Europa Universalis Gameplay
2The game has been formed to begin historically, with events occurring when they did in history. The game itself is an interactive map of Earth divided into the provinces that compose nations. Each of these provinces contribute to their country either positively or negatively, as provinces can both provide resources to a nation and serve as a point of unrest and rebellion. At the beginning of the game many provinces are considered "uncolonised" and are meant to represent possible land colonisable by other nations. The gameplay requires the player to lead a nation by finding a balance of military, diplomacy, and economy. The player does so through their choices as sovereign of their nation, and the spending of resources available to them: prestige, power projection, stability, gold (ducats), manpower, legitimacy for monarchies, republican tradition for republics, devotion for theocracies, horde unity for steppe nomads, meritocracy for celestial empires, and monarch power (administrative, diplomatic, and military).
Players can choose to conquer the world by military might, become a colonial superpower, establish trade dominance, etc. as one of over 500 different nations. These nations range alphabetically from Aachen to Zuni.[3] The game is a sandbox environment; while there is no strict rule on winning the game, the game of the player is over when the player's nation is removed, or annexed, from the map or the date reaches the year 1821. Diplomacy is a large aspect of the game, as creating alliances (or vassal states and tributaries), improving opinions, and preventing defensive coalitions are vital to a player's survival. Espionage can also be employed against enemy states to claim their territory or incite rebellion in their provinces, along with other dubious ends. Combat can be waged on both land and sea, during which the game attempts to simulate real-world factors such as morale, discipline, varying unit types with associated strengths and weaknesses, competency of leaders, terrain, and supply lines. Trade is also an important part of the game, where the world is divided into many trade nodes, and trade flows through each of the nodes and can be collected by merchants.
Many major religions, such as Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Sunni, and Shia, are present in the game and can provide distinct bonuses to their practitioners. Players can employ missionaries to convert their provinces or can engage in policies of universal religious freedom. For example, the Catholic faith makes use of the Papacy, which can allow a nation to have control over the Pope or to use its influence for other rewards. Native American and Aboriginal religions are also present in the game, most commonly utilizing a system of selecting a bonus for the lifetime of the present monarch.
Furthermore, many of the world's institutions, from feudalism to industrialization, are also present in the game.[4] Institutions normally begin around a certain year, and begin spreading through provinces. The rate of institution spread and where the institution spawns are malleable to player actions. The institution coincides with increasing the price of technology, as the lack of an embraced institution increases the cost of corresponding technological levels. Once reaching requirements, usually consisting of a ducat cost and a certain amount of institutions present in the player's provinces, the player can embrace the institution. An embracement gives an institution-specific nation bonus, as well as purging any technological maluses that the lack of institution may have incurred.
Technological advancements are invested in over time, and require the expense of monarch points. They provide benefits to the nation as detailed below: