Europa Universalis IV: Mat Rus

Although the first expansion pack for EU IV has now been out for more than a month, I'm still playing the base game.

(What? I've only been playing for 5 months.)

I declared the Ottomans Campaign over, and looked elsewhere for a fresh start.

This time, I'm playing as Muscovy.

I've made it to 1454 so far; the first decade is complete.

In the early game, I'm struggling to overcome tiny northern countries with names like Tver, Ryazan, Pskov, and Yaroslavl, just barely earning enough to keep my country alive in the tough frozen winters, while I try to keep peace and mostly avoid the activity of the central asian tribes to my east.

But I can already see that the only hope for prosperity lies with the trade routes and ocean access to the south, in places like Armenia, Georgia, Abkhasia, and Crimea.

It's oh, so au courant.