Initial infrastructure builds -their priority and ordering.

[mchl]

what I do is get a hill with gold or silver first. Then I work only that hill, city stalls growth at 1. make scout, worker first sometimes one before the other, then usually another warrior then worker (or vice versa). Scout gives you more ruins findings and 10% flanking bonus with your warrior for barbs, sometimes monument thrown in there. Hopefully you come across a +1 population ruins, its the best thing out there. Micro manage those tiles, slow growth is fine if you have tons of production. Work toward landed elite first. If you need it or have the time food buildings, but production is better. (build cities near gold, silver and gems - for the market and also production)

I like china - gold for the paper maker and no maintenance, means they are an incentive over libraries. Their special archer and general are awesome. University only in big science cities. Tradition, monarchy, and the stonehenge takes care of my culture for the game, all I want is faster border spreading and a few social policies.

landed elite, then monarchy, then work toward theocracy. after that its whatever you want. I used to do the liberty thing then found it was a waste of time. The game is all about production and happiness.

...water mill is good if you have no workable tiles, otherwise a few of them can be maintanence hogs.

...oh and the happiness buildings are moot. Don't build them, get monarchy and then theocracy for your happiness and a reasonable amount of luxury resources. If you have about 4 lux resources you should have surpluss you can trade for 300 gold or 9 GPT unless the civ is angry at u. Happiness buildings are a waste of time and too much maintenance. Do build markets and banks, but after production options.

 

[Nurgle84]

what I do is get a hill with gold or silver first. Then I work only that hill, city stalls growth at 1. make scout, worker first sometimes one before the other, then usually another warrior then worker (or vice versa). Scout gives you more ruins findings and 10% flanking bonus with your warrior for barbs, sometimes monument thrown in there. Hopefully you come across a +1 population ruins, its the best thing out there. Micro manage those tiles, slow growth is fine if you have tons of production. Work toward landed elite first. If you need it or have the time food buildings, but production is better. (build cities near gold, silver and gems - for the market and also production)

I like china - gold for the paper maker and no maintenance, means they are an incentive over libraries. Their special archer and general are awesome. University only in big science cities. Tradition, monarchy, and the stonehenge takes care of my culture for the game, all I want is faster border spreading and a few social policies.

landed elite, then monarchy, then work toward theocracy. after that its whatever you want. I used to do the liberty thing then found it was a waste of time. The game is all about production and happiness.

...water mill is good if you have no workable tiles, otherwise a few of them can be maintanence hogs.

...oh and the happiness buildings are moot. Don't build them, get monarchy and then theocracy for your happiness and a reasonable amount of luxury resources. If you have about 4 lux resources you should have surpluss you can trade for 300 gold or 9 GPT unless the civ is angry at u. Happiness buildings are a waste of time and too much maintenance. Do build markets and banks, but after production options.

I have a few problems with your tipps.
1. If your pop stays at 1, you won´t be able to build a settler.
2. Stonehenge for your policies: What if the AI builds it first?
3. Your choice of policies is fine, although I do not take monarchy. Only if a very food heavy capital. On the other hand: their is no fixed policy choice. If play Songhai, Germany or Ottomans I go for honor for example.
4. Water Mills are a must for me. 2 Gold for +1 Pop and +1 hammer is always worth it.
5. Happiness buildings: 4 Happiness resources and then having surplus? Not in my games. After a conquering spree 4 resources are only a drop on the hot stone. To make a calculation: A happiness building is 2 gold for 3 pop. Again: always worth it.

My personal list for infrastructure (early game, late game just buy what you need)

Monument (Not if I am about to get Legalism)
Watermill (if possible)

And then depending what the city needs. Sooner or later all buildings without maintenance are built.

 

[mchl]

I have a few problems with your tipps.
1. If your pop stays at 1, you won´t be able to build a settler.
2. Stonehenge for your policies: What if the AI builds it first?
3. Your choice of policies is fine, although I do not take monarchy. Only if a very food heavy capital. On the other hand: their is no fixed policy choice. If play Songhai, Germany or Ottomans I go for honor for example.
4. Water Mills are a must for me. 2 Gold for +1 Pop and +1 hammer is always worth it.
5. Happiness buildings: 4 Happiness resources and then having surplus? Not in my games. After a conquering spree 4 resources are only a drop on the hot stone. To make a calculation: A happiness building is 2 gold for 3 pop. Again: always worth it.

My personal list for infrastructure (early game, late game just buy what you need)

Monument (Not if I am about to get Legalism)
Watermill (if possible)

And then depending what the city needs. Sooner or later all buildings without maintenance are built.

