Cyc
Looking for the door...
I'd be willing to step in and give thoughts to a team, but I have found that I'm a totally unreliable MTDG player.
One thing I found from the Civ III MTDG is that island invasions are not easy against human opponents, so I suggest that there are ground rules. The Civ III game really ground to a halt.
Perhaps we can do a variation where some more units can make amphibious attacks, or we rule out blocking a coastline but also rule out landings on anything but flat land (no marsh, jungle, hills, mountains or forests - we would need a rule about not planting forests on coast)
basically, allow invasions, but give the defenders a pretty large advantage, I dunno. Course, if it's a pangea or a continents map, then we can pretty much ignore that...
You may be more suitable for the DemoGame style game, that is not as pressing on the individual players. You are not asked to play the save on a regular basis, just to help discuss the options regarding movement, techs, trades, etc. The team President (Designated Player - DP) is responsible for playing the save for the whole team. The term for the President usually lasts a month, but that's not written in stone. In fact the Prez can ask anyone to step in for him/her at anytime (but the Prez is still responsible for anything that happens).
As far as land mass, see above. It looks like Pangaea or Continents. I believe the silly islands are out!