Opening Strategy:
I see no reason not to settle in place on the plains. The other option is to move twice to the plains hill to the SE, grabbing the stone earlier but a warrior move shows that to be a poor choice, plus wed give up two floodplains. I suspect there is some food in the outer cross I certainly hope so if were going to run an SE!
Techs are going to start with AH, hoping for horses in the second border pop (there are a few tiles that could support ponies). I prefer to fogbust with warriors on emperor, avoiding archery if necessary, particularly if there are no cottages for barbs to pillage. I wouldnt try this on Immortal though.
My experience with emperor is that it wont be too hard to get the pyramids, especially with stone and IND, so Im going to take a shot at SH, effectively converting myself into a creative civ. If possible, Ill try to build the pyramids in the second city, perhaps teching math early for the forest boost. Heck, if theres time, it might be worth it to throw in Hanging Gardens, thereby guaranteeing a Great Engineer early. Typically I would use him to rush the GL, but with an IND leader and early representation, settling seems the better option. Ditto with the priest from the capital. Ill need metal casting for the forges, but I hate researching this myself so hopefully theres a MM or Gandhi around. The only GP I may not settle is the scientist; if the tech race is tight Ill bulb philosophy. And of course theres the academy.
The other option is to go Oracle -> MC or CoL, but I think Ill avoid the religious part of the tree for this game. I prefer to let a religion find its way to me, letting me decide which block to join once the picture is more clear. We wont be limited by happiness as much with Rep. and I can usually grab either Conf. or Taoism later as it is, to enable theocracy.
My typical war machine strategy is to queue up troops everywhere under OR or Pacifism, fire off a golden age and switch to Theo, Vassalage and Slavery, grow the army like mad and then switch back just before the end. With a SPI leader and the pyramids, we can build troops under police state instead, once weve a few other sources of happiness. I would still queue them up, and only switch to Theo/Vass for the builds. Well see how it goes. To the game
Ugh, Willem. I hate this guy. No particular reason, he just seems to show up all the freaking time near me. Add in Peter and Brennus two nice traders, an attack dog, and an attack target; sounds like fun! All 3 are from the south. Id hate to make Thebes the front line, but the land down there doesnt look that hot. Plus, horses just popped up north, so Ill be moving there next. Ill probably take the cite on the river to unlock the trade route earlier. I really wish I couldve scouted more north, although if you look closely you can see some snow on the trees at the border so the map likely ends up there. The next warrior should explore south.

My scouting warrior died to a lion. I was greedy and tried to move to the forest before healing. Still, he had the odds
Techs went AH->Myst->Mining->Masonry->BW and builds went Warrior (to size 3)-> worker->worker->SH
My second warrior found this cite to the south: nice. I definitely need that ivory, which makes a math run early a priority. I also let the warrior heal in place this time! Justinian showed up too this round. He always gets pwned in my games long before knights. Hes already Brennus worst enemy! Justinian has Buddhism, and Brennus founded Hindu. I hope Hindu spreads first.

OK, changed my mind. Ill expand south first and try to grab some ivory. Found Peters borders, and hes not too far off the good cite, although hell probably stick to the coast and take the rice location first. He will have elephants though, so Ill try to stay on his good side. Problem is, along with Willem, he can backstab at pleased. Brennus will do no such thing.
My workers in Thebes hit the cows first, followed by the corn. The FPs will get farms soon enough, but first I want to road up the stone and horses, and prepare for chopping once BW comes online. My warrior stuck to the forests looking for fights, and circles back up north. Im guessing Justinian is north of me. I think hell be my first target and Ill nab that holy city after he builds a shrine. The warrior will double back and camp out near my (future) southern city.
2725BC Shut up Tacitus.

2400BC Stonehenge in. At this culture rate, Ill have those horses without a city!
2325BC Moved my warrior across the river for better defense, and found Pacal. Itll be interesting to see what religion he takes. Also, Im not well prepared for barbs, so I may get greedy and try to nab the Great Wall before Pyramids. I really need to get some settlers out though. Copper popped to the west, but the rest of that cite is terrible save for the fish. Still, Ill be taking it, but not before the southern cite.
I went for writing next, to improve diplomacy. The Woody II warrior circles back to escort the settler being built in Thebes down south. I can hold off on any more cities for now but I need a presence near that Ivory. Some warrior fogbusting and the settler can move unescorted for part of the way.
2300BC See Peter, this is why you suck. I would be havin those two workers right now, but youre just going to mope around instead. Also, Gems, Gold and Ivory! Health may actually limit us instead of happiness.