I should have noted that strategy has some guidlines that must be met. It needs to be a standard or larger map on a harder level 6,7,8, not archipelago. I only do this at the start in the capital, never the next cities. Gems, gold, or silver on a hill is a must. China gets a starting bonus for this, they'll usually have a lux on a hill not always but more often than not, some other civs have this bonus as well. IMO china is the best civ in the game.

The settler thing is nbd, a +1 population from a ruin will let you build it. The idea is to spit the scouts and worker and warrior out quickly while the AI is city spamming. They are so far ahead to start on the hard levels it evens the score quickly. we know we can't spam cities faster than the AI on hard levels while keeping infrastructure. This also keeps your own population down in the early game helping happiness. AI also stays off your back a while early on if theres about 4+ ground units and you're not spamming cities or making friends. My idea is the minimum amount of population with the most production and gold wins the early game. Monuments are a waste of build time, legalism gives you 4 free ones, which the core cities shouldn't be much more than 4 unless a larger map. Then the route of landed elite, which helps greatly for production based early game cities.

Once the worker, one or two scouts, and warrior are out its a good idea to start thinking about moving that 1 citizen to food if you haven't got a +1 population ruin. Rapid exploration is the key. Low populations, river tiles with woods are good too. hills are best.

The AI doesn't build stonehenge first. They build great lighthouse, library, colossus, hanging gardens, oracle. There's only been one game I've yet played they build stonehenge before one of those. Calendar should be one of the first few things researched for luxuries and at that time if production is up shove out that first settler and go for stonehenge. I usually end up buying the first settler. trade double luxuries for gold and trade open borders for gold to get a research agreement with someone who has philosophy till its researched.

I personally don't get the honor social policy column. A country with a higher great general spawning bonus - china, or greece's calvary, or a few other units, will do wonders for the military. China's great general spawns very fast and also has the 10% extra bonus, so its like having the first two honor policies anyway. unless hunting barbs for gold with songhai.

Monarchy - by the time its reached the capital should be around 6 population, its good for 3-4 happiness and a few GPT for free. extra happiness holds the civilization over until theocracy. After those policies, whatever is needed. If this is done, a population that is in check with lots of luxury, production, and gold will not need happiness buildings until military conquest. If happiness bldngs are needed before warring then something isn't right, too many people or cities too fast, not enough luxury or trading or social policies that are doing something else

I will sometimes get the liberty column and the free worker and a free great engineer from meritocracy, then plant the engineer for +5 production in my capital's tiles...only if my happiness seems like it will hold me a while, if there's happiness troubles then I go straight for theocracy. I never get anything but meritocracy off the liberty one, its on to theocracy, or merchant navy if 2+ of my core cities are coastal.

large inefficient populations and city placement hurt happiness. A second very quick early city hurts happiness and gold and are harder to defend against barbs, and makes AI more aggresive. I never let the governor take over till the later game when its basically won already, around early modern era. production and happiness win the game in that order on difficult levels. Buildings that make happiness take away from production buildings, military production, and gold(science). Since gold is science, a no-maintenance science building that gives extra gold makes science even better - again china.

The #1 must have building for harder levels is workshop

Happiness should be in check before conquest, 5-10 is probably minimum, a standing military that you know can beat the next civ is all thats needed, then during the conquest after you know the AI is beat and happiness goes in the red and you get more GPT, build happy bldngs at leisure. Happy bldngs before war is no good, takes away from gold supply to upgrade or buy units when starting military campaign.

... just for reference by doing this I usually pump out the cho-ku-nu during the medeival era in 2-3 turns in capital and 3-4 turns in other cities.

 

[Smote]

what I do is get a hill with gold or silver first. Then I work only that hill, city stalls growth at 1. make scout, worker first sometimes one before the other, then usually another warrior then worker (or vice versa). Scout gives you more ruins findings and 10% flanking bonus with your warrior for barbs, sometimes monument thrown in there. Hopefully you come across a +1 population ruins, its the best thing out there. Micro manage those tiles, slow growth is fine if you have tons of production. Work toward landed elite first. If you need it or have the time food buildings, but production is better. (build cities near gold, silver and gems - for the market and also production)

I like china - gold for the paper maker and no maintenance, means they are an incentive over libraries. Their special archer and general are awesome. University only in big science cities. Tradition, monarchy, and the stonehenge takes care of my culture for the game, all I want is faster border spreading and a few social policies.

landed elite, then monarchy, then work toward theocracy. after that its whatever you want. I used to do the liberty thing then found it was a waste of time. The game is all about production and happiness.

...water mill is good if you have no workable tiles, otherwise a few of them can be maintanence hogs.

...oh and the happiness buildings are moot. Don't build them, get monarchy and then theocracy for your happiness and a reasonable amount of luxury resources. If you have about 4 lux resources you should have surpluss you can trade for 300 gold or 9 GPT unless the civ is angry at u. Happiness buildings are a waste of time and too much maintenance. Do build markets and banks, but after production options.

