Hearts of Iron III/Gameplay

Note: There are several versions of Hearts of Iron III, including expansion packs. By default, this guide will assume the player is playing the latest version.

Your First Game

For your first game, you'll want to pick just the right nation. The difficulty and type of game varies greatly depending on what nation you choose to play as. For your first game or two, try picking medium-sized powers to avoid feeling overwhelmed while avoiding the difficulty that comes with playing as a small nation. For more information, visit the Walkthrough pages for guides on how to play as each country.

Here are some suggestions for which countries might be good for a first-timer.

• Brazil and Argentina are regional powers in South America, and are relatively isolated from the main events of the time. There is opportunity to expand at the expense of one's neighbors, but be careful not to anger the local behemoth, the USA; they guarantee the rights of all South American nations to exist.
• Maybe a Commonwealth country like Canada or Australia would be a good choice. These countries are essentially pushed into their political destinies as members of the Allies, so players can focus things like diplomacy, trading, building, and fighting. Playing as Australia is a particularly great way to start since there is usually a war closer to home starting around 1941 or so, but the front rarely gets too close for comfort.
• If you really want to pick one of the big powers your first time around, pick Germany. As Germany, you naturally tend to pick fights with smaller opponents first and larger ones later, and have plenty of resources to allow for the mistakes that are bound to occur.

For your first game, DO NOT play as

• Countries like Poland, the Netherlands, or Denmark, which were easily overrun in real life. Rewriting history so that these nations thrive is fun, but is probably beyond your skills at this point.
• France. Of all the major powers of the game, France is the most likely to be devastated by the end of 1940, thanks to its proximity to Germany and Italy, a couple of easy corridors of invasion, and a lack of any outstanding traits. Of all the major powers, France is possibly the hardest to play as.
• Some tiny isolated country like Cuba or Tibet. Sure, it is easier for newcomers to handle small countries, but they make for rather dull first games.

Interface

Hearts of Iron III has a lot of HUD and menus. Do not panic! Yes, it is all very complicated, but you can pause the game at any time and hover over icons and numbers to get more information. You should have viewed the tutorials first, but regardless, there is much to be learned by sitting back and looking around.

In general, you'll find that the menus have several main sections. The banners along the top provide a lot of information and give the ability to make decisions. Things like which units you make, which technologies you research, and how your spies operate are decided here. The nearby ribbon tells quick information about things like your economy and other important stats. The bottom right has a map and options to change the map's appearance based on a variety of factors. The little + sign on the side is a shortcut to your entire chain of command.

Let the AI handle It!

Virtually every aspect of the game, from production to military operations, can be handled by the AI. Using this is recommended especially if you're having trouble with an aspect of the game or are playing as a larger country for the first time.