Game settings.
I chose no barbarians, max opponents, Events and Huts. I want max opponents for close capitals during my early rush. I also wanted more civs to be able to sell off my techs. I set choose religions, but this was unnecessary since I got all the resources.
Here were my opponents:
I chose this bunch to try to keep them civil and prevent wars. No aggressive or protective leader and I limited Industrious leaders.
Game start
I made the march up north looking for a halfway decent start site. I founded Memphis in 3440 BC, Turn 13. Here is my city, the turn I get Animal husbandry and build a worker:
This capitol site is a real turd, but I needed the horses and wheat is about the best food resource without going far north for seafood. I chose it for its multiple hammer sites. I use Kaitzilla's approach from a previous gauntlet game and spammed Wonders in the capitol since it would not have a lot of commerce.
Getting my War Chariots
I had my warrior follow my settler site for two reasons. I wanted to worker steal and I wanted to pick up any huts my settler passed by. I didn't waste any turns deviating right or left or onto hills to slow my settler down. My warrior grabbed a quick worker from Elizabeth. Unfortunately, it took a while to get BW, so my two workers were not terribly active right away. An Oasis in the capitol would have shaved several turns of research off from AH>Min>BW. I built one WC and sent him to the nearby capitol to steal a worker and take down a garrisoned warrior. I took the first capitol (to the west) with two WC.
At this point, my workers essentially built roads between my capitol an soon to be conquered capitols. I took the next to capitols with 4 WC. I sent two reinforcement WC west and sent the next four WC east. I then merged my WC groups and went East for my final capitol. I sent two I ended up taking four capitols between 2040 BC and 850 BC. I took six cities total.
After taking four cities, I had seven workers and 8 War Chariots. I used the WC to take two Greek cities, one after the other with peace in between (peace for Polytheism and archery) and to give a chance for him to make me another worker.
This was my city situation after making peace:
I am on the cusp of Oracling CS:
I have some screenshots showing city production once I have 9 cities. Then I have screenshots of my most important cities:
I finished research at 900 AD. Here are my soon to be legendary cities:
Great People
This was the weakest part of my game by far. I was unhappy with my GP farm not having any 5F or 6F tiles. I generated only 6 GA. One of these, I got one from Music. I built one academy, bulbed Philosophy, built the Holy Temple for Christianity. I settled a great merchant and great priest very late. I used the GE to build Versailles very late. The rest of the GP contributed to two GA.
Legendary Cities
Here are images of my final three legendary cities showing the buildings built in each:
Improvements
1. I would like to have built 10 cities, so my GP farm wouldn't have to divert GP points to hammers for temples.
2. I should have worked one or two artist specialists to dilute out GPP toward non-Artists.
3. I switched to Pacifism quite late. I could have gotten more GA with earlier Pacifism.
4. According to
Jesusin, I should have put more energy into hammers and less into cottages.
5. I spent too many turns at 100% cash (0% research, 0% culture) for the big Universal Suffrage rush buy of temples and cathedrals.
6. I hoarded techs too much to ensure I could get all of my target Wonders. I should have traded the crap out of my techs and let the AI tech a bit more for me.