On that point about strategy games being history lessons, I think that MTW has just the right level of historically correct v gameplay value.

Not sure how many of you played Hearts Of Iron. HoI was mostly a very good WWII strategy game, but I think it went too far into historical accuracy re what you could do (and don;t get me started on the bugs). It was engaging to play but I eventually got bored with limited scope.

With MTW though, I believe the level of historical accuracy is enough and you have the opportunity to enjoy gameplay no matter which faction you play. And then there's the GA component.

Not sure what EB and RTR are, but I haven't anything as long-term engaging as MTW.