Ok in the past few days I have been looking up the strategy game Hearts of Iron and interested in it. But the thing is the only demo I can find of the game is Hearts of Iron 2. And even further the problem is the demo just started me off in a part of WW2 without any notice or tutorial . I would like to get this game but if I am going to be dropped on my butt as any old country with no help playing(aka no tutorial of any sorts) the game it is hard for me to get into the game if it is as complex as Hearts of Iron seems to be. So in short people who have Hearts of Iron is there an easier way to learn and play the game instead of the one demo that drops me into a conflict with little idea what to do?

I won't sugarcoat it: HoI isn't for everyone. It has a sheer wall for a learning curve, and you have to be aware of some rudimentary real-world (WW2-era) strategies to be most effective in the game - you won't be able to simply build a stack-of-doom and zerg your enemies. But what a game it is, once you learn the ropes: nearly every nation on Earth is playable, almost every square mile is part of the battleground, and the last campaign I played (as the USA) took me 3 months to complete, ending with a Cold War against the soviets...

The way I learned to play was just to dive right into the full game with a step-by-step guide, following the instructions blindly until I learned what the results would be. The manual that comes with the game is also uncommonly informative, written by a rather knowledgeable member of the player community and officially sanctioned by the devs. There's also some Let's Plays you could follow on Youtube, and hundreds of AARs on the official Paradox forums, chronicling the many strategies to victory employed by various players. (I'm not sure, however, if any have been made for the demo specifically.)

It's not an obvious game at first, and downright overwhelming with options, but the basics turn out to be relatively simple (though some of the advanced features may have you trawling the forums for advice.)

I've played HoI2 since 2004 and, well, I haven't played another game so much and with so much joy.

Joker said pretty much everything I would, but I should add that it gives an unforeseen freedom in making your own history. The Japanese conquering London? Possible. Nazi nuclear weapons? Possible. American world domination? Possible.

It takes a bit to learn but in the end, HoI2 is the best strategy game I've ever seen.

Bhutanese world domination?

Of course, but it's going to be tough since you start as a British puppet nation, making allying with the Axis (your best choice for WD) difficult. I never had the patience to play as microminors in the game, but I did conquer the entire Soviet Union and USA as Finland back in Hearts of iron 1.

I've played HoI 3 for a while, and enjoyed it. Everyone is right when they say it's got a wall for the learning curve. I still don't know everything about the game, because it's just soooo massive. It's currently on my rather large back-log of games to play, actually....

Another strat game that is like HoI is Europa Universalis. Just bought EU III from steam for 4 bucks, so you can't go wrong there either.

Yes, if you're looking for a game like that this that is slightly more approachable, I'd definitely recommend Europa Universalis III. In particular I'd recommend you try Europa Universalis III multiplayer, certainly an experience not to be missed. Hearts of Iron III is a game with a lot of potential but, sadly, fighting the AI is at times like kicking a mentally deficient puppy, particularly when it comes to naval campaigns. Maybe it'll be improved with the upcoming expansion though, who knows. Although, having said that, it is still possible to have fun with Hearts of Iron III and I've also had a lot of fun with HoI2, which is certainly still a worthwhile purchase.

With regards to learning to play, HoI3 does include a fairly comprehensive tutorial if you buy it, although I can't say I remember the tutorial in HoI2 being much good.