Analytical modeling of recrystallization considers two arrangements of nuclei: a) random, b) "periodic". If nucleation departs from these extremes, no exact analytical treatment is available. When classical Johnson-Mehl, Avrami, Kolmogorov approach is used there is often the doubt whether the nucleation is truly random. Therefore, it would be of some interest to assess to what extent the exact analytical theory is valid if the nucleation departs from randomness. In this work, recrystallization is simulated using cellular automata in two dimensions in order to investigate the effect of nuclei distribution on the kinetics. Simulations are carried out for nuclei distribution ranging from periodic to random. The effect of departure from the exact analytical solutions is assessed by means of the overall kinetics and the microstructural path.