Is domination the only realistic win in multiplayer?

[Too Ton]

I love culture and science but as the saying goes, if you win in any victory but domination then you could have done it easier in domination. I agree with that saying because you have to defend yourself against other players especially in multiplayer. My question asks if domination is truly the only way? In a real game, players will not give open borders for sure. This leads to a much harder way to win a culture victory. They barely (depends on players) will do research agreements with the tech leader so a tech win is harder too. The games I play diplomacy victory may or may not be off. We also turn off time. Should I stop building culture wonders and science wonders and instead focus on military and “pro” builds? I seem to fare okay wonder whoring because I’m not completely useless in war but ehh... as long as a culture win is still possible without open borders and embassies, that’s the only difference from single player. I forgot to mention no one trades art or writing to get theming bonuses either so that makes it extra hard for a culture victory. The game is less in your control in multiplayer.

 

[Sfinks]

It seems so, which is unfortunate. I think MP would be so much better if other means would work out, like in the real world. I still think it might be possible, if you find the right group of people. Other than that, maybe there is some way to modify the rules in order to achieve more robust play. Maybe extensive experimenting would be worth it.