Starting positions

[HazieDaVampire]

Stick me on a non desert island and i'm super happy!

[Mountain Sage]

Give me a river (for a windmill), some wheat (for flour), by the seashore (for salt) and my French will give you 5'000 + years of the best baguettes you ever tasted.

More seriously, river (or lake) + wheat or cattle, that's enough for me

I always reset the game when I see jungle (otherwise I'd play the Zulus).

I admire Dominae, Aeson & Co. for their masochistic plays but I'm still an egg...

[Worthingtons]

Great Topic
I think there are other specifics people look for two - loads of fertile land around you is fantastic, some look for the Ability for a Supercity (prefferably thier capital) which they can an early wonder with (cos it seems close to impossible to do above Monarch).

[syzygy_gal]

I like to start next to an ocean so I can get the Colossus and Great Lighthouse in my capital city. I make sure there are plenty of resources and I don't start in tundras or deserts.

[nbarclay]

The only way I'd seriously consider building an early wonder in a really good capital is if other cities can take over the capital's cattle (and maybe other good food tiles), leaving the capital with plenty of shielded grasslands (or equivalent) for production. Otherwise, the capital is too busy as a settler pump to even consider building wonders.

Nathan

[Dominae]

I must admit I do not seek out games like these all the time, but they're surely memorable, and therefore fun:

[Fatalis2]

Simple : I restart if I don't have a cow and a river...
I play for fun, not for competition... Then, Regent level and a good start position are perfect for me !!

[statusperfect]

Originally posted by Fatalis2
Simple : I restart if I don't have a cow and a river...
I play for fun, not for competition... Then, Regent level and a good start position are perfect for me !!

Competition is fun.

[Kirby]

I like to found cities on hills for the defensive bonus. It's the only way I can survive at the difficulty levels above Monarch. Hills with gold are the best!

[Rogerdude]

My ideal location has Food (Wheat) and Production (Cows), beside a river (Commerce and growth to size 12) and the sea (Wonders requiring it).
One luxury doesn't hurt, but it's now mandatory.