VestigialEmpire:
** The Byzantine Empire is the classic example in the games where it shows up. Trying to restore it to its former glory is a popular pastime for skilled and ambitious players.

* WarForFunAndProfit : Some Casus Belli encourage the player to demand money instead of lands, as part of the peace treaty.

* XMeetsY : It's pretty much ''{{Civilization}}'' meets ''{{Risk}}'' !

* KillItWithIce: Attrition is higher during winter in frozen provinces, this combined with a scorched-earth strategy can deeply decimate a superiour enemy army. The RealLife campaings in Russia can thus be simulated. (General Winter)

* EventFlag: There are a wide variety of events in the game, some are random, most have some kind of trigger. In the earlier games some were "Historical" and would trigger for certain countries in order to recreate certain historical events, such as the Habsburg inheritance of Hungary. These were removed in [=EU III=] (though restored in some of the {{Game Mod}}s, with more complex trigger conditions to ensure that historical events only happen when the conditions are appropriate); whether that is a good thing or not [[YourMileageMayVary is a matter for debate]]

* [=~What The Hell, Player?~=]: The reputation ("badboy" or "infamy") mechanic is supposed to be this. Aggressive acts (annexing nations, declaring wars without ''casus belli'', taking territories that you don't have cores on) add badboy points to your reputation score. If you keep your aggression in moderation, your score will eventually go down with time; however, if you go on a conquering binge, don't be surprised if all your neighbors suddenly decide to gang up on you all at once.

* ArbitraryHeadcountLimit: Averted, you can have an undefined number of soldiers and ships, being actually able to pay and support them is the only constraint. You can bankrupt yourself if you like. There is however a soft limit based on your manpower, nation politics and traded goods that makes costs greater then normal if you go over it.

* BalkaniseMe: A prime strategy of the English against the French. France has dozens of releaseable states making up over 75% of their territory. You can reduce France to the Ile-de-France and numerous minor countries over the course of two wars if you completely defeat them in both. Spain and England, along with several other nations, can also suffer this fate; England can lose Northumberland, Wales, Normandy (Calais) and Cornwall as sovereign nations. Spain only has to worry about Galicia, a single province state in their northwest. Sweden has Finland to worry about, the Teutonic Order Gotland, the Ottomans various nations including just about the whole empire if they are unlucky enough to suffer a smashing after subduing the Byzantine Empire, and the Mongols and Timurids frequently collapse just trying to keep their various resurging nationals under control.

* RidiculouslyFastConstruction: Averted, buildings take a year or more to be completed and soldier need some months to be recruited, and more than usual if there are internal dissent in your provicnes.

* + Another SelfImposedChallenge is trying to keep the hopelessly declining Timurid Empire and Golden Horde from disintegrating; in particular, a Timurid Empire that morphs into the Mughal Empire with most of its territory intact is truly a force to be reckoned with.

* AdUrbeCondita: The AlternativeCalendar used in Europa Universalis: Rome, regardless of the nation being ruled.

* VestigialEmpire: The Byzantine Empire is the classic example in the games where it shows up. Trying to restore it to its former glory is a popular pastime for skilled and ambitious players. Another SelfImposedChallenge is trying to keep the hopelessly declining Timurid Empire and Golden Horde from disintegrating; in particular, a Timurid Empire that morphs into the Mughal Empire with most of its territory intact is truly a force to be reckoned with.

** The game's mechanics for colonization practically encourage genocide as a means of stopping native attacks on your settlements.

** Most notably, in ''Divine Wind'' Japan is divided up into warring clans, as it was historically. However, at start, it's divided up as it was in 1180, at the start of the Genpei War. However, the game begins in 1399.

* [=~What The Hell, Player?~=]: The reputation ("badboy" or "infamy") mechanic is supposed to be this. Aggressive acts (annexing nations, declaring wars without ''casus belli'', taking territories that you don't have cores on) add badboy points to your reputation score. If you keep your aggression in moderation, your score will eventually go down with time; however, if you go on a conquering binge, don't be surprised if all your neighbors suddenly decide to gang up on you all at once.