Beginner's Guide to CK3 Even Grandma Would Understand

Grand strategy games are notoriously difficult to learn - Paradox seems to take this concept to an extreme. My goal with this Crusader Kings III video is to make a guide so simple to follow that even Grandma could learn to play. I've stripped away most of the game's mechanics and only showed what is absolutely necessary. We'll start as the lowest rank and quickly work our way to being a king all within 40 minutes!
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[@Strat-Guides]

If you want to see more CK3 guides, let me know! I'm already working on challenge videos, but there are enough people interested in learning the game I'll be happy to make a series of guides for this.

[@johnnystace2175]

Love this man! Also you misspelled the title. Might tick off a few people but otherwise love it!!!

[@Strat-Guides]

@@johnnystace2175 got it, it's fixed now! I appreciate the heads up

[@Winnie_Deanie]

W

[@Raspukek-fu8un]

da view count will say ya more bout ppl's wishes.

[@Bmattsoren]

Bring on the CK3 guides! I have ck2, and have been thinking about getting ck3 as well, so the more guides the better it is for me and my decision.

[@TacticatGaming]

Thanks bro, my Grandma just invaded wales thanks to your guide. This is high quality man, I don’t know how you organize these massive info rich guides. Well done!

[@Strat-Guides]

Haha why Wales?! Ottawa Welshman will hear of this... Thanks Tacticat!

[@TacticatGaming]

@@Strat-Guides To be honest i have an unhealthy obsession with conquering Wales. My Fathers side of the family originally came from Welsh nobility that was disgraced in the 1600's and fled to America. So in every game i play i stake my claim to the throne. Also i always attack Poland.

[@Strat-Guides]

@@TacticatGaming lol!

[@meadowpus]

Hopefully grandma will but the speed limit from 20mph back 30. Labour our grandma in

[@times7171]

lol

[@philjohnson1744]

If my grandma plays this, she'll be sure that all the Irish are good catholic boys.

[@Strat-Guides]

Lol well they start out as Insular, so she's got her work cut out for her :D

[@kingofcards9516]

Based grandma.

[@SomeTomfoolery]

Thank you SO MUCH for this! I just started recently, and while I love the idea of an open ended history game with no end goal, it's very overwhelming to try and get anything done. The tutorials are fairly well crafted but there's still so much it seems they can't teach you without otherwise overwhelming you. This is a huge help!

[@innieplays]

Thank you so much!! I have been looking for ages for a guide JUST like this! CK3 is such an incredible game, but it's HUGE and I find myself sitting there often not knowing what to do, so this was incredibly helpful! Please make more in this series! :D

[@BeefCurtain91]

My favorite strategy guy doing my most played game. Love it. There’s really not a top Ck3 KZbinr putting out consistent videos. Best of luck filling the niche!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks! It's such a fun game, I'm really excited to dive into the deep end on this one :)

[@wizardkevin101]

@@Strat-Guides I know you mentioned possibly doing Stellaris, it is JUST as dense as this game is in all different ways. This feels like a good segue into this type of game though from Bannerlord - I've not played any CK games but I look forward to watching and hoping one day you do cover Stellaris!

[@DaciaJC]

I absolutely love your deadpan sense of humor - please make more CK3 guides, I've always wanted to get into the game but it sounds pretty intimidating for a newbie. This video should help a ton!

[@bim_94]

I'm 5 minutes in and I had to pause to put CK3 on my Wishlist - excellent delivery this is the exact content I want when trying out a new game. I will return when I play the game! Excellent work yet again Strat!

[@Strat-Guides]

It's really a fun game and I highly recommend it! Be prepared to spend a couple dozen hours learning it, but of the Paradox games I've played I feel like this was the easiest to understand. Thanks Bim!

[@amogus360noscope3]

@@Strat-Guides hoi4 and city skylines are the only one I know

[@JuveVinny]

Stellaris is a great space 4X strat game by Paradox. Also Victoria and Europa Universalis is good as well. @@amogus360noscope3

[@reirad5307]

Hope u saw the sale!

