Unlike Europa Universalis, this game is more about prestige and wealth than traditional empire building. To the player, the honour and power of the royal dynasty are more important than the expansion of the nation's borders (although that is of course still an important aspect of the game).

In Crusader Kings, players also have to deal with the feudal lords and bishops that rule the various provinces (which, incidentally, are at a closer scale than in EU).

To retain the focus on medieval feudalism and chivalry, merchant republics like Venice, Genoa and the Hanseatic League are not playable nations; neither are the Mongol hordes nor the three Caliphates. The playable nations are limited to Christian monarchies, principalities and empires.

The goal of the game is to amass as much Prestige and Piety as possible for your dynasty.
Saved games from Crusader Kings can be converted into the format of EU 2, so that a player can extend his game into the later centuries by exporting the file to his EU2 game.

Features

• Pausable real-time grand-strategy - based on the engine used by the award winning EU-series.
• Unique historical setting - reenact the crusades, defend against the mongol onslaught, and form feudal nation-states in Europe. A simulation of a feudal society, as never before seen in a game, involving laws, commisions, nobles, priests, burghers and peasants as well as religious influences.
• An evolutionary combat system - which will simulate the effect from mongolian light cavalry to the english longbowmen.
• Saved games from Crusader Kings can be converted into the format of EU 2!
• See your dynasty progress - get rewards from the Pope by being successful in the crusades!
• Institute and take control of religious orders - choose between the Knight´s Templars, The Knights of St John, The Teutonic Order or the Order of Calatrava and the Order of Santiago.

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