My first effort: 840 AD. It's actually better than expected - I only got 4 turn research for magnetism and motorized transport - my expansion wasn't that great. I got 3 SGL's - interestingly, 1 well timed for Copes, 1 for newton's and 1 in the middle of the IA, which I used for UN. I'm not sure that's a good idea, mind you - with a prebuild, you can get it a turn earlier.
The AI got me invention, gunpowder, banking and mettalurgy in the MA, but just rep parts and mass production in the IA - and mass prod with just a turn left for me. I think a better research path may be in store, but it's tough - the AI spends so much time on communism and fascism.
I'm also wondering if it makes sense to go for sanitation... but I suspect not - it's just better to go to war earlier and take more cities from the AI
OK, so, more detail:
60% pangea, wet, warm, 5B years. All scientific opponents except Byzantines.
Start was ok - river and a cow, a bunch of nearby FP, one with wheat, and another reasonably close cow, incense to my northeast.
Had huts on and popped two towns (one near the incense), found greece fast and traded for Alphabet and went for the slingshot. There was no problem getting it, which was encouraging.
Got republic at 1375 BC, caught 6 turns of chaos. Hit the MA at 1000 BC by trading for construction (I ended up trading for both currency and construction after researching part of them) got all the first level techs in interturn, but because I traded for construction, I couldn't get a 2nd level one.
QS stats: 13 cities, 30 citizens, 13 workers, 3 scouts, 5 warrios, 2 archers, 2 spears, 1 granary, 1 barrachs, 1 lib.
Set up Yekaterinaberg in a great site - on a gold hill on a river, with 2 more gold hills and a gold mountain in the radius. That became my FP site, with Copes, Newtons, courthouse, police station and shakespeares... towards the end, was producing 12% of my research.
http://forums.civfanatics.com/uploads/81969/yekaterinaberg.JPG
Research in the MA was slow - kicked off the GA with Copes and Newtons to give me 4 turn research on Magnetism. Got SGL's for both the science wonders. Hit the IA around 290 AD or so.
Got nationalism, Steam and medicine in the interturn and got electricity as the free tech
Gave away electricity so the AI would research rep parts.
Went industrialism, corporation, scientific method, then up the corporation ladder. Took Atomic Theory and Electronics for free. Research was 6-8 turns throughout.
At some point, the AI got mil tradition and I created a dogpile on germany. Germany held out for a long time, but couldn't handle all the AI's and died around 750 AD. Weariness was a problem, so I ended up building a bunch of temples and caths in my core, plus Universal Suffrage.
I managed to get flight in 6 and mass production in 4 (because the AI finished it a turn before I was gonna and I traded for it
), and motorized transport in 4 (the only tech I managed to get in 4 turns outside of magnetism) At some point, I picked up and SGL.
In the interturn, traded for Fission and rushed the UN that turn. The AI got me sanitation then, too :lol Signed ROP and MPP with everyone and won the vote (even though I accidentally abstained!), only Xerxes didn't vote for me (he was my opposition)
In retrospect, I should have built more granaries early and had some limited early wars to gain cities- Greece had a bunch near my core. That's always a problem for me, though, since the AI's nearest you are the ones you are usually trading with for luxuries! or at least, trading through...