[@LordMikau]

Man, thank you so much! I had tried playing like 3 different times and every time I would just get totally paralized trying to understand all the different dynamics and stuff and literally never even clicked unpause because I had no idea what to do. I took your advice (although I started with the Petty King Murchad campaign and things were a little bit different) and I quickly grabbed some land and have just created the Kingdom of Ireland. Thank you so much! Please make more CK3 guides.

[@Griff_Gaming]

Great stuff as always Strat! Haven't played this game myself but always fun to see your insight and strategy in these kinds of games!

[@alyssafaden9443]

a REALLY solid guide; TY. absolutely would love to see more and a continuation

[@ADWYETYATRIPATHYBEI]

Really excited to see this channel cover this game. Pdx games are just so complex and after self learning HOI4 I have lost all patience and really need someone to guide me through other games! Thanks again XD

[@digitalvictory8266]

This is wonderful! This is EXACTLY what I've been looking for! Something that shows me step-by-step how this game works and what I'm supposed to do! Thank you!

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm glad it was helpful!!

[@josephsalmon4948]

Strat. My dude. Perfect timing with a video AGAIN. I've been using your Bannerlord guides for ages, started CK3 for the first time last night but quickly gave up with all the new mechanics to learn. Knew I needed to watch some guides, then you drop this one on exactly the day I needed it. Thanks for all the work you put in man 👍

[@unit4039]

Just... WOW! This guide is so clear and well explained. Please, please, please do more CK3 videos! This was so informative and helped me a lot on my own first playthrough. Now that i've got armies and combat under my belt, i'd like to learn more about the management of domains, etc... Again, extremely well made video!

[@hidalgohouse3815]

Grandma said she spent more time pausing and rewinding than actually watching because he was going so fast!

[@Strat-Guides]

I have a habit of trying to cram as much as I can into a short video to respect people's time, but for videos like this it doesn't work as well. I'll work on it for the next one!

[@Kathayne636]

Great guide! Love how you keep it movin'.

[@Strat-Guides]

Glad it was helpful! I did the continuation to this (conquering all of Brittania) in another Grandma guide if you're interested :) It's split into 2 campaigns btw, it's not all one long video lol use the timestamps to find the spots you need most kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIDPeqptnqeksMk&ab_channel=StratGamingGuides

[@Userre]

I've always wanted to get into CK3, but it's always felt more complicated. Please do more of this!

[@py730]

Great video - overwhelming to get started even with the tutorial, but this helps to focus what to start with. Would love to see a continuation of this or a series that would go into the other features of the base game.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks! My wife is editing it as we speak actually :) it will cover succession and taking over Britannia to become an emperor. I actually did two to show how much rng is in the game. It's pretty wild

[@Super1fitz]

Great video - would love to see a CK3 play through series from your channel. Love your Bannerlord content - great work!

[@Strat-Guides]

I've got a couple queued up for next year, hopefully in January! I have to finished editing a few campaigns (solo-unit WC in Bannerlord and ultra-hardcore one life Kingdom Come deliverance) but once those are done, I would like to get another CK3 and Project Zomboid challenges going.

[@MrSameion]

MORE GUUUUIDES, honestly would love to see a huge Guide Playlist in CK3 from you.

[@Strat-Guides]

I've got plenty in the works :)

[@josephguttmann6669]

I'd love to see a continuation of this series, especially since I suck at making the most of my holdings in Crusader Kings 3

[@Strat-Guides]

I'll be covering a TON of mechanics soon! I just finished the world conquest recording and I have to edit that up, but once that's done I'll make some guides (assuming I have time before Starfield launch)

[@josephguttmann6669]

Cheers! Have fun, whatever it is you're doing.@@Strat-Guides

[@Maharradzia]

Please! continue the guide on this particular save if you still have it 🏰⚔@@Strat-Guides

[@deshawnsargent1]

Love ck3. I have hundreds of hours in thr game and its so awesome seeing you pick it up. Cant wait to see more!

[@SirDansDen]

Finally a Video about CK3!!! I WAS WAITING SO LONG!!!! I hope you will make plenty videos about this game

[@Strat-Guides]

I've got more in the pipeline to do :)

[@JakeBrandquist]

Yes finally!!! I can't wait to see your videos covering this wonderful game!

