You may make a test:
Start with game or fruit, some rivers and a lot of grasslands.
Don't develop military technologies first! Don't found a second city before 1000 b.C.!
research:
1. ceremonial burial
2. pottery
3. wheel or alphabet+map making for the trade benefits depending on your surroundings
4. masonry+construction
5. go for republic
6. go for science
7. go for industrialization
8. go for sanitation
build:
1. 2 Militia
2. temple
3. granary
4. town guard
5. aqueduct
6. colosseum
7. library
8. observatory
9. factory
10. sewer system
Try to make peace treaties and alliances.
If your next opponents are wary and not willing to exchange anything, and only then, don't build the colosseum but research high developed military designs and take his biggest city. Build as fast as possible a town hall/courthouse there and catch up technologies, if you slowed down in research.
Change technology best for 1 gold per round.
You don't need polytheism, monarchy, monotheism, theology
resulting:
Cities are growing to Level 8 as fast as the opponents, than faster.
Tech is in the beginning some better, later incredible, avoid unnecessary techs, develop techs others dont have and change them as often as possible. (If you're developing one tech and exchange it 4 times , you get a big advantage! Calculated in researched techs, it means you didn't get a half technology, but 2 full technologies.) For this look, what the others are developing and offer exactly this or offer the next they would need in this moment when they becomes pretty ready with their prerequisite.
Forces are first very bad, later unbreakable and you may choice who you will tumble down first.
Early wars are poison to your development strategy, avoid,avoid,avoid and avoid.
All militia is going developing as many land as possible and finding other nations. Don't try to develop all tiles! Find other nations, this is important, as quick as possible to exchange technologies.
Control your strategy in the next games each 50 turns with
Analyze why anyone has grown bigger or developed more and make this too in your gameplay.
Additionally download all what sounds interesting in the files-section, for example:
AIs, techtreechart, world map etc.
You will find out many more by using.
If you don't know how to use anything, ask here.
And the best of all you can do first! Read and understand all the manual!
Did you really understand?
Read it again and control if you really understood.