My House rules and roleplaying ones are too many to list, but I'll write the main ones I used when I play as my dear Arche Seleukeia.

Difficulty: Almost always hard/medium

* No blitzing the ai. Usually give them 10-20 game years to expand while I do the same conquering Eleutheroi towns and fighting the ai off if need be.

* No cheats except for fog of war to check the ai's progress in other parts of the world.

* No all elite/high tier armies. Stick to as historically accurate as possible Hellenistic style armies. This includes the later Successors dependance on phalanx units instead of the combined-arms tactics of Philip II, Alexander the Great and the original Diadochi. (the reason for focus on phalangitais for me is cuz they're cheaper to train, maintain and reinforce with.

* Focus on historically important areas to my faction. This mainly focuses on Koile-Syria and Anatolia.

* Try to maintain a "pure" royal bloodline. As in every man who succeeds as megas basileus to the Arche is a direct blood descendant of Seleukos Nikator. I will however, bend this rule if a male born into the royal family by marriage to a Seleukid princess is named in honor of the founder (Seleukos) or his son (Antiochos).

* Stay out of European affairs till at least 200bc. Just so I can let the ai have their fun before a "Seleukid Xerxes" crosses the Aegean to expand his vast empire.


I genuinely enjoy my campaigns so much more with all these rules and more in my mind, than simply conquering the required victory territories as fast as I can.