Imagine that you are a young trader in the early days of capitalism. Columbus returned from his fourth voyage and Da Vinci finally finished his Mona Lisa. The first banks begin to appear, and the city guilds are gradually losing influence.
You have made a lot of money selling Novgorod furs to the Dutch and French. And then the news reaches you that you inherited your uncle's small holdings somewhere in the Ardennes. Since trade with Novgorod is dwindling, after its capture by Moscow, you decide - why not try to establish production there...
And you start with the simplest production: logging and processing timber, hiring impoverished peasants to produce wheat and fruit, establish a fishing industry and mine ores.
With your activity, you help the local village, which willingly develops in your shadow. The locals start to respect you and declare you a member of their community.
You can sell surplus on the world market by sharing goods with other players, or buy from them what you lack.

In total, you can produce 81 goods from 9 industries using more than 100 different buildings. And later to participate in the development of a new world, to fight for truth and "power" in religious wars, to trade securities on the first Medici and Fugger stock exchanges.
Of course, for this you will have to finance the scientists of your time so that they open up new industries and goods for you. We'll have to build shipyards and barracks to build ships and equipment for squads.
Interacting with other players, you have to build many iconic, historical buildings and influence the advancement of the Renaissance.