Another fun game. My military adventures lead to nothing, so I stayed pretty much on my big island, where I was safe. It was plenty big enough to keep me ahead of the AI, though not to get me 4-turn research.
Despite the despotic golden age, I want the Colossus. I settle on the coast and get to work. I also want the Great Light House, but I have to settle for the Great Library instead. This does me very little good, because the AI don't research worth beans. I learn nothing past the ancient age.
I mostly get my big island settled - the Zulu get a few towns in. I get one town on Mongol/Zulu island, and I settle a bunch of little islands. The Zulu attack and destroy my town on their island, I ally the Mongols, and the war goes poorly for the Zulu. Later the Mongols attack me and take my new town on their island. I ally the Zulu, and the Mongols mostly destroy them.
One tribe is destroyed before I meet them. China and the Mongols are doing well, and Germany is limping along. Everybody else is struggling to survive. I get to steam power long before anyone else, and discover I have no coal. I don't want to trade anyone up to steam power, because I'm worried that the AI might start to research, so I look around and find some coal I can steal with a cultural expansion. I send off my settler, establish the town, and then get attacked by a 2-city civ (Aztecs?). I wipe them out and now have coal already connected. The next interturn the Zulu town on my island flips to me, giving me a third source of coal.
I chug along through the industrial ages, taking AT and electronics from ToE and trading techs for luxes. I've got 4 tribes left alive besides me, and they are all reasonably happy with me. I figure I'll declare on the Chinese and ally everyone against them before holding the vote. Unfortunately, just a few turns before the UN completes, the Zulu (with their one city) attack. I can't get reinforcements over to the island in one turn because PTW transports are so slow, but I manage to cover my towns with the existing troops, and take them out the next turn.
Then I realize I have a per turn deal going with the Chinese that I'll have to break to declare on them before the vote. If I break it, the other tribes won't want to make a per-turn deal with me. Luckily the world is at peace and the Chinese have a military unit in my territory. I put a warrior next to it, make mutual protection pacts with the Mongols and the Germans, declare war and end my turn. They attack, everyone declares, I give my allies rubber and then hold the vote. They love me, and I finish in 1804.
My notes on the early game are below:
worker to cow, settler W to coast, scout south, sees ivory, set research to BW for Colossus
Build London, start warrior, worker roads, scout W&S. BW in 30
Hut gives map of southern desert
Warrior fortifies, start granary
2nd hut gives CB
Granary to settler
2850 learn BW, start writing. I think we are alone on our land.
2670 settle south of wheat.
Hut gives warrior code
2430 Hut is deserted, see barb camp
1790 Colossus
1425 writing to MM, 5 towns, 1 settler
1100 barb horses, 7 towns 3 turns to MM
1025 start Lit
800 meet Mongols who know the Zulu. I'm up writing, they are up masonry, the wheel, iron working, and mysticism
650 Land a settler on Mongol's land
610 Meet Zulu, Mongols and Zulu both know writing now.
530 GLH is built, turn into Glib
250 GL completes, learn a bunch of techs. Still 10 turns to republic
210 Meet China
130 Zulu declare war, destroy my town on their island. I ally Mongols for philosophy + 8 gpt
50 BC learn republic, revolt, 3 turn anarchy
10 BC Idiot Zulu horse runs off to destroy barb encampment and leaves the settler it is escorting alone.
, Meet Korea