...is finally over for me. Those few squares of stone, marble, fish, wheat and oasis have haunted my dreams for the last time!
Here's what I did:
1. Found Siwa (tried Djanet and Ineb-Hedt, all worthless due to lack of health)
2. Warrior, worker, Stonehenge, 2nd worker 6 turns from finishing Masonry, switch to Pyramids ASAP and finish Stonehenge later (to spawn great engineer rather than priest). If the wonders get built by somebody else restart.
3. Initial warrior heads south for goody huts. Reload if you don't get >30 gold each time.
4. 2nd warrior heads towards Mali for the goody hut. Ramesses' instructions are "If you value your head, don't return without less than 30 gold."
5. Warriors need to make back safely (can't waste turns on building warriors)
6. Workers farms wheat, builds roads to stone, just make sure they're free to quarry the stone ASAP. When pottery available build cottages.
7. Techs: Mysticism, masonry, pottery, writing, fishing, sailing, polytheism, aesthetics, literature. Trade for hunting, archery from others once you are half way towards literature.
8. As soon as both wonders are built (do NOT whip them unless absolutely necessary to beat AI, you need your cities big for the specialists), switch to castes and hire a smattering of specialists (the initial great person has to be great engineer, otherwise later it will very unlikely to spawn). Don't ever get a great priest.
9. Build walls and barracks while writing is being researched. Build library ASAP (in fact unhire scientists while you're building library). Make sure Siwa is at least 7-8 pop before hiring 3-4 specialists, in fact you want to grow your cottages into hamlets for the money later. Second specialist should be a great artist, and you'll probably never get the third in time, but you want hire 3-4 scientists. Be aware that sometimes the money from your 2 hamlets will outweigh the science from an extra scientist. Most of the time Siwa was between starving and growing slowly to maximize science.
10.. Build settler in 10 turns (while Siwa is at least 7 pop) and found Xou (right on the dye). This is a much better location than Per-Atum, since you'll never see copper until late, and Xou has fish, access to the wheat and 2 forests for production. Plus trade routes once you build the Great Lighthouse will be more lucrative. Xou takes the wheat and grow to 2 pop, builds workboat and grows all the way to 4 pop. As soon as Sailing is available switch to Great Lighthouse and use all hammers (2 forests, 2 plains), and pray that nobody else builds it first.
10. Do not build more military than necessary because this will drain your gold. Most of the time I'm at happiness limit and hovering around 0 gold to maximize science. As soon as literature is ready (right around turn 133), use your Great Engineer (who's been idling around eating money) to build Great Library.
11. If Rome declares war on you give them something the turn before. In fact you want to trade agriculture for the tech you're researching, even if it means saving 1 turn (yes, time is that tight).
12. On turn 134 build archers only and hope the impi and camels find Carthage and Ethiopia more tasty than your warriors.
), for an optimal shot at the Colossus.