[@tomnor4314]

Bring more. I love how you bring it now to the core level. Just got CK3 because of your guide.

[@Pinheiro272]

I love you!!!! I want to play this game so bad on xbox, but don't really know anyone that does guides like you, the time you spend doing this is huge. Keep up the good work and never forget to rest. Love from Portugal! ❤

[@Strat-Guides]

Hopefully this one helps! It's only covering the absolute basics, so I'll need to do more detailed videos as a follow up, but I think if you can get through this on your own then you'll have a solid foundation

[@juliocooliojones]

Sorry to tell you, but ck3 on console is busted to all hell, I love the game but lab42, the people who port it from pc have screwed the game since launch and has yet to fix any of it. Constant save files deleting and game crashes every 10 minutes... it's sad

[@aputin654]

Strat, thank you. I knew of this game but didn't know much about it. Added to wishlist after this. Your guides are sleek af and legit useful.

[@kgeo2686]

YESSSSS. Was just looking for new guide to this game!

[@belkorhadris4829]

Really happy to see you play this game ! Hopefully you'll do it again 😊

[@SuperKrisNOR2]

So simple but helpful! Best easy to learn tutorial i have seen yet 🙌

[@Strat-Guides]

Glad it was helpful!

[@carlosnevarez4003]

Thanks a lot for this GED lvl guide, amigo! I've been eying this game on the Xbox for a while but was so intimidated by its vast scope. I'm taking it bit by bit. Decided to download now. I'll be watching more of your videos. You have a new Sub!!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks! I'm working on part 2 for this soon where I'll do a similar start (without custom character though) and go from 1 county up to an Empire. We'll have to deal with succession a couple times and managing vassals, etc.

[@alloraaa9115]

Awesome and straight to the point. 50 hours in and never really thought to move my rally point. Thanks for the guide!

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for watching! I'm glad this was helpful

[@TG-Maverick22]

Wow, your guide is amazing. I love it! 100/100!

[@Marklennon]

This was so helpful! Thank you!

[@kaladinstormblessed5427]

For sure would be interested in more mechanic videos. I like this game a lot but theres so much that's not super well explained. This was very helpful to get a basis for some of the game mechanics. Thanks Strat

[@shotsfiredandmissed9068]

just subbed, your guides are amazing, and funny

[@Mcbrei]

Thats is a good beginner guide. I have a big problem with the vasals. Hope you make more like this. Thank for your time to do this

[@Strat-Guides]

I'll definitely cover that soon!

[@bmg50barrett74]

This video was great. A follow up on how to run a kingdom, or how to deal with neighboring kingdoms would be great!

[@joshjelley7692]

Would love to see a continuation of this series !!

[@Strat-Guides]

You're in luck :D kzbin.info/www/bejne/hIDPeqptnqeksMk&ab_channel=StratGamingGuides

[@Mr1991Teddy]

Very happy with the paradox stuff along with bannerlord!

[@adamcollins1161]

Would love to see this continued as a guide or more guides from you your bannerlord stuff is still the best on YT

[@masihkhiri5760]

The only guide here that actually helped me out! thanks a bunch

[@LizardTwister]

Great now I might get into CK3. Always looked interesting from some other creators but now I can see the basics.

[@Strat-Guides]

It's really fun once you can get past the initial shock lol There are so many things you can do in the game, so I find it helps to ignore 90% of them and just focus on taking land and making an army. Then from there you can branch out, but if you try to learn too much too quick it's overwhelming and not at all fun

[@adviththegreat5610]

Never thought would end up watching your video on CK3. Now I will have hell of a ride through CK3 like I had with Bannerlord. Thank you very much.

[@Strat-Guides]

Nice, CK3 is a lot of fun as well! It's a bit more complicated upfront, but once you get past the first couple of rulers it's not too bad. I'm working on a couple more CK3 guides this weekend, so that should help some

[@calvintorgerson9686]

Its been a while since I played CK3 but i might just start playing again. Can't wait for more guides.

