would anyone like to shadow my game

[lymond]

how do you guys get liberalism so early? I felt I was easily ahead of the computer this game but nowhere near 840 ad.

could anyone give me a list of key techs and when a good time to get them is?

EB - It's not when you get Lib that's as important as what you do with it. Although I could often attain Lib in early to mid AD's in most games on IMM, I often delay it to grab a better tech, if I have the luxury.

On noble and Prince, you should blow away the AIs in tech, so you can often delay Lib to get a very nice late tech. What I often do is tech Lib down to one turn - or bulb it with a GS which will essentially do the same thing, then switch out to other techs to setup a later tech. However, on higher levels you often don't have as much time so I usually go for something like MT to set up a fast cur war.

Anyway, the best way to get an early as possible Lib date is to use Golden Age fueled run of Great Scientists to bulb Education and Liberalism. You need to delay Machinery to bulb Lib. Bulb Philo, double bulb Edu, and bulb Lib. You can get some fairly early Lib dates this way. Build wealth and research and, ofc, trade for backfill prereq techs. Oracling CoL and beelining Music for the GA helps as well. Set up a good GP farm with NE, and starve out great scientists. You might have the Great Library as well. You can starve out GS from other high food cities as well.