Still enjoy the original game a lot. Favorite; Jerusalem or Cyprus at Hard. Surrounded by enemies and weak. But also Golden Hordes because of Paganism and no tribute paid from faith, and Sicily as Muslim nation and in constant Jihad.
In the very original game, it was possible to conquer all without military force. I did it with 9 spies at the end... Very different game play. And the "hidden" actions those spies end up with, as they were hired as different things and even promoted to Kings and Popes. Just loved it. Then some re-balancing happened around the time the game came to Steam, and "Spies-only on Hard" is no longer playable.
Can't wait for the new game, and experiment with non-obvious strategies.
