Well, it's a quick game so I finished it quickly
w/o looking much on optimising score or finish date.
I played open (emperor) class.
I settled west on the coast.
Build warrior then barracks. Science 100% alphabet.
Met Russia in 3550BC, bought pottery - barracks build changed to granary.
Found a zulu conscript warrior-settler pair in 3000BC and attacked with my reg warrior.
The two slaves hiked back, while the warrior entered zulu land to distract the stronger zulu forces.
Managed to make peace before a single zulu unit came near the capital.
Salzburg founded in 2350BC NE on river and coast.
In the meantime I was able to buy another zulu and a russian worker, so I didn't need native workers.
Next towns:
1790BC Innsbruck (spices)
1475BC Graz (horses)
1350BC Krems (ivory at the gates of moscow)
1125BC Landeck (back filling towards Krems)
The philosophy-republic slingshot succeeded in 1150BC and we revolted for a 5-turn anarchy.
The empire in 1000BC:
No contact made outside the starting continent, though you can see the traces of many brave curraghs.
We only have all first tier techs IW, HBR and the path to republic at that time.
In 900BC a a stack of 6 archers and 2 horsemen lays siege on moscow.
The 3 reg spears stand no chance and moscow is ours.
Shortly after St. Petersburg was razed and we get Yaroslavl' (iron) in the peace treaty.
Cathy plays OCC at rostov now, but is still at war with Shaka.
In 850BC a curragh finally makes it to the other continent and we get contact with the Mongols.
Having more trade partners makes the civs on our continent disposable and I decide to get rid of Cathy and Shaka soon.
Russia was assimilated in 510BC still with horses and archers.
The Statue of Zeus completed in 550BC so I had some ancient cavs to deal with Shaka.
The battle of Zimbabwe spawned our first leader, so the final blow was delivered by an ancient cav army in 270BC.
This was also the turn we entered middle ages by researching Polytheism.
Mongols and Dutch were already in MA, but self researching was cheaper.
Persia got engineering as free tech so I researched monotheism.
After that was a long phase of just filling the land and training troops on barbs.
The Dutch built the Lighthouse, so they settled a town on our continent in 190AD.
We took it in 350AD. I had war with them anyway, because I had spawned wars on the other continent.
There was never peace there in the middle ages.
I intended the final wars to be done by hussars.
But I got a little impatient and started the invasion of Persia with ancient cav in 580AD.
I had the one acav army with two members, so it fit in a caravel.
Bactra and Sidon fell quickly and I got another leader, which formed a second acav army.
Persepolis fell in 680AD and I made peace, to wait now finally for hussars.
Realistically this was not necessary.
The two ancient cav armies backed by some lose acavs and some knights could have taken on the rest of this continent.
But I wanted to see hussars in action (and a golden age).
Finally in 810AD we got MT. We had built Leonardo's in Vienna and 24 horsemen for upgrade, but no money.
We triggered the Golden age with our first hussar and started to work our path to conquest.
First the rest of Persia then Netherlands and finally the Mongols.
Still took some time and I wasn't really impressed with the hussars.
Finally conquest in 1000AD, still in Golden age.
In the end I had 5 armies and 49 hussars.