How to get this game rolling?

[salty mud]

Please see attached an image of my current game. I picked Russia, liking the look of their UA, which combines all of my favourite things; faster borders, more science, and emphasis on a wide, powerful empire! This is a Continents Plus map, with 11 civs instead of the standard 10 (I like the extra tension created), on Chieftain difficulty. I played Chieftain in my first VP game and won, but a miserable Time victory in 2050. I want to win properly this time. So much so, time victory is disabled. This game won't end until some fat lady, somewhere, sings.

I've scouted out my surroundings and found my neighbours: Persia, America, Inca, Germany and Portugal. I've researched first line of techs, hoping to get lucky with some food animals in my Capital city area but no luck. Plenty of sugar, coffee and bananas dot the map, so I could monopolise and sell these to my competitors, but I need to get Calendar for that. I've adopted Progress as my policy and took the first option that gives me a worker and 25% improvement bonus.

What would you do with this opening? I'd like to plant my second city soon; should I go SW to claim bananas, or north to claim coffee? I plan to rush for Calendar to make use of my resources. Those horses also look tempting for some early aggression...

 

[CrazyG]

Connect the horses and sell some of them. AI pays a lot of gold and Russia gets extra copies.

There is a pantheon that boost plantations. If you can take that, you could expand to cities that have lots of immediate sugar and bananas and bring workers to them. This will get lots of gold and faith. I wouldn't settle my first city south to those bananas. Settle something that Persia or Germany might try to settle first. Then, later on, settle that city to the south.

Aggression with horsemen is an option, but be aware that walls are quite strong. Persia's immortal would be tough to defeat with horsemen.

BTW, it helps to share what your social policies are. It looks like you have progress?

 

[Melchizedek]

Given your preferences and the tenor of this start, I'd focus on settlers, workers, and monopolies early. You likely want 6-8 cities as a base, with more to come, and a worker for each. Remember you can buy workers but not settlers. You're doing well with two workers already. You want progress, and you want monuments ASAP because early border growth pushes your science. Then you want shrines to found a religion. (On higher difficulties, you often need shrines first.) You'll be picking a pantheon soon and it looks like either Goddess of Springtime or Goddess of Renewal would give you good yields. Research calendar next then get bronze working soon to reveal iron (more strategics to sell). After that, I'd want to get Drama & Poetry relatively soon and keep those borders growing as a science source. That bonus is a lot stronger early in the game than later. Although there are exceptions, generally try not to buy tiles; invest in buildings with your cash instead. Sell your strategics, as mentioned above. Only settle near an AI if you want to fight with him. On this particular start, I wouldn't want to fight until later. Buy defensive units like archers in border cities so that you can focus on getting your essential buildings online. (Monument/shrine/granary/well and then, a little later, library and forge. You pretty much need these in every city, others are situational.) You don't need military buildings yet unless you decide to attack. Good luck!

 

[salty mud]

Some awesone advice here, much appreciated. Let me share my progress so far. I did as advised and took the Goddess of Springtime pantheon and made an effort to settle new cities around planations. This has given my economy a big boost and should help me get an early religion out. There is no copper in my immediate neighbourhood, but I could send an outpost city NE of St. Petersburg to claim it. The wheat there will help the city grow. I also intend to settle north and claim those buffalo/horses before Bismarck can do so. He settled Munich rather close to me, and I'm slightly concerned... With Russia and Germany on the same map, there cannot be peace. I think I'll rush a settler out and settle the horse, which will really hamper Bismarck's expansion.

My second policy choice was to improve city connections. I have a worker connecting Novgorod, but have to free up another for Rostov. I currently have four workers but still feel short, so may invest in another.

 

[Brohner]

What type of victory are you aiming at?

Regarding the workers, I usually try to steal workers from other civs or CS, pathfinder with double movement promotion is really great for that, you can even steal two or more workers from the same civ if you position him good (try to look for the resource that's on the edge of the border, that way you can stay out of AI sight and just swoop in)