Take some time to enjoy an immersive and comprehensive dive into defining European history as you play Europe Universalis. But where do I start? Time, you’ll need it! Do you like long games? Do you like strategy games that are complex and involved? If you do, Europa Universalis may be right for you. Admittedly it isn’t for everyone, but then that’s ok, there’s a place for long complicated games, even if you don’t normally play them.
When we decided to play this monster, my games group set aside a day to play it as part of a self-catering board games retreat. That was after all what the retreat was designed to incorporate, the opportunity to play multiple games and especially the longer ones that otherwise wouldn’t hit the table with any regularity.
Overview
In Europa Univeralis, you play one of Europe’s great nations through a period of history from 1444, in the aftermath of the Ottoman victory at the Battle of Varna, through over three hundred years to the early modern era. At the heart of Europe lies the Holy Roman Empire, and amongst the rivals are the likes of England, France, Castille and the Ottomans. All are vying for supremacy. To win the game a player must have the most prestige points which can be scored in a variety of ways such as completing missions and milestones, power struggles, ideas and events. This is not a game about pure conquest or territorial control, although both have their important places. The map board looks very different to the typical game maps of Europe set in later years as in Europa Universalis during the time period in question, Europe is far more fragmented.
Sequence of play
The game is divided into different ages, and each age consists of four rounds and each round is split into five phases. These phases resolve events, allow players to take actions, resolve any peace and rebellion, income and upkeep and then clean-up. This is well organised and clearly structured. I found the difficulty in playing is more about becoming familiar with the rules and options available and being efficient with my actions, but this is simply overcome through playing and practice.
As you play, you’ll realise how actions work and the impact of your decisions. The events help create uncertainty for planning and variation of play and they do help direct a player’s strategy, which can be seen as a positive or negative depending on whether you like missions and objectives. Personally, I like this as it allows success to come from actions other than warfare, although if opponents are aware of your aims, they could take actions to thwart them. Warfare though shouldn’t be ignored as although a costly investment in terms of finance and actions, it is still a prime method of increasing territory and influence. Let’s face it, many players enjoy the ability to move troops around and conquer new territories so the wargaming aspect is there to enjoy.
Expansion
To succeed you have to expand your realm, whether through warfare, political machinations, trade or colonies. You also cannot ignore religion as this can have a beneficial or detrimental impact on your plans as your people are devout and they need to be placated, although religious turmoil in enemy states is something to be encouraged. Expansion is key because this will increase your wealth and military potential. As part of your expansionist plans, colonising the new world is important if you can manage it as this in part can help achieve missions.
Politics
I think at the heart of the game is the political scheming and interaction with other players. We found this crucial and inevitable that you ignore this at your peril. It can be fun or it can be troublesome, but it can’t be forgotten that doing deals, having understandings is part of the game in addition to the political mechanics such as royal marriages and alliances.
The deluxe version, components and rules
The overall aesthetics of the game are appealing and the components enhance this with wooden pieces and overall, visually this is a very nice game to play. The components are good quality and give that feeling that your money has paid for an enhanced game experience, which after all is what any deluxe variant should offer. You get a lot for the money.
It is not cheap, but the game isn’t either and it feels and looks a very good game. The cards refer to historical events which adds to the immersion and players must adapt to accommodate the changing tides of fate. Every game will be different in the details and I like this feature. The rules are comprehensive in many ways and are a much-required investment to learn and appreciate gameplay options.
Summary
Despite the price, if you like this type of game or if you are eager to try it out as something new, I would recommend it on the condition you are happy to set aside the time to play and are prepared potentially for multiple plays (to make the purchase feel more justified if nothing else).
The game is long enough that learning on the job does work, but there is still little room for trial and error and the learning curve is steep. This may put some players off, but honestly although my first game was mostly focused on learning and trying, I still found I improved during the game despite errors and not appreciating what I could do.
It isn’t for the faint-hearted, but then this game is aimed at players who enjoy the longer immersive experience. That said, I wouldn’t want to deter others. The game is very long, definitely too long for some, but I think a game that can easily be learnt with patience and investment and become a satisfying experience. A game for the connoisseur certainly, but one that can still be enjoyed by others too for an epic experience.