If you want to change it up you should really try doing Small Continent with high seas and try Dutch with the Sea Beggars. They're crazy fun and really really powerful - you'll crush your opponents and take their units. It's a alot of fun and different way to war. Despite what seems to be the popular view, Pangaea isn't the only way to play Civ.
I am very new to Civ 5, but I have to wonder about this. I don't question how powerful Sea Beggars may be, but it seems to me there is a different problem.
I played the Dutch last night and it takes forever to get to the techs you need for polders and Sea Beggars. Let's see economics and astronomy?
That is a long time to wait to get a unit to base a strategy around (I play epic speed like my hero Marbozir).
Just my take on it, but things start to move so swiftly even at epic speed that the time period Sea Beggars are relevant doesn't last that long. I guess you can build a bunch and upgrade them, and keep those promotions.
But my take is the endgame is an ever accelerating tech race to field better units.
And geez a unique unit and improvement that takes this long to come on line? Polders may be nice, turns out the terrain I had didn't have any marsh.
But terrace farms they aren't. Those things are freaky, and they come early enough to make a big difference.
Watching these games on youtube it seems like it is the blink of an eye sometimes from Frigates to throwing nukes around. The game just moves faster at the end. You meet everyone, have research agreements, spy on people, start bulbing techs from great scientists, get free techs from wonders...
So much so... I'm not sure it is a feature, but rather a bug or poor game design. Seems like the let's play videos I watch spend what seems like 3/5 of the game with triremes and spearmen, then start fielding better units in rapid succession.