1975BC Memphis settled in the south (the irony ) I know its far away, but the distance upkeep is small compared to the number of cities upkeep, and with the quick border pop I should be able to keep Peter out of the resource rich area. Also this turn, I have lots of food now so I whip the GW with 7 turns left, killing only 2 citizens! Gotta love IND leaders with stone. Barb problem solved. Now, need to build up power to avoid a DOW from an AI.
1950BC Yoinks! Time for some workers now, to let the slavery effects fade, and to prepare to chop out the pyramids. I guess theyll be in the capital after all. Citizens are working food only, and workers are pre-chopping forests.

1800BC Writing in. The only friction is between Brennus and Justinian, so I open borders with everyone but the latter. I also notice that Peter will go to war as soon as I can give him some tech, Justinian has axmen, and nobody has enough on their hands yet. The post-writing techs are too expensive now, so Ill backfill a little bit. Hunting->Fishing to open up some decent trades once alphabet comes in.
The AI has a few archers up in my grill, but there isnt anyone aggressive enough to make a play with them.
1650BC 4 workers. You can never have enough workers in the early game. I hire a priest to skew the GP odds away from a spy. 71% priest now, should be about 80% by the growth. The workers chop away, while one starts on the long road to Memphis. Ill need it for the ivory as well as troop movement.
1600BC Barb archers. Where you goin ... nowhere.

1525BC Judaism founded. Also, my power almost doubles as a warrior is built in Memphis. I start on a barracks to up my power. The woody II warrior will now leave and explore some more. I really wish Id done more exploring this game.
1475BC Shut up Livy. I wonder whos on top? Probably one of the psychos Monty or Genghis. Pacal switches to OR, and converts to Judaism the next turn, as does Willem. Also, my warrior gets nerfed by a spearman. I guess thats a lesson to hide behind the Wall! The Oracle was built no indication yet of who or which tech they took. I wasnt watching the score table either, which can give you a hint. Doesnt matter much; its not like the Oracle is worth capturing.

1425BC Damnit, a spy is born against the odds. Ill settle him and direct all spy points to Pacal, who doesnt trade as easily as everyone else. Steal me a few stupid techs like Priesthood, etc. so they dont count against the trade limit. Now, if only I could find him Pyramids in 4 turns.
1400BC Willem shows up and demands Masonry. I give it, only to see that hes 5 techs ahead of me (including Alphabet)! Thats fine, he doesnt build many troops. I need Aesthetics next to trade with him. I can probably get IW and Alpha for it, between him and Peter. I check around, and nobody has enough on their hands yet. Peter will still fight for tech, although we cant trade it yet.
Im gonna get those horses shortly in Thebes, and Im considering forgoing the copper to grab another southern city with rice, gems, banana and 2xIvory. That would probably give me a monopoly on the ivory, and block off at least 4 more cities. I can deal with axmen with the war chariots, and who builds an invasion stack of spearmen?
1350 BC Pyramids in. Dont forget to switch to Rep! Need horses and an army now, then a settler. I fire the priests in order to grow, and I road up the horses with 2 workers.
1250BC Borders expand and cover the horses. Pasture is built within two turns. Barracks in Capital to grow a few pop.
1200BC At size 7, I rehire the priests and slow down growth to work some mines. After two war chariots, Ill expand a little more (2 more cities). Ive NEVER expanded this slowly before, but there doesnt seem to be much of a rush, so Im not too worried. There are barbs everywhere, and I want to kill them with the chariots. Mainly axmen and archers, so it should be easy.
1000BC The axmen are being d**ks, and hiding on the forested hills. O well. I think I should have put the spy points in Peter instead, since he made a very feeble attempt to settle near Memphis. I think Ill keep him around until right before rifling, to trade and steal from. I get the feeling that most players are located southwest of me, since I havent seen ANY activity north other than Justinians scout, who may have come around Thebes.
Empire:

Tech Situation:

