After reading the Handicap XML document, I decided that Immortal wasn't all that much harder than Emporer, so I decided to try it. Boy was I wrong! Only a nice bottleneck at the Eastern edge of my continent stopped me from getting shut out of expansion entirely. No one is happy, Barbarians are everywhere, and even with cottages, I can only sustain a 40% technology rate, which is supported almost entirely by my starting city. The Pyramids and Oracle have already been built by my neighbors, and I am already reciving notification of their various Great PPL.

Does anyone have a workable strategy for Immortal games? Aside from a perfect starting position or beginning on a continent with 0 or 1 opponents, I don't think it can be done...