I have been working on a new idea this days. It is based on Xin Yu's concern for happiness. It is true that there is a time midgame when your growth and the number of cottages you can work and the number of artists you can hire are limited by happiness.
The idea is the "backwards Parthenon": stone start, Worker-Warrior-Settler-Pyramids, Masonry-Wheel-Pottery-Writing-Alpha. Let the capital pop a single GE and use him for Parthenon. Addopt Representation.
I have tried 10 starts following this idea, with Vanilla Elizabeth:
- 4 of them AI built Pyramids.
- 1 of them I built Pyramids and Parthenon.
- 5 of them I built Pyramids but the GE was too late for the Parthenon.
Out of the 6 games with Pyramids I was:
- hopelessly behind in tech by the time I got Alpha in 1 of them.
- dowed around 1000BC in 5 of them.
I had never been dowed so often before. I think the problem is that you put your hammers into a WW, so you don't churn settlers as fast as usual, so you are even weaker in the powergraph. When I have pursued other WW, like Parthenon, I normally got two settlers before the WW.
So, Pyramids->GE->Parthenon doesn't look feasible. I have had a 1365AD finish, though, so Pyramids aren't so bad.
My conclusion is that you can get Pyramids and play a nornal cultural game afterwards (oh, Godotnut, how hard was I against your Pyramids two years ago!). The disadvantage is that your 3rd and 4th cities are delayed, you get a GE instead of a GA and you run the risk of being dowed. The advantage is that you get to grow bigger cities midgame, a few additional beakers and a dozen cpt in the capital.
All in all, too risky a strategy for me. If someone is patient enough to try once and again till he's not dowed and gets both Pyramids and Parthenon, a HOF top game can be gotten.
Now, the details about the 1365AD game:
Vanilla, Elizabeth, Small. Pigs+Stone+Ivory+3FP start.
4 cities, 6 workers, 2 religions, 4 cathedrals, 18 cottages, 15GP (1GE, 2GS, 12GA).
2nd city: 8 artists GPFarm, only 1 hill.
3rd city: cottages and later 3 artists too; only 2 hills.
Auxiliary city: 4 artists.
Worker-Warrior-Settler-Pyramids, Masonry-Wheel-Pottery-Writing-Alpha-Col-CS-bulb Philo+Educ-Liber+free PP-trade for Natio quite late-representation beakers get me Economy and too late to matter Corporation.
Tao failed by 7 turns, Parthenon lost before I finished Pramids. GE used to build NE in the hammerless GPFarm.
1AD stats: 175bpt, researching Liber, 8 cottages, 64GPPpt.
200AD: Liber-PP, 100% culture for 330cpt.
1000AD stats: 600-150-250cpt, 18cottages, 200GPPpt.
Earlier cottages, earlier Hermitage, a third religion and a couple of additional hills could have gotten me to the HOF, but not to a 1100AD finish.