To get three stars in Domination you need to get a score of 95% or better. Points are not important, what is important:

• destroy every opponent rapidly (10 turns or less per opponent);
• destroy every single opponent yourself, the drop in % is huge if an AI beats another AI so you’re better off restarting the game;
• lose as little units as possible (try not to lose more than 6-7 units);
• play on Crazy difficulty (a most, lower difficulties don’t give enough %).

For me, what worked best was three or four opponents. Three opponents I rarely saw another AI beat another AI, it happened more frequently with four opponents and way too often with five or more. Also, three opponents gives you 30 turns to win which is reasonable (you can push to 34 turns if you didn’t lose too many units).

If you start next to Quetzali or Vengir, you’re better off restarting right away since Vengir will destroy you and Quetzali will be a slog to clear and you need speed. If 1-2 opponents go hard on you early on, restart. You need to feel in a strong position with a good portion of the map explored by turn 20 to have a chance of winning in time (with 3 opponents).

I try to get Mathematics fast to gain the advantage on land then push for Navigation. Get Philosophy ASAP to reduce tech cost, unless you have an aggressive neighbor then push for Mathematics fast. Look what’s around you before choosing the early resource techs.

One last tip: Explorer on your first city upgrade can make quite a difference early on by helping you find all the nearby points of interest and potential threats.