Hello,
for all those people who don't like offensive wars here is my strategy. I use it at immortal level (all default settings: fractal, events, etc). Obviously it works at emperor and below. This guide is actually intended for beginners.
You'll need:
A) A creative leader.
B) Eight cities. On fractal maps / immortal you'll got them in 50% of your games, if you're boxed in 6-7 cities you'll need a quick war (horse archers) to get them. See below. If you have no horses, then you cannot use this strategy and you must prepare a cannons/cavalry game.
C) Cottage economy.
The beginning: you'll have to expand quickly (Creative helps). At emperor/immortal you'll have to defend from barbarian archers using warriors, that's not easy but it can be done. Barbarian cities will be very useful since you'll take them later (full fogbusting may be impossible).
Early research: all the basic techs (agricolture, HA, wheel, mining, bronze, pottery, writing). Creative allows very cheap Libraries so you'll make them in all cities, after or before barracks. With the +4 culture rate (2+2), in 25 turns all cities will reach a +40% defense bonus and they'll grab a lot of space. (The library will be your super-monument).
Then research aesthetics and wait until you can trade with alphabet with the first AI who get it. Meanwhile you may research misticism+meditation. At immortal/emperor you will have to research 1-2 turns into Alphabet to exchange it with your Aes.
Cities: all cities will be hybrid, no specialization at all, they will have cottages and mines. If a city has no mines (usually 1, sometimes zero) you may use slavery later to produce buildings. BTW slavery will not be very useful, because every citizen must work at cottages, also on plains.
No GP farms, all cities must go cottages. In the city with no mines assign a scientist to get the first great scientist in 33 turns. Use it to build the Academy in the capital, that's all for now.
Army: you should have always 1-2 cities which produce units (rotate them, since all cities will need the standard buildings too).
Diplomacy: play well, but don't worry if someone attacks you. The 40% bonus is enough to defend against a 3X stack, since catapults are not invented yet. On border cities build the first cottages in the side away from the border.
Religion: no religions, you'll get liberalism early and you cannot afford to lose two turns of anarchy just to have some minor bonus (at high civic cost..)
Research, first goal: win the Liberalism race for the 2K free tecnology. You'll now follow
two lines at the same time: Currency->CoL and Monarchy->Feudalism. Get the other techs via trading. When you get Monarchy make the first civic switch (Hereditary rule (+ Slavery if you like)) so that you'll get the +2 happiness bonus (every cities will have 2 units minimum) and you'll able to grow you cities to size 7-8, for further cottages. Feudalism is very important too, you'll get it when other civs will reach construction (e.g. catapults). Start building longbows (don't upgrade old archers, money is for research) and some catapults for defence.
Research now Civil service, Paper, Education, Philosophy, Liberalism. You will win the race without bulbing at all. I usually skip Literature and the Great library too, I make great people later. Get the other tech via trading. Donate some older techs to make friends. You may switch to Burocracy when it's available. When you get maces stop building longbows and switch to them. Build wonders if you have the right materials.
Research: Get Nationalism as free tech, swith to free religion for the 10% research bonus and research PrintingPress. Then get Gunpowder and research to rifles. You will not use them, but you cannot afford to continue building obsolete units.
Then.. the most important part of the strategy, research Constitution and Democracy, build the Statue of Liberty, and with the free specialist in every city, plus other 1-2 you may assign, plus the bonus from wonders, you'll start to receive a lot of great people, you may also switch a city to a GP farm. Use all that great people as you wish.
Switch to Universal Suffrage when available, you will need hammers for the space race. Then free market/state property.
That's all. If you can now win easily. For a space race I strongly suggest to build the internet so that no other AI will be able to steal your techs. Don't research mass media. Obviously continue to improve your army.
** If you're boxed in 6-7 cities and have horses, you must take 2-3 cities with a quick war, see the guides on this forum. The problem is that HorseRaiding is very costly (400 beakers) so you MUST trade it just like you did with Aesthetics, otherwise you will not be able to win the Lib race. This is dangerous, but you have no choice.
for all those people who don't like offensive wars here is my strategy. I use it at immortal level (all default settings: fractal, events, etc). Obviously it works at emperor and below. This guide is actually intended for beginners.
