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Son of David, on your next Monarch game, try the following and please let me know the results (note that there are more ways than this to proceed, but I've tested this methodology thoroughly, and I know it works on Monarch...it's not glamerous, but it gets the job done). Using this general outline, you can not only out-produce the AI on Monarch, but out-tech him too. Do NOT build any of the Ancient Age wonders on your first trip through. Focus on the fundamentals. Win the game without building a single Wonder (national wonders are cool...go for it!), and then, once you have a victory under your belt, go back and add a wonder or two that would enhance the strategy and your playing style (all of them could apply, so pick 1-2 for your NEXT game and experiment with those).
* Choose your favorite Civ...whichever one you feel suits your playstyle "best."
Priority 1: Production Options
* Make straight for Bronzeworking (build a worker first). Bronzeworking is one of the strongest techs of the age, and its discovery brings with it the Slavery civic (switch to this the same turn you get the tech), and the ability to chop trees.
Once you have this tech, in order to make best use of its powers, you're going to want "The Wheel" and "Pottery" (for Grainaries, which magnify the power of pop-rushing). Your goal is to speed-build infrastructure in your starting city(ies). At this point, you've got options. If you want a second city quickly, you can "chop" it to completion. If you want to grow a bit first, then do some mining, selective chopping (a barracks would be good while you're waiting for Pottery and the Grainary), or otherwise find stuff for your worker to do.
The power of BronzeWorking only works for you if you USE slave rushing and/or chop, so use them. If you're squemish about sacrificing some of your population, just chalk it up to the price of victory and do it. Trust me...you'll be shocked at how amazingly effective it is, and you'll soon be a pop and chop junkie.
Now that you have production options, and are going toward Pottery, you're worker is gonna have plenty to do. I recommend a general rule of 1 worker per city you plan to build.
Bronzeworking ALONE will give you the tools you need to thrive in the ancient age, and your next several steps are probably already springing to mind.
If you have no copper in your starting city radius, but there's some nearby, then make that the site of your next city. If not, then you want Animal Husbandary after you grab Pottery. Why? Information. Horses or no? That's the question. You NEED an ancient era butt-kicker, and it's either gonna come equipped with an Axe, a Horse, or a Sword. If you have none of these, then you need to get to the next era's units (longbowmen are good, and close at hand) to "get your shields up" so you don't look like a pansy to the AI...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
To reiterate, research these:
1) Bronzeworking (pre-reqs as needed)
2) Pottery (pre-reqs as needed)
Chop a Grainary to completion and you're doubly dangerous (cos now you have chop AND a fast growing population to sacrifice).
Next stop...Libraries. Pop and Chop it to completion and assign two scientists in your capitol to get a quick academy. Faster research, and all that (and de-assign your specialists once you get the Great Scientist).
If you've been expanding during this phase, you might have 3-4 cities, so now you're gonna want to do this: In every city you have currently, and in every city you build in the future, you want your first pop point to work the biggest food production tile that city has available. Your second pop point works the biggest hammer production tile it can. Your third and fourth pop points maximize coins (cottages, specials that give money...something). Do whatever you want with the other pop points in each city, though as a general rule, you might just want to replicate that pattern through (ie, fifth pop point works another food heavy tile, sixth works more hammers, etc). Obviously there will be some wrinkles and caveats due to terrain particulars. Roll with it, and try to abide by the spirit, if not the letter of the recommendation. Do that and you will be able to: a) afford continual expansion, b) afford an army that's on par with the AI, and c) keep pace with, or exceed the AI's research efforts.
DO NOT build another city until one of your existing cities has already built proper garrisons FOR the city. Remember that the AI only looks at your troop totals when deciding if you are an easy target. It don't know if the bulk of your troops are garrisons or not, so build strong garrisons (two per city...Axe/Spear or Axe/Archer, and 3 (Axe/Archer/Spear) on any city on the border. Sure, you can get by doing a lighter garrison approach, and you don't HAVE TO pre-build a new city's garrisons, but if you're having trouble winning, those tips will help your game.
Make every city profitable. This will mean cottages (at least a few) in every city. It will mean that courthouses will be needed sooner, rather than later.
