Experiment626: You might try skimming the thread - It was a training game for people who were interested in moving up to monarch and beyond.
What I'd suggest (short of reading that thread) is set a couple of restrictions for yourself and see what the results are.
1. Play at Regent - you'll be even with the AI
Use a continents, standard sized map with roaming barbarians
2. Play as America (Industrious & Expansionist)
(this will increase your worker speed & allow you scouts)
3. Do not research any techs until 1000 BC - then go for the Replublic slingshot - (this will improve your trading skills)
4, Make your first 2 builds scouts
(Practice exploration, contacts and trading skills)
5. Do not build any ancient age wonders
(You won't want to 'waste' that many shields at the higher levels)
6. Do not build any military unit until horsemen or swordsmen
(Among the early pitfalls is to overbuild defensive units)
7. Always have at least 1 worker for each city and don't automate them. Connect your cities. In general irrigate brown, mine green and roads = commerce and commerce = gold and gold = research, so the more the better
8. Concentrate on expansion, improving your lands and contacting everyone on your island. Also try (curragh/galley) to meet the other islands.
9. Don't build more than 2 barracks, libraries, harbors or markets (no temples, colisseums or city walls).
10. Try to claim at least 1 luxury and either iron or horses (both would be best) by 1000 BC. In the XOTM games the pre-1000 BC segment is what is known as the Quick Start Challenge (QCS). Quite often in games below Emperor, those 80 turns, if played well, will put the player at the top of the heap and make the rest of the game a downhill run.