Moving on Up

[Tomoyo]

Fight them. Pillage. Good kill ratios via artillery. Monarchy/Communism, depending on the time period.

 

[EdwardTking]

Cbass

You are being given a lot of contradictory advice, that may
or may not match your particular game circumstances.

I suggest that you post a few saves (every 30 turns), and
then the experienced players here can best advise you.

 

[genghis_khev]

Once you got to Communism and Replaceable parts, I can almost say for sure that this game will be won. Artillery and Armies are the doom of the stupid AI.

Never a more true statement!

Below Regent terrain and city improvements can be aproached in a relaxed manner. However I found once I'd reached Regent I was struggling to keep tech pace until I realised I :
A) was a Monarchy
B) had (very) few libraries

Personally I found the ol' Philosophy / Republic tech rush gambit works well but once you hit republic you need some 7+ size cities quickly (core and/or river (no aquaducts!) cities. Towns (size 1-6) under republic only give 1 unit support (cities give 3, metros 4) and at a cost of 2gp per unit over the allowance you can quickly bankrupt yourself.

That and a ton of workers! (remember the unit support though). Don't be afraid to leave non-border cities with no defenders (no mil police happyness!) but keep your borders strong.

One last comment: After reading the War Acadamy article on wonder addiction try a no Great Wonder game (minor wonders are OK). I actually found it easier in a bizarre way (and did giggle loads when the badly prepared AI started a wonder way too late).