Weaknesses:
Obviously, having only two cities is pathetic, but in ten turns I should have 4 so its not quite as bad as it looks.
My army is pretty small
Memphis hasnt been improved at all
My scouting is horrible, thanks to the death of both starting warriors (against odds...)
I probably didnt need to build the Great Wall
Strengths:
I have a settled spy, which means I can run a hybrid EE as well
I got three wonders with many forests to spare
I have 4 workers free to work on the coming cities
Thebes is growing quickly, has great production, decent research and will probably end up being my military powerhouse, although its a little far from the fray. Im going to put my Science City (with GL) near the rice/bananas/gems, and run only scientists there.
I feel that I have a good start. Although I am woefully lacking in cities and tech, I can make up the cities very quickly, and tech trades will be easy on this map, coupled with some stealing I dont see a problem getting to liberalism first. There is a Jewish missionary on his way to Thebes, which is nice. And an elephant-cat war is very possible as well, if I can find some more borders. I dont see the need to rush anybody with all this land though. Please comment; Im interested to read the spoilers now.
I see no reason not to settle in place on the plains. The other option is to move twice to the plains hill to the SE, grabbing the stone earlier but a warrior move shows that to be a poor choice, plus wed give up two floodplains. I suspect there is some food in the outer cross I certainly hope so if were going to run an SE!
Techs are going to start with AH, hoping for horses in the second border pop (there are a few tiles that could support ponies). I prefer to fogbust with warriors on emperor, avoiding archery if necessary, particularly if there are no cottages for barbs to pillage. I wouldnt try this on Immortal though.
My experience with emperor is that it wont be too hard to get the pyramids, especially with stone and IND, so Im going to take a shot at SH, effectively converting myself into a creative civ. If possible, Ill try to build the pyramids in the second city, perhaps teching math early for the forest boost. Heck, if theres time, it might be worth it to throw in Hanging Gardens, thereby guaranteeing a Great Engineer early. Typically I would use him to rush the GL, but with an IND leader and early representation, settling seems the better option. Ditto with the priest from the capital. Ill need metal casting for the forges, but I hate researching this myself so hopefully theres a MM or Gandhi around. The only GP I may not settle is the scientist; if the tech race is tight Ill bulb philosophy. And of course theres the academy.
The other option is to go Oracle -> MC or CoL, but I think Ill avoid the religious part of the tree for this game. I prefer to let a religion find its way to me, letting me decide which block to join once the picture is more clear. We wont be limited by happiness as much with Rep. and I can usually grab either Conf. or Taoism later as it is, to enable theocracy.
My typical war machine strategy is to queue up troops everywhere under OR or Pacifism, fire off a golden age and switch to Theo, Vassalage and Slavery, grow the army like mad and then switch back just before the end. With a SPI leader and the pyramids, we can build troops under police state instead, once weve a few other sources of happiness. I would still queue them up, and only switch to Theo/Vass for the builds. Well see how it goes. To the game
Spoiler :
Ugh, Willem. I hate this guy. No particular reason, he just seems to show up all the freaking time near me. Add in Peter and Brennus two nice traders, an attack dog, and an attack target; sounds like fun! All 3 are from the south. Id hate to make Thebes the front line, but the land down there doesnt look that hot. Plus, horses just popped up north, so Ill be moving there next. Ill probably take the cite on the river to unlock the trade route earlier. I really wish I couldve scouted more north, although if you look closely you can see some snow on the trees at the border so the map likely ends up there. The next warrior should explore south.

My scouting warrior died to a lion. I was greedy and tried to move to the forest before healing. Still, he had the odds
Techs went AH->Myst->Mining->Masonry->BW and builds went Warrior (to size 3)-> worker->worker->SH
My second warrior found this cite to the south: nice. I definitely need that ivory, which makes a math run early a priority. I also let the warrior heal in place this time! Justinian showed up too this round. He always gets pwned in my games long before knights. Hes already Brennus worst enemy! Justinian has Buddhism, and Brennus founded Hindu. I hope Hindu spreads first.

OK, changed my mind. Ill expand south first and try to grab some ivory. Found Peters borders, and hes not too far off the good cite, although hell probably stick to the coast and take the rice location first. He will have elephants though, so Ill try to stay on his good side. Problem is, along with Willem, he can backstab at pleased. Brennus will do no such thing.
My workers in Thebes hit the cows first, followed by the corn. The FPs will get farms soon enough, but first I want to road up the stone and horses, and prepare for chopping once BW comes online. My warrior stuck to the forests looking for fights, and circles back up north. Im guessing Justinian is north of me. I think hell be my first target and Ill nab that holy city after he builds a shrine. The warrior will double back and camp out near my (future) southern city.
2725BC Shut up Tacitus.

2400BC Stonehenge in. At this culture rate, Ill have those horses without a city!
2325BC Moved my warrior across the river for better defense, and found Pacal. Itll be interesting to see what religion he takes. Also, Im not well prepared for barbs, so I may get greedy and try to nab the Great Wall before Pyramids. I really need to get some settlers out though. Copper popped to the west, but the rest of that cite is terrible save for the fish. Still, Ill be taking it, but not before the southern cite.
I went for writing next, to improve diplomacy. The Woody II warrior circles back to escort the settler being built in Thebes down south. I can hold off on any more cities for now but I need a presence near that Ivory. Some warrior fogbusting and the settler can move unescorted for part of the way.
2300BC See Peter, this is why you suck. I would be havin those two workers right now, but youre just going to mope around instead. Also, Gems, Gold and Ivory! Health may actually limit us instead of happiness.

