We're doing very well here, and a little bit of luck in international affairs means that the game is almost as good as won.
I sold compass to Portugal for 10 bucks because we need them to expand (remember they get free settlers and galleons when they know astronomy).
1. 1565 Ninowa (!) gifted to us by Persia!!! Saves us from annihilating them. A miracle in Pompeii happens: we pay 40 bucks and Ninowa and Kudus become Christianized. We give optics to Portugal for free (everybody knows it already).
2. 1570 Germany cancels cow to clam deal; we give them dye to get cow again (need to keep the trade up). We trade constitution and MT to Netherlands for Astronomy (we can still beat the Europeans to Physics and Communism).
3. 1575 AP resolution: we make peace with the British (which we voted yes the move before). We give astronomy to the Portuguese.
4. 1580 Persia wants liberalism (which is still relatively unknown in renaissance Europe), I decided not to give in (they can't harm us anyway, they being so unstable). And here comes the lucky part:
Germany declares war on France and Spain!!
Takes us off their back (even though they kept their large stack in Rome as a deterrent); and in the future if we declare on France we may even win some bonus points with them, and that means no war with them.
5. 1585 Corporation done. Change to Military Science (reason being that most Europeans now know replacement parts, and Germany will know rifling soon, so we must counter by chemistry and grenadiers, while waiting for enough spy points to steal RP and rifling from them). Did I mention I sent a spy to Klagenfurt?
I start Olympic Park in Atina.
6. 1590 Mekke is out of rebellion, and it becomes our most lucrative city! (which Pompeii will probably surpass in the future)
Peter demands education, which is OK by me (to buy peace, as our north Black Sea city looks rather vulnerable).
France declares war on Mali (which is perfect, since Spain cannot now vassalize them because France and Spain have a defensive pact, and Mali will probably vassalize to us or Germany, and we gave them a map for 4+ relationship).
Persia signs defensive pact with Mongolia.
7. 1595 Messana revolts. The Vikings had a stack that they sent towards their historical Sicilian kingdom, but we will let them do the hard work for us.
Great Scientist born in Istanbul, and since we already have one, I settled him in Istanbul.
8. 1600 Messana is hit by the Vikings, with 2 weakened troops left. We raze Messana. The dejected Vikings head back home.
I notice Ethiopia sending a stack of elephants and trebuchet towards Buto where there's only a knight. I would let them conquer it, and eventually they'll give it to us for free, or they'll collapse from the instability which is good for us anyway (eliminating a potential master for Mali).
9. 1605 Russia gets bought into warring with Spain by Germany. Mekke gets Christianity.
10. 1610 Uneventful
Future directions:
1. We have 3 moves to chemistry; and we have about half the amount of spy points to steal a tech from Germany. Build some grenadiers ASAP and stack in Pompeii and our northern Greek cities as a deterrent.
If a great spy spawns (or we get it first with Communism), send him to Klagenfurt and steal techs like mad from Germany!
2. I would personally go for democracy (4 moves) next, so that we can switch all civics at once (free speech, emancipation, free religion, communism). Stay away from free market at all costs (we have way too much production) by using our 2 great people waiting in Istanbul. The trick is to switch civics, and bring us out of anarchy the same move by starting a golden age with the great people.
3. Spread more religion around soon. I deliberately avoided Scientific method because it obsoletes a lot of our wonders, and I have a Buddhist monastery building in Ninowa. We have 4 religions in our realm which translates into 12 additional happy faces potentially per city, not counting the cathedrals.
4. After democracy go for scientific method. Go for communism first for the Great Spy, then physics, while we steal replacement parts and rifling from the Germans.
5. We can almost turtle it out from now on, just make sure we stack plenty of troops in Pompeii, Dirac, Yergogu and that northern Black Sea city (whose name I keep forgetting!) as a deterrent from German/Russian aggression. Unless we want to invade/vassalize Germany with infantry
...
6. Olympic park is 3 turns from finishing in Atina. And remember about the 8 turns of GA from our 2 great people and another 8 turns coming up in 1700. So unlike real life, the 17th century becomes the Golden age of the Ottoman Empire rather than an age of stagnation.
. Ninawa is captured by persia.
. Upgraded some knights in mekke to cuirassiers. Great scientist born.
. Nationalism finished. I started optics because it will be finished in one turn. Opened borders with arabia.