[@chudite]

I just got the game yesterday and now you post this guide haha

[@hypercynic]

For the most part, I already was aware of most of the things in the video, but there are always one or two amazing little things you tend to overlook when learning by yourself, and one was the rally point. Thanks for mentioning that because I doubt I would've noticed you could change it for quite awhile lol

[@Nunya_Argo79]

That's a great start to the video "If you're brand new to CK3"...I'm not "or if you're just terrible"...now you're speaking my language. Also, yes to more CK3 guides, your videos on Bannerlord are the only ones I can bother watching when I get the time, lol.

[@Strat-Guides]

Hahaha it's all good, we've all been there at one point or another :)

[@stevenmc2012]

Please continue the guides on using this save. Would be great to see you finish this series with putting yourself in a position that you can call the save as ‘completed’

[@Plato76...]

Massive help thank you mate, great guide.

[@Strat-Guides]

Glad it was helpful! I'm going to make the next video this month for this series, going from a single county up to starting an Empire (owning all of Britannia). It's a little harder than this one, but not by too much actually

[@Plato76...]

@Strat-Guides Awesome. Its a steep learning curve but your vid is a big help!

[@michaelpeddy7738]

Just got this game last night on gamepass to give it a try, but got kinda overwhelmed. This was a good starting point! Thanks for making it

[@Strat-Guides]

Keep at it! It's a very complex and overwhelming game. I think it took me 40 - 50 hours before I felt comfortable to run a full campaign.

[@Winnie_Deanie]

Its about time! this game was made for you, its so percentage based and you seem pretty meticulous bout that kinda stuff!

[@Aetherion_]

My dude I have been waiting for a video like this that breaks down the immensity of a world wide micro intensive macro game

[@MrCai01]

Cheers man, your guide was just what I needed to get stuck into this game

[@Strat-Guides]

Glad this helped! I just released the follow up to this one this morning actually - I redid this in two more runs, but continued to take the big island and form Britannia. It goes over more stuff like courtiers, succession and fighting really tough wars.

[@markohamalainen7375]

THANK YOU.This was the first video when i get it.Others just talk and talk and talk and i just don't get anything.You save my day,bro. 👍👍👍.

[@TheOneWhoIsTheTwo]

Great video. I was quite intimidated when I tried CK3. Might give it another shot after this

[@Strat-Guides]

Yeah I know what you mean! What I did personally is I just kept replaying and Irish start with a custom ruler until the basic mechanics felt comfortable, then I slowly branched out adding more things to the campaign. Now I feel pretty confident I could handle most challenges. It's not the most exciting way to play, BUT if you keep trying new starts all over the place, it's really hard to learn because there's so many variables. By playing the same (easy) start a few times in a row, it's much easier to get a basic foundation of knowledge

[@lady_tarra7269]

I came by when you started with BL2, now I am back here for CK3. You indeed have a good taste my man. I Love ya!

[@takuoku2546]

Thank you for the guide! I love how you never overload me with information which can easily happen when explaining CK3. would you ever do a playthrough on youtube?

[@Strat-Guides]

I had to redo this one like 4 times because my goal was to cut out EVERYTHING that was 100% necessary to take over Ireland. When I was watching beginner's guides for this game, they always start with explaining every damn button on the screen and it was so annoying because most of them meant nothing to me yet lol! So I took this one down as minimal as I could :) Yeah, I'm working on a Let's Play this weekend actually! I'll do it similar to what I did with Wartales, going slower for the first episode or two to explain what I'm doing and why I'm doing it.

[@pseud53]

Sup! Uí Mháine [ee-wahn-ya] used to be one of the oldest and largest kingdoms in Ireland and it was in Connacht. It was very large, and it had around a thousand square miles, and it had two tribes - Tethbae and Connacht - that were separated by the Shannon River.

[@Strat-Guides]

Interesting! Thanks for the clarity :) There's no way I would have ever gotten the pronunciation lol I appreciate it

[@nostres00]

Love that you are trying new games, this one is a favorite of mine I hope it catches you as well. I will be following your dynastic adventures. I wonder if you will every throw a gander at a game like Battle Brothers, asking because it seems to me that its scratching certain itch that Bannerlord, CK3 and Wartales scratched but it seems to be doing it better than most.

[@sock2070]

Amazing! Thank you so much!

