Well, domination and islands is a recipe for a late win for me. However, I was expecting a much smaller starting island - I was afraid that I saw beaches to the north, east, and west, and I was pleasantly surprised that some of it was desert. (Boy, that sounds weird.) My first settler went to the coast to build the GLH and I researched quickly to chivalry. I then used a single scientist to learn invention (which was useful as I rushed some longbows on islands) and about half-way through gunpowder. My very first GOTM I researched about half-way through gunpowder before the end of the game, but that was a disastrous loss (also at regent, I think).
Anyway, I hit domination in 940, with 22 tiles to spare, after eliminating the Vikings, the Spanish, the Germans, and the English. My Jason score was over 9000, which was a big surprise. My notes up until I declared on the Vikings are below. They had no iron and no horses, so they were not particularly difficult to deal with. They never got off the island, and I didn't do a bad job of settling the nearby islands, so I was reasonably happy with my start.
Start looks like this may be a very small island - it looks like beaches to the east and west.
Worker to ivory, beaches turn out to be desert. Settle in place. Pottery, then to map making. Building a warrior.
Warrior goes east, start another warrior.
2nd warrior goes north, start granary.
3150 see pink border
First settler goes to coast by river, will start prebuild for GLH
2nd settler also on coast to NW. RCP 3.
2030 barbs sighted
775 First off-island town settled
530 Build GLH.
470 Meet English
130 Declare war on Vikings, Bowman wins, starts golden age.
