Early Game Strategies

[LincolnTech]

The first unit I build in the capital is another settler.
I move him only four or five squares away. I immediately
build a road. As soon as the second city is built I build
my first warrior while the other city builds a settler.
If a hostile unit approaches early, I can also change
the build setter to a warrior. Warriors rarely show up
and I get a head start in cities. My first warrior is
placed on the road between the first two cities so
it can move to either one. The initial build up is
settlers. This literally give a five to ten move head
start.

Then I go.... Bronze working, iron working (to get
the swordsman) alphabet, writing and literature.

Why Literature.

Before I get to literature, I have already begun
the pyramid. As soon as I get to literature I
switch accumulated pyramid point to the great library.
THIS FREEZES EVERYONE ELSE OUT OF TECHNOLOGY.
WHOEVER GETS THE GREAT LIBRARY GETS FREE
TECHNOLOGY. Even if you are ahead in technology
YOU MUST GET THE GREAT LIBRARY TO FREEZE
EVERYONE OUT.

Built wonders early. Emphasize Great Library,
Oracle, Pyramid, Colossus and the rest as your
civ requires.

I play America.

[cdinkle]

Sounds kind of cheap to just switch the sheilds like that. But if it works, don't fix it.

[Anfernio]

building settlers first doesn't always work out. for example if it's taking 10 turns each time the population goes up, and it'll take a settler 20 turns to be created, you're gonna have 10 turns that won't be used at all. So you might as well build a warrior first to take up those 10 turns and then the rest on that settler.
I usually get that situation a lot, so when I'm starting out I have only a few cities and I can keep track of small littl things like how many turns to whatever.

[MrFun]

My first build que for my capital, and my first few cities early in the game is as follows:

one Warrior
one Settler
one Warrior
(discovered Bronze Working if not started out with it)
three Spear men
one Worker
Granary

That is my first build que and after that, the second que consists of:

one Settler
Temple
a Great Wonder (almost ALWAYS Pyramid with my strategy)

Those are the first two build ques for me with my early cities.

My early strategy is ALWAYS emphasized on exploration and expansion. I use Warriors early in the game for exploration until I discover Warrior Code for Archers.
If I play an expansionist civilization, I build one extra Scout to go with the first Scout I start with.

I usually play a Mid Eastern or European civilization -- not played as Americans yet and never played English yet, either.

[jdd2007]

just me or wrong forum? or am i hallucinating again?