4000BC: tech path OK?

[SpK]

Depending on the location of the other continent, it is a very winnable game. Should be easy to take out Kublai, expand with in mind for research ( self tech MC and Colossus is doable on Monarch) Beeline the later religious techs, spread and go for a Culture win. Religious techs and beeline radio and such should be very doable on Monarch, and still allow you to trade for enough to defend yourself.

You will likely be passive and weaker than opponents until you claim the win, so not the most engaging game, but extremely winnable if you get 2 or 3 religion for culture.

 

[Bjarkov]

The thing about the alpha line is that it really needs trading partners to pay off.. Taking that path is a gamble that should've been left off the moment you reallize you wont be trading much

That said, the game is winnable. The Great Lighthouse is completely busted on naval maps and a great combo with Astronomy for off-continent foreign trade routes (those can easily yield 6 per route), and taking out Kublai in one-on-one is definitely doable if you focus on the task.
Focal points: GLH, Kill Kublai, Astronomy bulb, trade the off-worlders to death

 

[learner gamer]

In fairness by time you had teched mining/AH/Writing it should of dawned on you that you might be semi isolated.

The map settings are not great. Low sea level and 6 other AI is not enough. Your continent alone could of fit at least 1 more AI.

The thing about the alpha line is that it really needs trading partners to pay off.. Taking that path is a gamble that should've been left off the moment you reallize you wont be trading much

That said, the game is winnable. The Great Lighthouse is completely busted on naval maps and a great combo with Astronomy for off-continent foreign trade routes (those can easily yield 6 per route), and taking out Kublai in one-on-one is definitely doable if you focus on the task.
Focal points: GLH, Kill Kublai, Astronomy bulb, trade the off-worlders to death

Just to draw these two posts and my earlier one together, my take is that you ideally want to have a sense of whether you're isolated / how many trades are possible (to give you an idea of whether bee-lining alphabet is the way forward) by the time you get the early worker tech(s) researched. (Of course, this will also be helped if the gamer knows the map type they're on.) In this game, I'd suggest that this was probably around the time that the latter of mining or AH was teched – because at that point the gamer has a choice to make: (a) research more of the early techs themselves – which may be justifiable if, for example, the gamer has come across very few (eg. one) or no trading partners, or if researching more of the early worker techs themselves is deemed preferable to trading for them once alphabet has been reached (eg. if they want to pursue a wonder with the aid of chops, which might make getting sailing for TGLH and BW worthwhile); or (b) beeline alphabet instead and look to trade for the early techs not researched directly.

Long story short, I think this map is a great illustration of the value of the virtue of keeping those early plans simple – and then pausing either to think or ask for advice. In this case, I'd suggest this meant the right opening was (as was suggested) agriculture, AH and mining in some combination, and then to pause to think of the best tech path thereafter (rather than think too far ahead at the opening of the game), based on what early exploration revealed about the map and the opponents on it (with it's attendant implications for the number of trades that could be gotten from alphabet).