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I've been using the following strategy on Monarch level, with great success. Using this strategy, I not only win on monarch level, I have been able to absolutely dominate. By the middle ages, I have a dominating tech lead, which I can use to roll the nearest AIs or parlay into a more dominating tech lead. I normally use the Chinese for Industrial/Financial.
Step 1: Turn 1-15: Build Worker. Use Initial Warrior to run in a circle 3 tiles from the "workable tile" cross at the initial city. I immediately bee line to pottery. Everytime I make a cottage, I manually switch to that tile to be worked, unless there is more productive unworked resource. With the financial bonus (even better if on a river), the cottage is producing 3 coins in no time. The early techs cost so few beakers, that the extra 6 coins from 2 tiles makes a world of difference.
Step 2: Turn 15-35: After I build the worker, I beeline to Bronze working. I have my initial city build warriors (usually 4, 3 to scout 1 to hold the home city). At this point, I'm usually at population 3-4. I next take whatever techs are most useful for working tiles (usually animal husbandry to look for horses/work pigs & sheep). I have my worker chop out 2 settlers and 2 workers. I have found it is not necessary to use your warriors to "escort" your settlers tile for tile. Just make sure that your warriors are positioned to eliminate the fog of war between your initial city and prospective new city site. Hills help for visibility. Keeping your warriors on hills is important, as the more fog of war you uncover, the lesser the probability of barbarians. As long as I optimize my warriors line of site after I output the settlers, I never really run into a barbarian problem before I get to the next step.
Step 3: Upon founding my next two cities, I have them immediately produce the most advance unit I have available (usually axeman, sometimes chariots... if I get unlucky, I will take archery next for archers). I also have my initial city produce advanced units until I have 1 advanced unit and 1 warrior in every city. This is usually enough to mitigate any barbarian threat. Again, I have the workers focus on upgrading resources, and then cottages at the new cities. I will manually make sure that the cottages are being worked.
Step 4: Next I beeline for alphabet, taking writing on the way. I have all 3 cities build libraries and granaries (I chop forests both inside and outside my culture border to expedite this process). I will make two scientist specialists in the two cities with the most food, which makes alphabet fly. I also will get two great scientist rather quickly, and make the science academy at my two cities with the highest science. Once I get two great scientists, I put the specialists back to working tiles.
I immediately trade with my neighbors (including alphabet, which is often my only option). If any neighbor gives me the option of sending them to war for tech, I choose that option. This is VITALLY important. The computer hates to have a war on two fronts. Sending the computer to war with another AI means there are 2 computers that will not attack you. Moreover, these early wars severely stunt their growth, and limits their ability to trade techs. Trading techs freely is how the computer kicks your rear in the tech game. Formenting wars is more important to winning the tech race than trading for techs. AI's I can't send to war, I trade my techs in order to fill in what I am missing. After Alphabet, I'll usually grab forges and build them in every city. The health reduction is normally moot as unhappy people are the limiting factor. I will pop rush buildings/units once I get an unhappy person (might as well, they aren't working a tile and are theoretically useless).
When the computer goes to war, I will only trade with the AI closest to my borders. I will also change to my neighbor's religion. This makes your neighbor trade you techs for cheap, and you don't have to worry about the other AI, as they will not attack someone who is located at a distance while they are at war with another AI.
Next Step: In my 3 cities, I have the highest production city build whatever wonders haven't already been built, the second highest continually kick out military units, and the third highest production kick out settlers. You will find formenting war also keeps the AI from building any wonders; in many cases I wind up taking all the wonders except for one or two (I've rolled the table on wonders on a number of occasions). I find I can also usually found at least 3 more cities in less than ideal locations. If necessary, I take 8 units or so and take 2-3 cities from my neighbor and immediately make peace. As I am his religion, the brief diplomacy hit I get for stealing some cities is inevitably offset within 10 turns by the large bonus I get for being the same religion.
Beeline for Civil Service, and use Beuracracy to make your initial city into a wonder building machine. Continually trade techs with the AI to keep them at war. I find by using this strategy, I very consistently am at calvary while all AIs are at longbow men. At this point, you can choose your victory condition (Science, Domination, Population, Culture, etc...).
The lead you get at monarch is so dominating, I would be shocked if this strategy doesn't work well on emperor. I'm halfway through a game at emperor, and am solidly dominating. At immortal and diety, the computer tech bonuses may be so dominating that even using this strategy you'll rarely have the ability to trade tech to forment war. I'll have to check it out, as this strategy is based heavily at beeling to tradeable techs in order to forment war.
Note: If you wind up on an Island, Beeline to Optics after civil service and send out 3 caravels. You'll generally find you''ll still have a few tradeable techs to forment war at this point, and the extra turns the AI had without fighting is offset by a lesser need for a standing army. In these cases I still win by a fair bit, but normally with a Spaceship Victory in 1930 or so. I find it difficult to win a domination victory when isolated on an island early. By the time you are at optics, the space race is so close that building an army and sending them overseas to wipe everyone out takes too much time.
