Your problem could be related to how you build your cities. After building my capital, it builds one settler and no more. It then builds a Temple and then a Great Wonder, preferable the Pyramids (so I don't have to build granaries in every city). And I start the Worker building roads and irrigating immedately. I use the second city to build two settlers and each succeeding city builds two settlers.
You've got to expand fast, but you can't forget to take care of your people. So after the settlers, I build Workers and then a Temple in each city. If you don't build Temples your people become unhappy and you have to take them out of your work force! If I can, the second wonder I build is the Hanging Gardens, which makes people happy. Of course, to do this you need to get to Monarchy immediately!!! Getting to Monarchy as fast as possible is also important, because this increases food, shields and commerce in each square with a citizen in it.
Finally, build city improvements that give you culture points, like libraries, temples, universities, etc. These increase your civilization boundaries and fill in gaps between cities so other civilizations can't settle there.
Finally, build roads to all the luxury recources you can find and use them to trade with other civilizations. They will usually stay at peace with you if you trade with them. But don't forget your military. You've GOT to build large armies or you will be wiped out in a flash. The computer controlled Civilizations use a massed attack model of warfare. They don't declare war on you until they've massed a large force near your border. By the time you see it coming, it's usually too late. So always have a few cities building units that you send to the border areas. Alternate cities between building units and building city improvments, otherwise your cities won't have enough culture points and may revolt and join a neighboring civilization.
That's it. It's really quite easy! Ha ha.
You've got to expand fast, but you can't forget to take care of your people. So after the settlers, I build Workers and then a Temple in each city. If you don't build Temples your people become unhappy and you have to take them out of your work force! If I can, the second wonder I build is the Hanging Gardens, which makes people happy. Of course, to do this you need to get to Monarchy immediately!!! Getting to Monarchy as fast as possible is also important, because this increases food, shields and commerce in each square with a citizen in it.
Finally, build city improvements that give you culture points, like libraries, temples, universities, etc. These increase your civilization boundaries and fill in gaps between cities so other civilizations can't settle there.
Finally, build roads to all the luxury recources you can find and use them to trade with other civilizations. They will usually stay at peace with you if you trade with them. But don't forget your military. You've GOT to build large armies or you will be wiped out in a flash. The computer controlled Civilizations use a massed attack model of warfare. They don't declare war on you until they've massed a large force near your border. By the time you see it coming, it's usually too late. So always have a few cities building units that you send to the border areas. Alternate cities between building units and building city improvments, otherwise your cities won't have enough culture points and may revolt and join a neighboring civilization.
That's it. It's really quite easy! Ha ha.