>>19791260TJ was 11 years old when Crusader Kings 2 came out in 2012, I bought it on release day and played it a shitload, there is basically nothing left for me in that game so the natural pivot is to actually read the primary source material for the notable characters and events in the games. The Alexiad as an example is very approachable for beginners since the author purposefully writes in a style reminiscent of Homer, replete with 1v1 duels like the Iliad and Odyssey. Real fucking cool historical source about the civil wars in Byzantium and the First Crusade.