Sometimes, using the 0/2 immediately can be ok. However, it is a big hit to the tech rate. Also, it is not good if there are any 3/0, 2/1, or 1/2 tiles to be used, since this means you are wasting potential food/hammers.

Also, it precludes the option of a double worker start, since slow growth only requires one worker. This may not be a bad thing, since you can build other things like settlers, granary, watermill, NC.

The hit to the tech rate is the major deterrant of not rising population to 2. 5 beaker per turn is a lot better than 4. I agree that it works very well if you stumble along onto a pop ruin while doing it. I have done this slow growth strategy before, but mainly with a 1/2 tile, which it takes 10 turns to get to population 2 (a trade of 5 beakers for 10 hammers, which is acceptable to me).

 

[mchl]

Sometimes, using the 0/2 immediately can be ok. However, it is a big hit to the tech rate. Also, it is not good if there are any 3/0, 2/1, or 1/2 tiles to be used, since this means you are wasting potential food/hammers.

Also, it precludes the option of a double worker start, since slow growth only requires one worker. This may not be a bad thing, since you can build other things like settlers, granary, watermill, NC.

The hit to the tech rate is the major deterrant of not rising population to 2. 5 beaker per turn is a lot better than 4. I agree that it works very well if you stumble along onto a pop ruin while doing it. I have done this slow growth strategy before, but mainly with a 1/2 tile, which it takes 10 turns to get to population 2 (a trade of 5 beakers for 10 hammers, which is acceptable to me).

like I say though if theres no hill luxury then the 0/2 start is no good. When gold/silver/gems is available its very hard to beat. a 3 food start grows in 5 turns? with 7turns till scout. A 2 hammer start (with gold) gives +2 gold bonus at the start and a scout in 5 turns, able to catch up with the warrior quickly to aid in flanking and while warrior is healing can search the surrounding territory for ruins. More ruins finding and more early barb camp gold to buy settler or worker etc. then another scout or whatever (still getting the extra gold bonus form luxury). If you happen on a +1 pop ruin you've got it made, if not switch over to the food resource after about two things are made in capital. The only thing I can see is a 3 food on a river beating that start

... I forgot to mention if building two scouts back to back the first is 5 turns second is 4 turns with the two hammer start, plus lux gold bonus. Take that vs. a 2 or 3 food start that makes one scout in 7 turns. Can cover a lot of ground in that time, lots of early gold, culture, pop out there. Grab the ruins only with scouts so u don't get the stupid unit advancement and waste the goodies. Not to mention the 30 gold city state bonuses, you'll have money to buy a worker or settler in no time

 

[Smote]

like I say though if theres no hill luxury then the 0/2 start is no good. When gold/silver/gems is available its very hard to beat. a 3 food start grows in 5 turns? with 7turns till scout. A 2 hammer start (with gold) gives +2 gold bonus at the start and a scout in 5 turns, able to catch up with the warrior quickly to aid in flanking and while warrior is healing can search the surrounding territory for ruins. More ruins finding and more early barb camp gold to buy settler or worker etc. then another scout or whatever (still getting the extra gold bonus form luxury). If you happen on a +1 pop ruin you've got it made, if not switch over to the food resource after about two things are made in capital. The only thing I can see is a 3 food on a river beating that start

... I forgot to mention if building two scouts back to back the first is 5 turns second is 4 turns with the two hammer start, plus lux gold bonus. Take that vs. a 2 or 3 food start that makes one scout in 7 turns. Can cover a lot of ground in that time, lots of early gold, culture, pop out there. Grab the ruins only with scouts so u don't get the stupid unit advancement and waste the goodies. Not to mention the 30 gold city state bonuses, you'll have money to buy a worker or settler in no time

Ah I was using timings for quick game speed myself. You also get to beat up barbs faster with 3 units to do it!

 

[mchl]

Ah I was using timings for quick game speed myself. You also get to beat up barbs faster with 3 units to do it!

Oh I agree a quick speed would be entirely different start, food is good there. Standard or slower the 2 hammer is a very nice tactic to try, I actually haven't tried it on the songhai yet. Continents or pangea on standard or larger with standard/epic/marathon this works great.

After landed elite is had, its possible to found a city with a 0/2 hammer and have it grow with the extra +2 food. So theres no production downtime hit when making a new city to grow to size two. Its a good idea during that time to build a granary or water mill during this time then your city owns right out of the box.

 

[Smote]

After landed elite is had, its possible to found a city with a 0/2 hammer and have it grow with the extra +2 food. So theres no production downtime hit when making a new city to grow to size two. Its a good idea during that time to build a granary or water mill during this time then your city owns right out of the box.

Yep, I'm all with you. Its easier on the happiness too, to get infrastructure before size.