Perfect starts

That game where you try out Spain and find three natural wonders in easy settling distance: Lake Victoria, Mt. Kailash and Kilimanjaro. I suppose I could have designed a slightly better map with Fountain of Youth or El Dorado in there, but this was probably the best starting situation I've ever had.

Venice, Immortal, Continents.

4 salt, 3 wheat, river, ocean access (1 tile wide, 3 tiles long with a fish) mountain directly beside my capital (with no other mountains for wasted hexes), hill to settle on and marble nearby for early wonders.

I saw this and thought "Yup, I win this game." And I did!

When you get such a great starting situation that you change your strategy before turn 30, you know you've hit the jackpot. At this point, I think I am morally obligated to take Holy Warriors and conquer the world. I got a second city up by buying a settler with the gold from one of my three natural wonder discoveries, founded it on Lake Victoria. Got next city up with Collective Rule, founded it on Mt. Kailish. By the time my third expo was founded on Kilimanjaro, I was already generating 30 faith per turn. I've tried religious strategies before, but this seems like the perfect storm for a holy domination strategy. I may get Jesuit Education for my reformation belief so I can stay ahead on science. I don't love the military-focused reformation beliefs. Post-industrial units are too expensive, and there aren't enough barbarians for heathen conversion to be effective most of the time. Buying all my science buildings with faith will free up gold for other purposes.

I just played a game where there were so many Luxury and Strategic resources in my vicinity, I built 2 more cities than I originally planned, and went to war when Denmark founded a city where I was going to.

The most fantastically cooked map I've ever seen was the deity challenge april fool's Venice game.

http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=545521

Ooooh that's a good map! I play the Venice dcl whenever I have a game where I get smashed on turn 100. Redemption!!!

I know many people are pretty gung-ho about playing with the map that you're dealt and not re-rolling, but let's face it; we all have more fun on these exceptionally good starts.

As such, we should start a new thread with uploads of great maps. I know I've had tons of fun on some of the maps where I got a lucky start, I'd love to share those experiences with the community and enjoy theirs as well. If we do so, I think there's a way to save the map and not the game, which (may?) allow you to change difficulty level, settings, civ, etc. But I'm not sure if there's a way to do that AND have the starting location be the same.

Sometimes I like gutting out a crap start. It's like a badge of pride. But it feels kind of like what I imagine it must be like winning the lottery when you start out on a desert flood plain with three or four salts in your first two rings and the Fountain of Youth eight tiles away and isolated from competing civs.

I've been playing Immortal maps with Abundant resources these days. I can sometimes go 5-6 city Tradition, but on the flip side, if my land is 'Just Ok' then an AI can really roll with Smart AI mod. That Mod encourages Full Liberty starts for any Expansionist AI, and a few can become real powerhouses, even not on Diety. More Resources is fun.

Spain with all 5 NW in settling distance, with one being GBR. Actually it was 4 as Krakatoa was 4 tiles from land as usual. From that game I learned the "building too many cities too quickly" diplo modifier applies to all civs, even if you haven't met them yet.

I played with it once and gave my Spain the GBR, Kilimanjaro and Lake Victoria