Don't build any infrastructure you don't need. Let ~1:3 cities build a barracks....the rest can wing it without. Having said that, if a city is producing at least 4 beakers of science, IT WILL benefit from a library (25% boost). So consider it anyplace it will make a profit for you. Likewise the money enhancers. If your goal is to generate a surplus, then these incremental additions to your coin purse and/or research WILL add up. And don't just let them build slowly...that's why you're chopping and sacrificing population! Pop and Chop your way to Empire, until you have a big collection of well developed cities, and then wean yourself away from the pop rushing (when a more attractive civic comes along).
At this point, you've done nothing but focus on the fundamentals, and you WILL BE strong. You'll also be highly cultured, as all those libraries will be spewing out culture and spreading your influence.
The AI will come at you anyway, of course, so pick your battles. Resign yourself to the fact that you will not be able to stay friendly with all of them, so pick a couple to befriend, and follow their leads. Get ready when the ones you snub press the issue, and WHEN they fight, pick your battles carefully. Make sure the terrain favors you. Set up a pillage zone to keep enemy troops occupied if they invade. Send your own pillagers (cheap, out of date troops, mostly) into their lands and slash and burn everything in sight. If you feel strong enough, take one city and (if it's close to your spehere of influence), keep it and sue for peace. If you feel weak, burn it down and sue for peace.
Be a tech whore. Go deep in the tech tree after you nail down the fundamentals, and sell your new treasure to any and everyone who will talk to you, not only to improve relations, but to get every scrap of tech your rivals have.
One you catch up (and you will...in fact, you'll pass them, and be 1-3 or more techs ahead), THAT is when you start being stingy with the techs.
Stay on the AI's good side. If they make a demand you don't want to cave into, then negotiate, and give them a 10g gift. They go away happy and (usually) they STAY gone (meaning, they are far less likely to attack you).
If a neighboring AI gets attacked, dog pile him! Join the war against him and opportunistically take over a city or two. If you don't want to compete with culture, then burn it down, but have a settler or two at the ready to expand into the newly available land.
Keep your "friends" dirt poor, by selling off all your spare resources for gold per turn. Helps your bottom line, hinders theirs.
Try that, and tell me if it doesn't get you across the finish line.
If it does, then start experimenting, using this as a base to work from, changing and adding stuff as it suits you.
-=Vel=-
* Choose your favorite Civ...whichever one you feel suits your playstyle "best."
Priority 1: Production Options
* Make straight for Bronzeworking (build a worker first). Bronzeworking is one of the strongest techs of the age, and its discovery brings with it the Slavery civic (switch to this the same turn you get the tech), and the ability to chop trees.
Once you have this tech, in order to make best use of its powers, you're going to want "The Wheel" and "Pottery" (for Grainaries, which magnify the power of pop-rushing). Your goal is to speed-build infrastructure in your starting city(ies). At this point, you've got options. If you want a second city quickly, you can "chop" it to completion. If you want to grow a bit first, then do some mining, selective chopping (a barracks would be good while you're waiting for Pottery and the Grainary), or otherwise find stuff for your worker to do.
The power of BronzeWorking only works for you if you USE slave rushing and/or chop, so use them. If you're squemish about sacrificing some of your population, just chalk it up to the price of victory and do it. Trust me...you'll be shocked at how amazingly effective it is, and you'll soon be a pop and chop junkie.
Now that you have production options, and are going toward Pottery, you're worker is gonna have plenty to do. I recommend a general rule of 1 worker per city you plan to build.
Bronzeworking ALONE will give you the tools you need to thrive in the ancient age, and your next several steps are probably already springing to mind.
If you have no copper in your starting city radius, but there's some nearby, then make that the site of your next city. If not, then you want Animal Husbandary after you grab Pottery. Why? Information. Horses or no? That's the question. You NEED an ancient era butt-kicker, and it's either gonna come equipped with an Axe, a Horse, or a Sword. If you have none of these, then you need to get to the next era's units (longbowmen are good, and close at hand) to "get your shields up" so you don't look like a pansy to the AI...but I'm getting ahead of myself.
