Well, it's finally come to it - Venice is at war with Timbuktu! Now things are really going to get real!
Well, okay, Timbuktu won't be able to do much, and Mali probably won't either. But Spain has declared war on Venice, seeking their independence from the tyranny imposed on them 30 years ago by the Queen of Venice when she inherited their throne. Venice's current king is but a lad, and I would fear for his future if he were not allied with the Commonwealth... but if Venice loses Spain, let's not pretend that it would not by and large be in my interests.
My current allies in this Ottoman game are The Netherlands, England, Russia, Georgia, Alodia, and Ethiopia. All of which, of course, are heathens, but as a humanist country, why should that both us? We hope to eventually make Georgia and Alodia vassals in spite of the faith difference, while Russia is a land ally against the Commonwealth, and England and the Netherlands serve as a hedge against France and Spain. The Sunni Byzantine Empire is a vassal, as they have been for over 150 years, although a disloyal one for about 98% of that time due to being a historical rival. In retrospect I would have annexed them outright, but there is some prestige in "convincing" the heirs of Rome that Islam is the one true faith. I may yet place my own dynasty on the throne to further legitimize our claims to Europe, but the current Eastern Roman Emperor is simply too good to replace.
The most surprisingly successful country thus far is Theodoro, who escaped my ambitions just long enough to ally with my own ally, Russia, and then gobble up lands from Crimea and, quite recently, the Golden Horde. I would show them who's the real boss of Crimea, but I'm not quite ready to forsake Russia yet - the Commonwealth is still formidable, and it was not that long ago I switched alliances from a hapless Nogai whose bacon I had already saved more than once to Muscovy-soon-to-be-Russia.
In the New World, French La Plata is the model colony, with Portuguese Brazil having become a bit of a rebellious embarrassment. Spain has colonies in the West Indies and Mexico, but little wealth to show for them, while Scottish Colombia is proving a bit more lucrative for its overlord - who, shockingly, is neither rivals nor enemies with England, and has not fought them the entire game. I've never seen such a peaceful relationship between England and Scotland in all my EU4 games. Brittany and the Netherlands are working on colonizing North America - again, the peace between France and Brittany has been a surprise, though not an unpleasant one.
My current plans are to focus on expanding in Arabia, Africa, and towards India, with expansion into Europe as aggressive expansion allows. Italy would be a tempting target, but good coalition bait as well, and the Pope and I were allies back in the day, so we're a bit lenient on him for old times' sake The Pope was even so kind as to not join the Religious League Wars when I supported the Protestant cause, which naturally deserves commendation for his dedication to peace.
All in all a pretty fun game. Perhaps a bit too much dedication to helping my allies early on - notably Nogai, who was almost completely depending on my military to not collapse - but overall a good Ottoman game, and despite the end of Janissary support, still with a bright future. Paradox has also added quite a few Ottoman events since I last played them (in multi-player, that time) in 1.7.3, so it's been worth giving them another go.