HT Games
Setup
Start the game on a premade world; customized worlds are best for experienced players. You can start the game from a random world by selecting "Start a New Game" from the opening menu, and you can choose from the game's preset worlds with "Start on Premade World." Your choices include Europe, Ancient Greece, the Mediterranean, Asia and Australia, or either a small, medium or large world map. Do not choose to randomize the world's resource squares and player's starting location so you will start your civilization at the same place it did historically, making things much easier for you. You can start at the easiest of the five levels, but the medium level isn't that much harder. Four is a good number of competing civilizations, and selecting "Villages Only" means you won't need to worry about barbarians. "Medieval Castle" is a simple city style to choose after selecting your country.
Building your Civilization
Your civilization starts with three random technologies in addition to irrigation, mining and roads; the other technologies will be learned at your selection. After building the capital, you will need to defend your city with military units. A phalanx has strong defense, but your civilization must discover bronze working in order to build it.
For a more enlightened civilization, you must advance from the default despotic government. To replace it with a monarchy, you must discover code of laws and ceremonial burial. You can now overthrow the government with the "Start Revolution" selection. Once you have a monarchy, a 30 percent tax rate is a fair amount to build your economy without unrest, and a 70 percent science rate will help start the technology process needed to advance your civilization later.
Resarching masonry and pottery will help you build wonders later in the game. You'll need to start building irrigation, mining and roads around your cities with your settlers in order for your civilization to grow.
Beyond the Monarchy
Don't overthrow the monarchy with a republic until you have discovered trade, which will allow you to build caravans. Caravans will establish trade routes with other civilizations, and they can also build wonders like the Hanging Gardens and Women's Suffrage. These wonders, along with temples and police stations, will help build happiness in the cities and prevent civil unrest. Civil unrest for two turns in a row in the same city will cause the republic to be overthrown. To keep your people content, build wonders, temples and coliseums and raise the luxury rate to 10 percent if needed. Once unrest isn't a problem, start building your science rate and upgrade to a democracy.