You'll need:
A) A creative leader.
B) Eight cities. On fractal maps / immortal you'll got them in 50% of your games, if you're boxed in 6-7 cities you'll need a quick war (horse archers) to get them. See below. If you have no horses, then you cannot use this strategy and you must prepare a cannons/cavalry game.
C) Cottage economy.
The beginning: you'll have to expand quickly (Creative helps). At emperor/immortal you'll have to defend from barbarian archers using warriors, that's not easy but it can be done. Barbarian cities will be very useful since you'll take them later (full fogbusting may be impossible).
Early research: all the basic techs (agricolture, HA, wheel, mining, bronze, pottery, writing). Creative allows very cheap Libraries so you'll make them in all cities, after or before barracks. With the +4 culture rate (2+2), in 25 turns all cities will reach a +40% defense bonus and they'll grab a lot of space. (The library will be your super-monument).
Then research aesthetics and wait until you can trade with alphabet with the first AI who get it. Meanwhile you may research misticism+meditation. At immortal/emperor you will have to research 1-2 turns into Alphabet to exchange it with your Aes.
Cities: all cities will be hybrid, no specialization at all, they will have cottages and mines. If a city has no mines (usually 1, sometimes zero) you may use slavery later to produce buildings. BTW slavery will not be very useful, because every citizen must work at cottages, also on plains.
No GP farms, all cities must go cottages. In the city with no mines assign a scientist to get the first great scientist in 33 turns. Use it to build the Academy in the capital, that's all for now.
Army: you should have always 1-2 cities which produce units (rotate them, since all cities will need the standard buildings too).
Diplomacy: play well, but don't worry if someone attacks you. The 40% bonus is enough to defend against a 3X stack, since catapults are not invented yet. On border cities build the first cottages in the side away from the border.
Religion: no religions, you'll get liberalism early and you cannot afford to lose two turns of anarchy just to have some minor bonus (at high civic cost..)
Research, first goal: win the Liberalism race for the 2K free tecnology. You'll now follow
two lines at the same time: Currency->CoL and Monarchy->Feudalism. Get the other techs via trading. When you get Monarchy make the first civic switch (Hereditary rule (+ Slavery if you like)) so that you'll get the +2 happiness bonus (every cities will have 2 units minimum) and you'll able to grow you cities to size 7-8, for further cottages. Feudalism is very important too, you'll get it when other civs will reach construction (e.g. catapults). Start building longbows (don't upgrade old archers, money is for research) and some catapults for defence.
Research now Civil service, Paper, Education, Philosophy, Liberalism. You will win the race without bulbing at all. I usually skip Literature and the Great library too, I make great people later. Get the other tech via trading. Donate some older techs to make friends. You may switch to Burocracy when it's available. When you get maces stop building longbows and switch to them. Build wonders if you have the right materials.
Research: Get Nationalism as free tech, swith to free religion for the 10% research bonus and research PrintingPress. Then get Gunpowder and research to rifles. You will not use them, but you cannot afford to continue building obsolete units.
Then.. the most important part of the strategy, research Constitution and Democracy, build the Statue of Liberty, and with the free specialist in every city, plus other 1-2 you may assign, plus the bonus from wonders, you'll start to receive a lot of great people, you may also switch a city to a GP farm. Use all that great people as you wish.
Switch to Universal Suffrage when available, you will need hammers for the space race. Then free market/state property.
That's all. If you can now win easily. For a space race I strongly suggest to build the internet so that no other AI will be able to steal your techs. Don't research mass media. Obviously continue to improve your army.
** If you're boxed in 6-7 cities and have horses, you must take 2-3 cities with a quick war, see the guides on this forum. The problem is that HorseRaiding is very costly (400 beakers) so you MUST trade it just like you did with Aesthetics, otherwise you will not be able to win the Lib race. This is dangerous, but you have no choice.
.
