The game ends when the player’s current character dies without an heir of the same dynasty to succeed him/her, or when the in-game year changes to 1453. The only in-game objective is to obtain as many prestige points as possible in order to surpass the various historically relevant European dynasties in a fictional prestige ranking (the three most prestigious ones being the Capetian, the Rurikovich and the Habsburg dynasties). The simulation is open-ended so the definition of ‘success’ is completely defined by the player. The game contains numerous historical figures such as William the Conqueror, Charlemagne, Harold Godwinson, Robert Guiscard, Harald Hardrada, El Cid, Constantine X Doukas, Harun al-Rashid, Alexios I Komnenos, Alfred the Great, and Saladin, but allows for the development of fictional characters as well. Through the strategic use of war, marriages and assassinations among many other things, the player works to achieve success for his or her dynasty. The game is a dynasty simulator where the player controls a Medieval dynasty from 1066 to 1453, though the DLC The Old Gods and Charlemagne allow for a start date of 867 and 769, respectively.

Crusader Kings II is a grand strategy game set in the Middle Ages developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive as a sequel to Crusader Kings.

How to play ck2