Here are the special rules I frequently apply and enjoy when playing CCM 2.50:
Playing CCM the "Age of Discovery-Style".
1. Play on the biggest map with continent settings, water 60 or 70 %, age of the world 5 billi. years, climate normal, temperature temperate, monarch or more
2. Until you have not fully explored the
complete outlines of both main continents in this setting the following special rules are in place:
a) You are not allowed to start wars in this phase of the game.
b) You are allowed to capture cities in a defending war, that was not provoked by you. Moving big groups of landunits through foreign territory is a provokation
c) If a civ asks for peace, you have to accept it.
d) The stealing of maps in that phase of the game is not allowed.
e) Don´t play seafaring civs, as they have a better chance to jump to the other continent.
These rules, exploring the world, for me provide a lot of fun in the game. You have to use your naval force, a part of the game you are mostly ignoring in your succession games. Your common playing style of building up a massive military force that always steam hammers the world, could be less effective, as other civs don´t tend to declare war on civs with big military forces (if not provoked). On the other side building ancient wonders, that provide you with additional settlers, now are an even much more interesting option.
3. When you have explored the complete outlines of both main continents (mostly at the end of era 2 of CCM) all the special rules of phase 2 are eliminated.
In this phase you normally have to deal with "modern era warfare" as it was suggested by Greebley.
