What is your general strategy?

[Babbler]

I try to mix it up, with periods of warmongering following peaceful growth.

 

[oilfan]

I would be considered a builder. I enjoy building every applicable and significant improvement within a city before concentrating on military. Though I usually try to keep my military within about average size of most of the other civs. Then once I build theory of evolution (which I almost always manage to acomplish), I get well ahead of my opponents in the tech race. I sell the new techs, and use the money to quickly raise an army of infantry and artillery (through upgrading and hurrying), and then usually take out a neigbor to gain there resources and prodoction potential. After that I generally just grow in military strength until I get bored of beating the incompetent AI.

 

[Brewster]

I would classify myself as a building warmonger. I usually take my time to plan offensive strategies and implement them only if I think I am able to win the battle comfortably with minimal losses. I will only attack for the greater good of my civ (ie. for resourses or luxuries) but will be utterly ruthless if provoked.

 

[Bagatur]

I expand until all the land is taken, while building military in founded cities until I have army, able to wage at least defensive war. When enough military is built, I put it to work - war. Until then, bcs units are sifficient in most ways, I biuld up infrastructure with occasional reinforcments. But having war all the time is my fun.

 

[Khan_Asparuh]

I just want to attack someone when I hear that loud metal...

Make them RUN TO THE HILLS
The problem with me is that I load winamp with an entire DVD of MP3 on random play so it's hard. Sometimes it goes to "From Sarah With Love" and the AI doesn't want yet to sign peace. Stupid AI. No musical taste at all.
However, what is great with CIV i think is that you can never be sure about your strategy (sounds cliche, I know), you have to readjust all on a minor event.

 

[Rambuchan]

My overall strategy can be summed up in the word Initiative. I aim to take the initiative on every major event/war/tech researched/land grab phase/trade and so on. I deliberately try to deny the AI control of any phase of play. In otherwords I play to take the initiative away from them.

This means (probably in this order) taking the initiative over rivals at the crucial landgrab phase - ie. getting to the resources/luxuries/wheat/rivers etc before they do, initiating every war whether by direct declaration or stealth, drawing up the alliances first therefore deciding which nations fall into which alliance, making sure that my trades deliberately upset the trades which would be beneficial to rivals or competition to me, again dividing the world according to my plans and not theirs with MPPs, beating the AI to the important middle age and post middle age wonders and so on.

I play to exert my will over as many aspects of play as possible and deny the AI the ability to impose their will on the game (made much easier by an AI which seems to have no will of it's own most of the time). Of course it isn't always possible to beat them at everything and I usually come from behind to win games but that is more a part of the tactics rather than the strategy I guess.

It's a very general answer I know but it's a very general question to ask. In short I aim to to beat the AI in every aspect of the game by imposing my will over theirs - it is a God game afterall!

 

[Zavior]

It also leads to the permanent loss of your reputation.

Nah, I build after razing them to the ground

 

[cidknee]

i only have 1 strategy,,,,, to win

 

[Idylwyld]

I usually play with the Americans. The goal is always straight expansion all the way to the point where my expansion is stopped by the neighbors. Never try amphib expans, not worth the time in early game. During expansion phase the only thing coming out of cities is workers (for roading only), settlers, scouts/horsemen, spearmen (1 per city), and the occasional 'spacer' building or unit to maintain pop growth flow. Crank the research up to the point where break even hits, leave it there as long as you can. Screw the happiness, the whiners will be turned in to workers and settlers soon enough. Speed is the key, speed of research (Republic slingshot is sweet, scouts are worth their cost), speed of settler advancement (roads can't be built fast enough), and speed of pop growth make all the difference. Take the gamble and don't send your settlers with an escort, use found warriors and early horsemen as roving barb busters. Screw the ICS, go for a full cxxxxc expansion, take all the territory you can, the more territory you hold the greater the chance that you'll have the resources you need later. Once you've reached the max of your local expansion switch over to the internal build. By this time you should have made the switch to republic, hurry buildings as needed, don't keep too much in the bank, keep the research maxed. Stay away from conflict until you've got Cav and RR, too hard to fight the flood of AI units before RR. Get a Medieval Wonder, any of the early four are great, more are better, use any lost wonder race as prebuild for FP. If you aren't satisfied with your placement by the time you pick up democracy then just get out and start a new game.

 

[Arachnaphobia]

Making the other civs look stupid. Be it in techs, military or culture.

 

[Chazbagel]

I usually get 2-3 scouts, then find all of the rescources, and plant settlers on them... even if they are far fromy my capitol, then i will try to expand from my capitol to that rescourse. It works for me. Once i get all of my resources i start building military... Lots... then i will do an investigation of the capitol of the civ im going to attack, i will lead my troops close to their capitol (with the amount of troops i feel needed to take it) and declare war as soon as they say "leave or war".... by that time i will be able to take their capitol, putting their nation in TURMOIL..... muahahaha

I also build lots of workers, make lots of roads, and put my science at 60%, Entertainment at 0%.... ( I get all the luxuries ) That way, im not behind on science, and science helps my military.

 

[El Dorko Grande]

My strategy is quite simple:

As soon as you are stronger than your neighbour(s), killkillkillkillkill

 

[NextGEN]

Vini Viti Vichi

...not sure I did that right...
But seriously, I come, explore my surroundings, mark my territory (doggy style ) and make my presence known. Depending on civ through any means neccisary, military, commercial, scientifically, culturally.

 

[kopcap]

I like Building in the beginning and start warmongering in 2nd era...

 

[tR1cKy]

it's veni, vidi, vici (i came, i saw, i conquered)

 

[plarq]

Expand,fight and live.Try to keep balance of big boys or girls.Play variants most of times,thus I don't need to worry about game style.

 

[hoplite505]

Do you beef up your military? or do you focus on trade? maybe you go for a scientific victory? or maybe going cultural is your thing?

I like to have a technological lead over the competition.

Recently I have been playing religious and going on a rampage with cheap cultue to minimize flipping

 

[Pentium]

Make them RUN TO THE HILLS

And when I hear Runnin' silent runnin' deep, I always imagine a scout entering foreign territory without RoP.

And like kopcap said, i build first, and then start war as soon as I have an average army compared to any of my neighbours.
I was a builder, but now i like war. For about a year my only victories were SS or Diplo, now I have only Dominations.

 

[DS_Legionary]

Almost always war, with chunks of peace here and there to build Libraries/Temples, and Marketplaces/Banks.I usually expand till I can expand out no more, and start building a military the I go and bonk some heads. I uaully have my entire continent owned by the time Chivalry comes around, then I build up a bit of infrastructure till I am able to research on my own and keep the pace with the AI. By that time I have probably discovered both Steam Power and Indutrialization. I buy Communism off the AI, and bonk the rest of the heads that are left in the world to win by Conquest.

 

[hievery]

wow man, you must be deleted up to be typing that bad....

Moderator Action: Watch the language
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889