Was having a shower thought about this this morning after putting in a quick hour into an EU4 run.

I feel like it's odd that I don't follow the whole "This is how you win with "country x"...period" vibe. Other than learning the mechanics, I don't use specific guides because I don't feel like there is one specific "win condition". My entire vibe in any Paradox game is to do weird things and see what happens.

If I switch Portugal to an Autocracy, pick a fight with Castile and then bankrupt myself hiring mercenaries, that's STILL a successful game to me because that's the entire point. History is a series of random events, what happens if "other" random events occur. To me, THAT'S the fun part. Not learning the one perfect strat to conquer the world with "country x". But to play around with different events, knowing that even losing is still a successful game.