Settled on PH 1NE, unfortunately no food resources. Got 94 gold from the nearby hut, will help pay for early expansion, I can delay cottages in capital. Started with Mining-BW before Agriculture, built a mine on northeast plains hill, then stopped growth at size 2 (floodplains + mine) to focus on getting next two settlers with the help of chops. Settled Osaka on turn 31 to grab wheat and floodplains to the south and Tokyo on turn 41 (2240 BC) on wheat/cow/copper cluster to the west. That city will be a good settler/worker production center at size 3. At that point I also had Animal Husbandry and Pottery.
Saw the spot with stone in the southeast and the lack of happiness resources in my region, and thought it would be a good game for Pyramids. I was a bit worried about wonder dates when the AI has all ancient techs though. So I experimented and ran a custom game replicating the settings and all IND opponents with stone... Pyramids wasn't build until turn 90, seemed safe.
Teched Mysticism and Masonry, then Writing and Math. Settled stone city in 1480 BC and build pyramids in Tokyo with the help of a few chops by 1040 BC. Around 850 BC got Alphabet, settled a city for the NW fish (needs a monument) and one on north coast with river, floodplains, horse. Traded for Iron Working, Sailing, Polytheism. Had to fight some barb spears and axes at that point but I had axes so that was fine.
In 625 BC settled 7th city further NE on clams, got Currency and traded for Code of Laws. Started seeing more calendar resources in the eastern lands so went for Calendar before Civil Service. Civil Service in 425 BC. In the last 500 years of the BC I rapidly expanded east with 7 more cities, including some cities really close to Pericles. (Nagasaki took the spot between banana and sugar with jungle river tiles, initially lost part of its first ring to Corinth, but I chopped a library and it now stole back the sugar plantation and a cottage from Pericles.) Sitting at 14 cities, 43 population in 1AD.
After Civil Service I went towards Machinery (will get on 100 AD) since it unlocks samurai and is on the way to Astronomy. I also started the Great Lighthouse quite late as I was sure it was gone early, but it looks like I might get it in Tokyo unless it's sniped in the next 4 turns. Must not be a lot of wonder builders in that game. The three AIs on our landmass (Pericles, Suleiman and Sury) are pleased and the first two don't declare at pleased, so it feels safe. They all have feudalism, but low unit counts, so a force of samurai and catapults should be good for conquest. Suleiman's land is particularly interesting with the buddhist shrine.
It was tempting to run specialists with Pyramids, but growth and expansion are more important. I am only running a few scientists empire wide as you can see from the 22 beakers at 0%. Got only 1 GS which was used for an academy. Decided to go Civil Service so the Astro bulb is not possible anyway.
Empire screenshot in spoiler, forgot to take it in 1AD so it's 2 turns later, nothing substantially different in the picture though.