[@thomassteenkamp4575]

Teaching through a play through is so much better than clicking through every single option and mechanic and explaining things. Thanks

[@Frisian_man]

thanks for helping m with the combat system i just got the game i found this really helpful

[@stangametutorials]

Bout to watch this on my breaks at work, thanks m8

[@carlosm3616]

Looking forward to next guide 🎉

[@_shogun_gaming_]

moar of this...would love a part 2, im new to the game and im using your vid as a starter guide, watched many times now :) but im ready for the next phase...

[@Strat-Guides]

I'll do more ck3 before end of the year! Sorry I'm dealing with a big move so I don't have much time right now :(

[@MamduhAlotaibi]

lets go , lovely keep going brother ♥

[@ken2inn630]

I know this is 5 months old. But that might have been the best beginners guide of any game I have played.

[@blueocean2938]

yes, please, i would very like a continuation of this

[@HenrySkalitz1403]

good tip for getting good council members and knights early game is arranging marriage for the women in your court, usually you can find unlanded folks who have high skill and prowess. just make sure matrilineal marriage is ticked when arranging marriage otherwise the male wont come to your court.

[@dingus6317]

38:10 would have been an ideal time to attack as you also had the defensive bonus from the castle, low on supply, and recently embarked, not sure if you would get a debuff from the river though.

[@nsao]

Thanks for the guide I've been playing ck2 since 2013 and everything looked different. Made me feel old.

[@rous3369]

Great to see you cover CK3

[@Imperfect-Views]

I love the fact you dip into paradox and KCD

[@uchi5171]

great vid but as someone who spent weeks IRL time playing this game, I would say that there is definitely few simple and crucial tricks that weren't mentioned 1- The house guard perk is OP early game so as knights and should be rushed 2- you can hire/find good knights without spending gold by giving them any kind of land (same for council and vassals) 3- when your opponent's embarks he loses 30 advantage for a month which is a huge debuff early game (that's why the AI plays a game of tag while embarking sometimes) 4- making alliances with children 5- a good marshal is a must especially early game, a good steward is also useful 6- giving council positions to incompetent characters can be worse than not having any 7- CK3 favors quality rather than quantity so looking to build an army with strong knights and MAA with high advantage would easily cause you to win when outnumbered 8- terrain WIDTH (This one is overlooked by most CK3 players but it plays a huge role in certain cases 9- warscore and how it works 10- recruiting prisoners and more... It's seems like a long list for a beginner plug and play guide but it really isn't, they could easily fit with in those 40 mins

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks for the input! My goal with this video was to literally cut everything out that wasn't necessary. Sadly I haven't had time for the follow up to this video that includes much of what you've typed out!

[@vertsang5424]

i definitely want to see what you need to do next

[@lostinbkk555]

Thank You I learnt a lot from this

[@Lucasekane1986]

ide love to see more maybe this will finally make play it!

[@Strat-Guides]

I'll definitely be making more :D

[@paulthep0teat]

I got rather frustrated with the rng of CK3 a few months ago and uninstalled it. Seeing you give such a well put together guide gave me the motivation to give it another go. My game lasted all of 20 minutes, because the first guy I went to war with allied with a far superior force. I love the look and feel of CK3, but god its rng is game killing for me.

[@sebastiaandijkman]

would love to see another video!

[@ashutoshtripathi.]

Nice. Hope to see you cover other paradox games

[@Strat-Guides]

I'm going to cover EU4 next most likely! I'll probably do a couple videos for CK3 first before adding EU4 into the mix though.

[@ashutoshtripathi.]

@@Strat-Guides what about Stellaris?

[@infinityfabrik]

Your guides are so great.

[@Strat-Guides]

I appreciate that!

[@whyguy12]

I need this video for eu4 now

[@Strat-Guides]

I'll probably tackle EU4 sometime next year! I'm running out of time this year :*(

[@hubazubax]

i have 200 plus hours and i never knew you could station units. this guide is extremely helpful.

