Back to the gauntlet - I wonder if there is any way that a non-russian game could win? 1/3 of the time at the MA, you get chivalry, which is useless and 4 out of 6 IA second level techs are optional (communism, fascism, ironclads, sanitation) and Ecology doesn't help for the space race, either. So, maybe expansionist/agricultural or expansionist/industrial. Even expansionist/commercial, maybe (can stop adding cities earlier) or seafaring (cut a turn off of CB and writing early on, can kick off the GA with collosus whenever you want).
Given that it's large, it's POSSIBLE that a non-expansionist civ could win - they won't get through the AA as fast, but might make up for it in the beginning of the MA. But it's tough, cause on this level, we should be able to get to 4 turn research soon after unis.
And it will be interesting to see if the "build a single great city with lots of wonders" beats the "spam out a lot of cities" - a size 12 city will make about 40 bpt after corruption and lib/uni through the IA, while an early collosus/MoM/SoZ/Pyramids/Oracle city might be making 40-60 gpt in tourist revenue in the IA, making 120-180 bpt (or more) in the IA (with lib/uni/science doublers), or the equivalent of 4-6 size 12 cities.
That's also the same as 40+ science farms.
AI won't be any help, other than for starting techs, free techs at ERA change and maybe iron working, though they might supply some science farms later down the line - a warlord AI can expand some.