congrats on the new "soul" s_w
some things to consider wrt choosing our civ:
since the goal of the scenario ius to score VPs, i will examine the civs' capacities to get to the 6K+ vp total...
the top end civs - namely the UK, US, France, Germany - have a type of built-in advantage with more preplaced Victory Point Locations and "overseas" areas to produce the raw material units (reverse capture the flag for VPs).
the UK position is massive and is the micro-manager's dream. loads of cities, overseas areas, population, cash, science, culture, entertainment, and man power. this civ also has some of the best units in the game (ground and arty is outstanding; 1 or 1A in naval; full line of tanks; excellent aircraft). however, with this sprawl come lots of points to defend. and on higher levels, it can be real dicey at times to defend all of these outposts (but certainly not impossible).
the US position starts w/ very few overseas possessions although it has an extra VPL compared to the other top end civs (6 whereas others have 5, Russia has 6 too). a huge industrial base for the US (largest in the game), outstanding unit builds (especially mid to late game), and an insulated position on the map are the main attributes for the US civ.
France is sort of like British Empire Light but w/out the quality (navy is only so-so at best, slightly less than brit inf and cav, great arty and outstanding aircraft). this civ also has a good number of foreign outposts. as such, defense of them is critical for the French. North Africa and Indo China are probably the main colonial sectors for the French. the French civ is also a micro manager's bag.
Germany is always a great play in all versions of AoI. great indutrial base, outstanding units (excellent ground and arty, very good naval, outstanding aircraft), and a great economic arrangmenet for the Germans. at a little of a disadvantage in Africa and elsewhere due to the city disadvantages. potential enemies at all sides in europe (save for austria-hungary who are in a locked alliance w/ Gerry). we played Germany in the last AoI SG. so i would probably suggest to try another civ but this position is a barrell of fun
Austria-Hungary is a challenge. no overseas possessions put this civ at a VP disadvantage. unit line is not very hot either (under top end civs but higher than low end ones). decent arty (german exports and some austrian pieces) and great aircraft though (german exports). sea units are less than so-so (but still a custom line, far inferior to brit, american, and german designs though). 5 VPLs to start and some on the austrian-russian border too.
Russia is the sick dog in this scenario (along w/ the ottomans). corrupt, cash-strapped, and inferior unit lines await the player of Russia. however, there is a massive ceiling for this civ for the human player and once it gets ramped up (takes some work but it's been done in testing), there is some potential. think
quantity over quality when cosidering the Russian postion. 6 starting VPLs for Russia along w/ some on the borders of Prussia and in Austria-Hungary. of course, no overseas holdings either although Russia can indeed operate the colonial city builds (ie raw materials) if it can capture cities w/ the Colonialism resource (austria-hungary, scandinavia, and balcans fall under this too).
Ottomans start in pretty bad shape too. low on cash, shields, science, and infrastructure, the Turks are a challenge. they have a decent "overseas" area (can spawn the raw mateirals) but the industrial base is small. unit builds are, in a word, crappy. a good challenge for a human player/s.
Portugal and Italy and Lowlands (holland+belgium) are all colonial civs in a so-so condition to start. Spain is in bad shape and even have "Native" civs (cubans and filipinos) camped out in the colonial areas. Scandinavia and Balcans are sort of like wild cards in that they don't have an overseas areas (Scandinavia has the Danish Antilles though in the Carib) but have a decent industrial base and can build some above avg units. 4 starting VPLs for all civs in this paragraph.
Mexico has a bear of a neighbor to the north. one big advantage for Mexico: access to the Industry resource
all of the south american civs have 3 preplaced VPLs but no ability to generate the raw material units (no colonial builds). so sheer conquest of thy neighbors is the m-o down here.
super challenges: boers w/ all of the potential enemies; pretty good unit builds though, 2-city civs like Hispaniola, Tibet, Siam, Central America, and Abyssinia are the toughest in the game