[@quasar7763]

Loved this just got into this game after sleeping on it for so long and im kinda mad i waited haha i did notice how you declared war for county but didnt need a cesus billi (i can never remeber the actual name) unless you had one on all of them and i just missed something regardless ill deff be checking out your other videos :)

[@Strat-Guides]

Thank for watching! So I set this run up using the 867 start date, which makes your Irish nobles have a Tribal Government - This government type does not need a CB to attack anyone and can just declare on everyone. That simplifies the game a lot (which was my goal for this beginner's guide).

[@idgyroo]

This already helped me. Ive lived so long and yet did not advance at all. This will change, thank you.

[@Strat-Guides]

You got this!

[@disciplesofmind6303]

Man i love it, i got into to this game but deleted it because i was shit lol, but after seeing your video i redownloded it to try again. ( keep making video on new game ).

[@GoldenBoy.17]

This is a great guide! Make more with the same style for other strategy games. What do you think about producing guides for Total War in the future? You might very likely get early access to TW Pharaoh. It's not a great game but I think you could capitalize on its popularity and the next TW games.

[@Strat-Guides]

Thanks, I was thinking about doing something similar for other games as well! My plan is to cover the starter video like this and then branch out into slightly more complex topic and work my way up to the elaborate tactics like I did in Bannerlord - then repeat for a different game. I might eventually cover TW games as I really do enjoy them, but I've already made a commitment to cover a couple of the Paradox games. I'm also getting ready for Starfield... that one is coming out in about a month!!

[@adamcollins1161]

Please make more ck3 content your stuff is amazing bro

[@deneguil-1618]

i'm not exactly a new player (i have around 30 hours) but i never managed to fully grasp all the mechanics, thanks a lot !

[@francisj8239]

Awesome, just acquired the game.

[@Krythulu]

>does the tutorial >Everything is going smoothly >About to take my first city >CPU literally spawns 800+ army to wipe me out Every. Single. Time.

[@Strat-Guides]

There's a lot of RNG in this game - you gotta keep trying! Don't give up

[@Veltrosstho]

You can look at the ruler's army size to size them up, checking their gold, and possible merc prices can help avoid an army popping into existence.

[@MadMonkeyMightyBison]

This game looks interesting. I'd like more, I love to see an Elder Scrolls modded playthrough

[@CKTan-gr1wr]

Oh god yes! The other videos were pretty confusing, it would be great if you could make more beginners guides, maybe going into more detail about the stuff that was skipped?

[@broefkip]

I just noticed now, because of your voice, you're the bannerlord guy! I'm really happy about that, because being 3 minutes into the video, I already know this is gonna teach me exactly how the game works.

[@Strat-Guides]

Yup! I'll try to get a few more of these out before end of the year :) I also have a new channel where I did a WC in CK3, might be some stuff to learn from that video. Thanks for watching!

[@broefkip]

@@Strat-Guides Will definitely check it out! I'm currently going through your 1h 30m world conquest video which is also amazing!

[@broefkip]

@@Strat-Guides Maybe you already know this, or don't care, nevertheless, I found an easy method of preventing rebellions. Hunting often to make sure to stock up on trinkets. When there is a rebel faction gift useless trinkets to them to gain opinion and they will stop wanting to rebel. I hope this was useful to you 😊😊

[@rianarfiandi5013]

astonishing video!

[@guilhermehajjar9914]

Thank you for the video! I really need one for succession... always makes me give up my save when i have a nice territory then i die and it gets all splitted up

[@Strat-Guides]

I know exactly how you feel! I used to hate dealing with succession, but I have a few good strategies to avoid issues. I'll probably do a weekend stream going from one county to a full empire and then turning that into a video like this - it usually takes 2 - 3 rulers to get it done, so a few successions will be covered.

[@ciozara]

Oh heck yeah. Subbed for M&B, but I love CK3. I'd love to see some themed roleplay/challenge playthroughs in CK3.

[@Strat-Guides]

I've got so much planned for CK3!

[@ciozara]

@@Strat-Guides I'm stoked to see what you've got in store! I just started playing CK3 again after a long break and I've been enjoying playing as the Sapmi people in northeastern Norway. They get their own little corner of the continent. It's mad cozy.

[@user-tp3gv3fc2c]

Thank you. You give an excellent tutorial for those of us who are new and give us a great build to start while learning the game. Will be looking for your future vids.