Author: Jeff Vitous
Introduction
The year is 1492. Christopher Columbus has just embarked for unknown points west. The Middle Ages are giving way to the Renaissance. The Holy Roman Empire has been reduced to a vague concept.Trade between the east and west is setting the stage for what will become a global economy. Early firearms are beginning to replace pole arms and swords. Religious intolerance heralds the coming Reformation. And Europa Universalis begins.Created by Swedish developer Paradox Entertainment, Europa Universalis is modeled after a board game of the same name. It can be best described as a very historical empire-building game. Students of history who enjoy the Civilization or Imperialism games will appreciate the leap of complexity and accuracy found in Europa Universalis. The game abstractly represents politics, religion, war, science, exploration, colonization, trade, and infrastructure development over three centuries. While these abstract systems taken alone are not terribly complex, the interrelationships between each form a deep environment where every move must be considered from multiple angles.
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Christopher Columbus heads west, into the great unknown. Only explorers can sail into the white fog. |
Missions help direct the strategy your nation will follow. |
Documentary Documentation
Our preview disk came with a 113-page word document containing the text of the manual, the entirety that will hopefully ship in hard copy with the game. This is no mere bathroom reading material, folks. While the game mechanics couldn’t be simpler considering the scope of the game, a vague understanding of the history of this period is insufficient for successful play. It is important for a historical game that doesn’t tread the same beaten path to educate and provide context so the player fully understands and appreciates concepts and procedures. The Europa Universalis manual does this better than any I’ve read to date.
Take for instance the issues of religion in the game. The only real definitive actions the player may take regarding religion concern setting of tolerance toward other religions, and the changing of state religions. The manual enumerates in detail the major religions covered in this game (Catholicism, Counter-reformed Catholicism, Protestant, Orthodox, Reformist, Sunni Muslim, Shia Muslim, and the ever-popular Pagan). The manual also explains under what circumstances the player may wish to change state religion, and when they may wish to show tolerance or intolerance toward other religions. Religion affects other nation’s perceptions of your nation, and can raise or lower relations. Changing religion can also be very disruptive to your country, causing widespread rebellion. The manual covers this in discussions on state and provincial religion, religious tolerance, the effect of religion on foreign policy, the effect on domestic policy, and the conversion of subjects by military or missionary means. There is also a section covering four major religious events that mark the time period covered by this game – the Reformation, Jean Calvin, The Council of Trent, and the Edict of Tolerance. All in all, these sections on religion amount to more than 3300 words of text, or about twice the length of this preview.
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Europe, awaiting domination. |
The Polish Empire (before dismantlement) |
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