In the later patches, the user interface has been improving to help reduce surprises - and the game mechanics as well. The game does give you guidance in the form of alert bubbles in the upper left of the screen, informing you of the things it thinks are most relevant, and paying attention to those can at least show you what you might want to think about. Even after you've learned the basics, you'll still find yourself wondering: if I declare a holy war, will it cost me diplomatic power to annex territory or not? And it's often hard - certainly in ironman mode - to undo decisions, so small mistakes and misclicks can end up costing you a lot.

You crush them and bring them under your control - and suddenly you find revolutions popping up everywhere. You start again and this time you find a weak neighbor with no allies. You start over as a bigger country and attack a smaller neighbor - and suddenly you're in a war against several large countries at once. You have a country and three thousand infantrymen - what can you do? You decide to attack your neighbor - and they cut you down like reeds. Steep learning curve When you start out, it can be overwhelming.

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