Go through history as you wage wars, colonize territories and grow your economy in tactical strategy games like the Europa Universalis series. These fantastic games offer in-depth gameplay and complete freedom over the nation you control, letting you basically rewrite history as you turn a small country into a superpower.

The Europa Universalis series of games are highly popular in the grand strategy genre and are made by the experienced Paradox Development Studio, known for many other historical games in the similar vein. These games let you build your empire from the ground up as you decide the trade politics, the government and more while progressing through centuries of hardship and peace. Your decisions can massively affect historical events and the world around you while you obtain important trade routes to your advantage.

Your military, the economy and diplomacy are all equally important in these games. Form alliances, vassal states, tributaries or even spy on a country’s provinces in order to cause rebellion and claim their territories. Many factors can affect the tide of a battle, be it on the ground or sea. The leaders, the army’s morale, discipline, and more all play a part in various tactical battles.

What’s great about these games is the amount of customization they allow. Mod support helps keep the communities active as modders create many great mods that can make the games a whole lot better and give you a lot more content to offer you a fresh new experience.

Looking for more great games that offer that freedom you are looking for as a true leader? Then this list of games like the Europa Universalis Series should certainly offer something that will keep you playing for hours on end.