Games

Babbies first /gsg/
So you want to start playing Grand Strategy games like all the other armchair dictators eh? Well you've come to the right place. Grand strategy games vary heavily on their gameplay focus and each one will give you a unique way of handling a country.

Europa Universalis 3
Difficulty - Easy

Time Period - 1399 - 1820

Modding Community - Large

Decisively one of the easier Grand Strategy games to get into. It starts out in the beginnings of the rennaissance and plays through to just before the industrial revolution. Because of the wide time frame, most players tend to get bored around the 1600 mark.

Victoria 2
Difficulty - Medium

Time Period - 1836 - 1936

Modding Community - Small but dedicated.

Victoria 2, while not as simple as Europa Universalis 3, is also fairly easy to handle. It plays out the industrial revolution through to right before the second World War. Many people are afraid of this because of the pops and all that, but in reality it doesn't really matter so in technical terms as it is just a fun tool. If you're new you should try and put someone in power who is Lasseize Faire, that way you wont have to worry about factories.

Wiki page here

Hearts of Iron
Difficulty - Hard

Time Period - 1912-1964 (max playable in one game is 20-30 years without mods)

Modding Community - Virtually non-existant

It's recommended you don't start on Hearts of Iron 3, rather you should start on Darkest Hour. Darkest Hour is a fine introduction to Grand Strategy and holds some nice war sim mechanics. It plays out two different scenarios, the first World War and the Second World War (which goes to the beginning of the cold war). The good thing about Darkest Hour is that the mechanics are easy to pick up.

Ultimate babby mode
If you find all these too hard, then stick to the ultimate babby mode /gsg/ that is Knights of Honor. It was made by a now defunct Bulgarian company so don't feel bad about pirating it. It's mechanics are super user friendly and you will find growing your empire to be incredibly easy. Fun for beginners.