Almost every time I have played has been early for many of he same reasons mentioned;

I like building up slowly (my last campaign had me worried about winning as the years passed and I had only 20 countries on the map, but I came on strong at the end).

I like the manuevering more than the battles sometimes.


Building up income and trade is fun.

Finally, the battles are intrigueing, especially as I tend not to farm for general virtues and just look for battle wins via good strategy and balanced armies for the terrain.