1975BC Memphis settled in the south (the irony ) I know its far away, but the distance upkeep is small compared to the number of cities upkeep, and with the quick border pop I should be able to keep Peter out of the resource rich area. Also this turn, I have lots of food now so I whip the GW with 7 turns left, killing only 2 citizens! Gotta love IND leaders with stone. Barb problem solved. Now, need to build up power to avoid a DOW from an AI.
1950BC Yoinks! Time for some workers now, to let the slavery effects fade, and to prepare to chop out the pyramids. I guess theyll be in the capital after all. Citizens are working food only, and workers are pre-chopping forests.

1800BC Writing in. The only friction is between Brennus and Justinian, so I open borders with everyone but the latter. I also notice that Peter will go to war as soon as I can give him some tech, Justinian has axmen, and nobody has enough on their hands yet. The post-writing techs are too expensive now, so Ill backfill a little bit. Hunting->Fishing to open up some decent trades once alphabet comes in.
The AI has a few archers up in my grill, but there isnt anyone aggressive enough to make a play with them.
1650BC 4 workers. You can never have enough workers in the early game. I hire a priest to skew the GP odds away from a spy. 71% priest now, should be about 80% by the growth. The workers chop away, while one starts on the long road to Memphis. Ill need it for the ivory as well as troop movement.
1600BC Barb archers. Where you goin ... nowhere.

1525BC Judaism founded. Also, my power almost doubles as a warrior is built in Memphis. I start on a barracks to up my power. The woody II warrior will now leave and explore some more. I really wish Id done more exploring this game.
1475BC Shut up Livy. I wonder whos on top? Probably one of the psychos Monty or Genghis. Pacal switches to OR, and converts to Judaism the next turn, as does Willem. Also, my warrior gets nerfed by a spearman. I guess thats a lesson to hide behind the Wall! The Oracle was built no indication yet of who or which tech they took. I wasnt watching the score table either, which can give you a hint. Doesnt matter much; its not like the Oracle is worth capturing.

1425BC Damnit, a spy is born against the odds. Ill settle him and direct all spy points to Pacal, who doesnt trade as easily as everyone else. Steal me a few stupid techs like Priesthood, etc. so they dont count against the trade limit. Now, if only I could find him Pyramids in 4 turns.
1400BC Willem shows up and demands Masonry. I give it, only to see that hes 5 techs ahead of me (including Alphabet)! Thats fine, he doesnt build many troops. I need Aesthetics next to trade with him. I can probably get IW and Alpha for it, between him and Peter. I check around, and nobody has enough on their hands yet. Peter will still fight for tech, although we cant trade it yet.
Im gonna get those horses shortly in Thebes, and Im considering forgoing the copper to grab another southern city with rice, gems, banana and 2xIvory. That would probably give me a monopoly on the ivory, and block off at least 4 more cities. I can deal with axmen with the war chariots, and who builds an invasion stack of spearmen?
1350 BC Pyramids in. Dont forget to switch to Rep! Need horses and an army now, then a settler. I fire the priests in order to grow, and I road up the horses with 2 workers.
1250BC Borders expand and cover the horses. Pasture is built within two turns. Barracks in Capital to grow a few pop.
1200BC At size 7, I rehire the priests and slow down growth to work some mines. After two war chariots, Ill expand a little more (2 more cities). Ive NEVER expanded this slowly before, but there doesnt seem to be much of a rush, so Im not too worried. There are barbs everywhere, and I want to kill them with the chariots. Mainly axmen and archers, so it should be easy.
1000BC The axmen are being d**ks, and hiding on the forested hills. O well. I think I should have put the spy points in Peter instead, since he made a very feeble attempt to settle near Memphis. I think Ill keep him around until right before rifling, to trade and steal from. I get the feeling that most players are located southwest of me, since I havent seen ANY activity north other than Justinians scout, who may have come around Thebes.
Empire:

Tech Situation:

Weaknesses:
Obviously, having only two cities is pathetic, but in ten turns I should have 4 so its not quite as bad as it looks.
My army is pretty small
Memphis hasnt been improved at all
My scouting is horrible, thanks to the death of both starting warriors (against odds...)
I probably didnt need to build the Great Wall
Strengths:
I have a settled spy, which means I can run a hybrid EE as well
I got three wonders with many forests to spare
I have 4 workers free to work on the coming cities
Thebes is growing quickly, has great production, decent research and will probably end up being my military powerhouse, although its a little far from the fray. Im going to put my Science City (with GL) near the rice/bananas/gems, and run only scientists there.
I feel that I have a good start. Although I am woefully lacking in cities and tech, I can make up the cities very quickly, and tech trades will be easy on this map, coupled with some stealing I dont see a problem getting to liberalism first. There is a Jewish missionary on his way to Thebes, which is nice. And an elephant-cat war is very possible as well, if I can find some more borders. I dont see the need to rush anybody with all this land though. Please comment; Im interested to read the spoilers now.