To reiterate, research these:
1) Bronzeworking (pre-reqs as needed)
2) Pottery (pre-reqs as needed)
Chop a Grainary to completion and you're doubly dangerous (cos now you have chop AND a fast growing population to sacrifice).
Next stop...Libraries. Pop and Chop it to completion and assign two scientists in your capitol to get a quick academy. Faster research, and all that (and de-assign your specialists once you get the Great Scientist).
If you've been expanding during this phase, you might have 3-4 cities, so now you're gonna want to do this: In every city you have currently, and in every city you build in the future, you want your first pop point to work the biggest food production tile that city has available. Your second pop point works the biggest hammer production tile it can. Your third and fourth pop points maximize coins (cottages, specials that give money...something). Do whatever you want with the other pop points in each city, though as a general rule, you might just want to replicate that pattern through (ie, fifth pop point works another food heavy tile, sixth works more hammers, etc). Obviously there will be some wrinkles and caveats due to terrain particulars. Roll with it, and try to abide by the spirit, if not the letter of the recommendation. Do that and you will be able to: a) afford continual expansion, b) afford an army that's on par with the AI, and c) keep pace with, or exceed the AI's research efforts.
DO NOT build another city until one of your existing cities has already built proper garrisons FOR the city. Remember that the AI only looks at your troop totals when deciding if you are an easy target. It don't know if the bulk of your troops are garrisons or not, so build strong garrisons (two per city...Axe/Spear or Axe/Archer, and 3 (Axe/Archer/Spear) on any city on the border. Sure, you can get by doing a lighter garrison approach, and you don't HAVE TO pre-build a new city's garrisons, but if you're having trouble winning, those tips will help your game.
Make every city profitable. This will mean cottages (at least a few) in every city. It will mean that courthouses will be needed sooner, rather than later.
Don't build any infrastructure you don't need. Let ~1:3 cities build a barracks....the rest can wing it without. Having said that, if a city is producing at least 4 beakers of science, IT WILL benefit from a library (25% boost). So consider it anyplace it will make a profit for you. Likewise the money enhancers. If your goal is to generate a surplus, then these incremental additions to your coin purse and/or research WILL add up. And don't just let them build slowly...that's why you're chopping and sacrificing population! Pop and Chop your way to Empire, until you have a big collection of well developed cities, and then wean yourself away from the pop rushing (when a more attractive civic comes along).
At this point, you've done nothing but focus on the fundamentals, and you WILL BE strong. You'll also be highly cultured, as all those libraries will be spewing out culture and spreading your influence.
The AI will come at you anyway, of course, so pick your battles. Resign yourself to the fact that you will not be able to stay friendly with all of them, so pick a couple to befriend, and follow their leads. Get ready when the ones you snub press the issue, and WHEN they fight, pick your battles carefully. Make sure the terrain favors you. Set up a pillage zone to keep enemy troops occupied if they invade. Send your own pillagers (cheap, out of date troops, mostly) into their lands and slash and burn everything in sight. If you feel strong enough, take one city and (if it's close to your spehere of influence), keep it and sue for peace. If you feel weak, burn it down and sue for peace.
Be a tech whore. Go deep in the tech tree after you nail down the fundamentals, and sell your new treasure to any and everyone who will talk to you, not only to improve relations, but to get every scrap of tech your rivals have.
One you catch up (and you will...in fact, you'll pass them, and be 1-3 or more techs ahead), THAT is when you start being stingy with the techs.
Stay on the AI's good side. If they make a demand you don't want to cave into, then negotiate, and give them a 10g gift. They go away happy and (usually) they STAY gone (meaning, they are far less likely to attack you).
If a neighboring AI gets attacked, dog pile him! Join the war against him and opportunistically take over a city or two. If you don't want to compete with culture, then burn it down, but have a settler or two at the ready to expand into the newly available land.
Keep your "friends" dirt poor, by selling off all your spare resources for gold per turn. Helps your bottom line, hinders theirs.
Try that, and tell me if it doesn't get you across the finish line.
If it does, then start experimenting, using this as a base to work from, changing and adding stuff as it suits you.
-=Vel=-
Same thing happened a few years back with CivIII...
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