"When exploring in the beginning of a game, use mountains and hills as much as possible. If your using a unit with 2 movement points, try to end the second move on high ground. The higher ground grants the unit more of a vista of the surrounding terrain than grassland, plains or desert; this is a big time saver. And any military units on higher ground gain the defensive bonus that can be crucial for chance encounters with barbarians and aggressive civs." - Amlodhi

"I like Persia a lot. They have a powerful swordsman as their special unit (The Immortal). It has 4 offensive power so if you can get iron working real quick and make a few of them you can take over a lot of land very early. My favorite part about them is that they dont get outdated until you get Calvary so they dominate for a long time. I believe that the start is the most important part of the game and with a unit like the Immortal you can really get a strong empire." - Kargoth

"When there is a wonder you really want, go to your city with the highest production before you even develop the technology to make the wonder and have it build the palace. It accumulates the shields for the palace, then when you get the technology, you can switch it to the wonder and it will already be mostly made." - Tim Bowling

"If you realy want to get ahead of everyone else technology wise then set your science expenditures to 100% this is particularly affective at the beginning of the game because you don't have to worry about paying for hapiness in your citizens." - JJ

"To get leaders easily put strong units around barbarian camps.This is very usefull if you like armies" - shanghai kid