Step 1: Turn 1-15: Build Worker. Use Initial Warrior to run in a circle 3 tiles from the "workable tile" cross at the initial city. I immediately bee line to pottery. Everytime I make a cottage, I manually switch to that tile to be worked, unless there is more productive unworked resource. With the financial bonus (even better if on a river), the cottage is producing 3 coins in no time. The early techs cost so few beakers, that the extra 6 coins from 2 tiles makes a world of difference.
Step 2: Turn 15-35: After I build the worker, I beeline to Bronze working. I have my initial city build warriors (usually 4, 3 to scout 1 to hold the home city). At this point, I'm usually at population 3-4. I next take whatever techs are most useful for working tiles (usually animal husbandry to look for horses/work pigs & sheep). I have my worker chop out 2 settlers and 2 workers. I have found it is not necessary to use your warriors to "escort" your settlers tile for tile. Just make sure that your warriors are positioned to eliminate the fog of war between your initial city and prospective new city site. Hills help for visibility. Keeping your warriors on hills is important, as the more fog of war you uncover, the lesser the probability of barbarians. As long as I optimize my warriors line of site after I output the settlers, I never really run into a barbarian problem before I get to the next step.
Step 3: Upon founding my next two cities, I have them immediately produce the most advance unit I have available (usually axeman, sometimes chariots... if I get unlucky, I will take archery next for archers). I also have my initial city produce advanced units until I have 1 advanced unit and 1 warrior in every city. This is usually enough to mitigate any barbarian threat. Again, I have the workers focus on upgrading resources, and then cottages at the new cities. I will manually make sure that the cottages are being worked.
Step 4: Next I beeline for alphabet, taking writing on the way. I have all 3 cities build libraries and granaries (I chop forests both inside and outside my culture border to expedite this process). I will make two scientist specialists in the two cities with the most food, which makes alphabet fly. I also will get two great scientist rather quickly, and make the science academy at my two cities with the highest science. Once I get two great scientists, I put the specialists back to working tiles.
I immediately trade with my neighbors (including alphabet, which is often my only option). If any neighbor gives me the option of sending them to war for tech, I choose that option. This is VITALLY important. The computer hates to have a war on two fronts. Sending the computer to war with another AI means there are 2 computers that will not attack you. Moreover, these early wars severely stunt their growth, and limits their ability to trade techs. Trading techs freely is how the computer kicks your rear in the tech game. Formenting wars is more important to winning the tech race than trading for techs. AI's I can't send to war, I trade my techs in order to fill in what I am missing. After Alphabet, I'll usually grab forges and build them in every city. The health reduction is normally moot as unhappy people are the limiting factor. I will pop rush buildings/units once I get an unhappy person (might as well, they aren't working a tile and are theoretically useless).
When the computer goes to war, I will only trade with the AI closest to my borders. I will also change to my neighbor's religion. This makes your neighbor trade you techs for cheap, and you don't have to worry about the other AI, as they will not attack someone who is located at a distance while they are at war with another AI.
Next Step: In my 3 cities, I have the highest production city build whatever wonders haven't already been built, the second highest continually kick out military units, and the third highest production kick out settlers. You will find formenting war also keeps the AI from building any wonders; in many cases I wind up taking all the wonders except for one or two (I've rolled the table on wonders on a number of occasions). I find I can also usually found at least 3 more cities in less than ideal locations. If necessary, I take 8 units or so and take 2-3 cities from my neighbor and immediately make peace. As I am his religion, the brief diplomacy hit I get for stealing some cities is inevitably offset within 10 turns by the large bonus I get for being the same religion.
Beeline for Civil Service, and use Beuracracy to make your initial city into a wonder building machine. Continually trade techs with the AI to keep them at war. I find by using this strategy, I very consistently am at calvary while all AIs are at longbow men. At this point, you can choose your victory condition (Science, Domination, Population, Culture, etc...).
The lead you get at monarch is so dominating, I would be shocked if this strategy doesn't work well on emperor. I'm halfway through a game at emperor, and am solidly dominating. At immortal and diety, the computer tech bonuses may be so dominating that even using this strategy you'll rarely have the ability to trade tech to forment war. I'll have to check it out, as this strategy is based heavily at beeling to tradeable techs in order to forment war.
Note: If you wind up on an Island, Beeline to Optics after civil service and send out 3 caravels. You'll generally find you''ll still have a few tradeable techs to forment war at this point, and the extra turns the AI had without fighting is offset by a lesser need for a standing army. In these cases I still win by a fair bit, but normally with a Spaceship Victory in 1930 or so. I find it difficult to win a domination victory when isolated on an island early. By the time you are at optics, the space race is so close that building an army and sending them overseas to wipe everyone out takes too much time.
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