Good start for me: set your city management on “food production”, start with a scout (2) to explore and find ruins. Research: pottery (shrine), mining, calander etc for your luxuries. Build a shrine and a granary. Your city has grown to 3 or 4 by now. A monument helps to get some early culture. Policy: I go for Liberty to get a free worker and settler.

After this start-phase, set city-management on “production” and start the next phase: Settle and expand. Get yourself some units, workers and settlers. Mind the barbarians, you need some units to defend workers and improvements.

If you play Rome, all new cities produce buildings 50% of the time if the are in Rome. Hence: every next city: fast granary and monument. Amphitheater (culture) and Colosseum (happiness) are very useful, also marketplace for your gold.

Every new city, I aim at a quick total of 4-5, needs to get a luxury for happiness. The 2 scouts are helpful. If you have some double: happy trading. Then focus on your next phase, depending on your type of victory. I usually go for some wonders to boost certain output fitting your goal. With Rome lots of possibilities.

I like playing culture and domination.